The Ghost of Mac Morris lives on in the Page HS Gym

The Page Pirates pulled one out of their hat on Tuesday evening when they finished off Grimsley in overtime 63-62.  This was like the hat trick as the Page boys beat the Whirlies for the third time this season.

Grimsley was rolling early grabbing big leads in the first quarter and then I thought I saw the ghost of Mac Morris go flying around the Page gym.  You look and see the banners showcasing the Pirate state championships from 1979, 1983, and 1990.  You’ve got to believe that coach Morris is still somewhere in that gymnasium and that his influence is still present.  You harken back to the 1990 squad with Mark Lewis, Billy Kretzer, Pearce Landry, and Alfred Hamilton Jr., and there’s Danny Manning, Michael Foster, John Newman, Haywood Jefferies and others like Rob Shelton that made Alma Pinnix Drive a famous stop on the tour of HS basketball greatness.

This Page team has a kid named AJ Finney that can light up the MM Gym.  The Pirates also survived the Grimsley scare with help from Josh Garrett, Brandon Harris, even Juwon Trapp gave coach Robert Kent some key reserve minutes, coming in to spell Finney at the point.  Demarcus Ferguson made some wild passes late in the game that had the Gra8ful coach crawling up under the bench but in the end the Pirates had prevailed again.  I thought center Julius Brooks gave Page a big boost and he was there to help do what coach Kent was preaching to his team during the timeouts, “Get every rebound”. 

The Page Pirates got those important rebounds but they missed key free throws that could have cost them, but again they live to see another day and the next game will be a mighty tough one traveling to take on #1 High Point Central at HPC on Thursday night.  If the Pirates can get those key rebounds they will beat HPC but that will not be an easy task.  The Pirates will not have the ghost of Mac Morris along to help them over in High Point and they better watch out for the ghost of Jeff Summey from Libby Hill Seafood on Summit Ave. in Greensboro, because Jeff is a HPC grad and might have a little unfinished Fishy Business to take care of over in the Black Bison Barn.

Back to Brooks, that’s Julius Brooks the Page center, he could be one of the area’s top players in the future.  The 6’8 sophomore has some growing left to do and he might be the next solid big man to come out of the Gate City.  Keith Manley the young man from Grimsley might also fall into that category if he will work very hard.  Page-High Point Central on Thursday night, it should be a great one.

Grimsley’s season could be over and maybe the Gra8ful coach can let us know for sure what the real deal is on the Whirlies getting into the sectionals.  The Northwest boys pulled off a slight shocker on Tuesday when the Vikings, a #6 seed stole one from #3 Smith at Smith.  NWG eliminated Smith from the tournament, ending the Golden Eagles’ hopes for a Metro crown with a 42-41 Viking Victory.  Congrats are in order for NWG coach Mike Everette, another Western Guilford grad along with coach Kent at Page.

In another major match-up, the #3 seeded High Point Central girls will play host to #2 seed Northwest tonight at 6pm in the Black Bison Barn.  Remember the big game will have the Page-Grimsley girls going at it at 7:30.  *****In a High Point footnote, if I’m not mistaken, Mac Morris the outstanding boys hoops coach at Page for many years, well his brother John Morris was once a big-time football coach over at High Point Central.  John Morris died young but he was a great one and I’m sure many of the High Pointers can verify this tidbit.  Charlie Harville my old sidekick from the early radio days was telling me this story back in the 80’s.*****

*****You gotta wish there was a footnote but as Kurt Angle would say, “It’s true, yes it is really TRUE”.  Virginia Tech beat North Carolina again on Tuesday evening and this time the Hokies did it in Chapel Hill.  The Heels missed several free throws, in fact they were 25-37 for the game, that’s 12 cases of free money at the line.  You have to hit those throws and Tyler Hansbrough missed a few when the game was on the line and that hurt the Heels.  I can’t stand Virginia Tech basketball, those Hokies need to stick to football and quit coming on to Tobacco Road and stealing our basketball games and our cheese.  Somebody like Bruce Mitchell’s Duke Blue Devils need to beat a Hockey school like Boston College so a North Carolina school can re-claim our top spot in the ACC standings.  This is our league, the other guys need to stick to football and hockey.  Basketball is a thinking man’s game and requires a certain intellect, the outside schools have been hit in the head too many times in their football and hockey games and they don’t have the brains to hang with the real ACC schools, you know, the ones that I support.  I will close with this, get out of the way, I’m a coming through.*****   

4 thoughts on “The Ghost of Mac Morris lives on in the Page HS Gym

  1. Don’t worry about it. The Greensboro Grimsley Girls are taking care of business brother. You’d be better off fishing at High Point City Lake.

  2. Hey now Andy,

    It was an exciting night at the Mac Morris gym! Coach Corbett’s Whirlies now have to wait to see about a Wildcard entry in to the sectionals. I will be glad to let you know more when I find it out. NWG and East Forsyth have made the Conference tourney very interesting by upsetting the #3 and #2 seeds respectively( Smith and N.Forsyth). If either of these teams win the tournament, they claim the #4 spot from the Pirates. Rebounding and taking care of the ball will be the key for the Pirates to win the tourney and claim their spot in the State tourney.
    Thanks for supporting High School Hoops!

  3. Hey now Andy,

    It was an exciting night at the Mac Morris gym! Coach Corbett’s Whirlies now have to wait to see about a Wildcard entry in to the sectionals. I will be glad to let you know more when I find it out. NWG and East Forsyth have made the Conference tourney very interesting by upsetting the #3 and #2 seeds respectively( Smith and N.Forsyth). If either of these teams win the tournament, they claim the #4 spot from the Pirates. Rebounding and taking care of the ball will be the key for the Pirates to win the tourney and claim their spot in the State tourney.
    Thanks for supporting High School Hoops!

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