Vic's Corner - DeShannon Morris/Grace Christian

Welcome back to Vic's Corner, a new series where I sit down and create different content with players, teams, and programs in order to give a different, personal perspective on the basketball scene in North Carolina.   Interested in being featured in another issue of Vic's Corner? Make sure to reach out on Twitter at @v_taylor3 so we can discuss your recruitment, high school/AAU updates, or other team/player focused developments in the basketball scene.   These days in the private school world, it's full of kids transferring from public schools, switching schools year after year, and building really strong teams at certain schools with recruited kids and people moving all over just to play basketball. However, Coach DeShannon Morris has built something different on Buck Jones Road in Raleigh with the Grace Christian Eagles. His groups have always been successful, but this year looks to be the most successful yet, as the Eagles are 16-6 at the time of writing, and 3-0 in their competitive conference. What's more impressive is that he's not in the world of bringing players in; all of his players come through the school system at Grace and his staff works with them to make them the best players they can be.   The Eagles picked up their sixth loss of the season on MLK Day, losing 72-50 to a talented and well-coached New Hanover team at the HoopState MLK Invitational in Garner. Coach Morris told me that Monday showed in spurts how good his team could be, as they played almost an even second half after going down 19 at halftime. However, the Eagles can't get sped up and put an in early hole, and it comes down to executing what the team practices and what they can fall back on when things aren't necessarily going their way.   The group came into this year off a 21-14 season, second round state tournament exit, and losing leading scorer and senior Julien King to graduation. However, with a group that stayed intact and guys who got better over the course of the spring and summer, the expectation was clear: to compete for a conference and state title. The biggest takeaway that Coach Morris had in pursuit of these expectations was that "I knew we were good, but we've found out we're very resilient when we don't win or come up short of what we want." However, he feels that the team still needs to work on trusting the process when times get tight in game, which plays into the decision making on the court as well. "One pass to a shot or a step back isolation shot is not what we work at when we need a shot" he told me, and the improved execution will be essential for his group to continue to succeed.   Grace Christian has quite a talented roster, and Coach Morris had nothing but great things to say about his guys, from stars to deep rotation guys. However, [player_tooltip player_id='854906' first='Quasim' last='Oden'] is his star point guard and leader. Coach Morris said Oden is "the ultimate competitor, and loves to play defense and be physical. People sometimes confuse his passion and intensity for negative emotions, but he just loves playing that much. On the court, he's a downhill guard with the ball in his hands and has great vision." Recruiting wise, Oden has interested from Furman, NC A&T, USC Upstate, Brunswick CC, and other D2s and D3s. It's only a matter of time before schools get involved and they will be getting a great lead guard for their team.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GFamilyon3/status/1732068728999670092?s=20 </div></figure>   I asked Coach about [player_tooltip player_id='1076365' first='Steven' last='McLeod'] and his immediate answer was "he is the heart and soul of our team." Even though he stands at 6 foot even, he's physical, and will rebound, defend or do what needs to be done. Loose balls? He'll dive on them. Screening and cutting even though he won't get the ball? He'll do it no questions asked. He's the perfect glue guy at the guard spot for a school. NC Wesleyan is the school in on him the hardest, and other D1s and D3s have expressed interest in his availability.   [player_tooltip player_id='2092926' first='Michael' last='Phillips'] is the name that has blown up recently across the state, and for good reason. The sophomore was a mid-season call-up from JV last year, and now he's averaging almost 16 PPG and showcasing outstanding improving. He's very talented, with good IQ and footwork on the offensive end. That doesn't even factor in the 3 three pointers a game he's knocking down as well. However, Coach Morris praised his improvement as a defender, especially how he is altering shots with length and rebounding the ball well. He's got a lot of time to improve and and the coaching staff believes he is going to get a lot better before things are said and done. ACC programs, mid-majors and other D1s have reached out early to show interest in Phillips.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GFamilyon3/status/1746728090263228424?s=20 </div></figure>   Noah Kyritsis is a guy who doesn't plan on playing at the next level because of his academic pursuits, but for this season he has filled the role of a good shooter and contributing on the glass. Coach Morris told us that he'll defend the best player on the other team to start each game.   [player_tooltip player_id='2322421' first='Dylan' last='Couse'] has been a 6'7 forward who has become important to the team's depth and front line, all from working hard outside of the season. His role is simple, rim running and stretching the floor, but it's essential how the Eagles operate. Davidson Davie CC has been showing interest, as well as some other local D3 schools.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GFamilyon3/status/1714616210556375252?s=20 </div></figure>   Coach shared a story that as they played New Hanover, they declined to go zone because it doesn't send the right message to college coaches and observers. He's not just doing this for the wins and losses, but really want his kids to get recruited and show off to coaches that his kids can play and do what the coaches ask of him. If his team went zone, how would they show the college coaches in attendance that they could guard the ball and play off-ball defense? This non-conference game isn't about going 17-5 vs. 16-6, even though everyone wants to win every game. It's about developing the players through game reps to be ready to both compete for a state title, and contribute at the collegiate level.   NOBODY had offers before they got to Grace Christian, Coach Morris emphasized. "Jaylon Gibson (NC State/WSSU/UNCG) was just tall when he got here. Keeyan Itejere (Texas/Marquette/Northern Kentucky) was just tall when he got here. They trusted and learned and look where it got them." Grace Christian is a program who develops and just teaches the kids what to do and how to be better instead of worrying about who they can bring in. “We're not transactional, we're transformational", he said, and I think the Eagles play shows the fruits of that statement. You can catch the Eagles TONIGHT as they take on Trinity Academy in a big Capital City Conference clash.

Welcome back to Vic's Corner, a new series where I sit down and create different content with players, teams, and programs in order to give a different, personal perspective on the basketball scene in North Carolina.