THUNDER BAY – Scott Morrison wasn’t going to be silenced.
He made that clear 16 seconds into his induction speech on Saturday, accepting entry onto Lakehead Athletics’ wall of fame.
The entire 16 minutes was worth every second, as the former Thunderwolves men’s basketball coach reminisced about his 10-season run, which culminated with a trip to the national championship game in 2013, the fourth straight year his team advanced to the Final 8.
Morrison, who has since coached with the Boston Celtics and in Australia, is back in the NBA G-League this season as the head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars, and also helping the Utah Jazz in the early stages of the 2022-23 season.
He was inducted on his own merits this past weekend, and also as the coach of the 2010 to 2013-era team, the most successful four-year span in Thunderwolves men’s basketball history.
Morrison, after thanking the likes of athletic director Tom Warden and former men’s coach Lou Pero for sticking with him through tough times, including a 1-21 season, listed his top five on-court moments.
The list included Kiraan Posey’s 2003 debut, the first time his team beat Carleton, beating Ottawa to advance to the national championship, knocking off Carleton to win the OUA championship in 2011 and his top memory, the OUA semifinal in 2013, the second-to-last game of his Thunderwolves coaching career.
“It was supposed to be a big Ottawa party. Ottawa and Carleton were the top two seeds. It was in Ottawa and it was supposed to be Ottawa-Carleton in the final,” Morrison recollected, noting they got a muted reception during the lineup announcements.
Ottawa’s introduction was a little more hyped.
The lights start flashing and Drake’s Started from the Bottom starts blaring through the arena and Morrison and his team started thinking the Gee-Gees were trying to steal a page of their book.
“We were thinking you didn’t start from the bottom and I’m sure all of us had a chip on our shoulder, we were all underdogs at one time or another in our lives and we all felt that we started at the bottom and now we’re here. It’s our time and we wanted to show that (we belonged),” Morrison said.
Lakehead went on to beat Ottawa 66-62 at Scotiabank Place, eventually losing to the juggernaut Carleton Ravens in the championship final.
Greg Carter, the all-Canadian defender who played on all four Final 8 teams, said it was a bit surreal coming back to Thunder Bay nine years later to see the team being recognized for its accomplishments.
Winning the OUA championship in 2011 is the memory that stands out most for Carter, on hand for Saturday’s induction ceremony.
“We came a long way from our first year. We didn’t make the playoffs that first year, then after that we made the Final 8 every year after that. It was a great statement to make, winning the OUA final, as well as making to the nationals and finishing second in the country (in 2013),” Carter said.
Yoosrie Sahlia, a rebounding monster in the paint from 2008 to 2013, said watching the rebuild unfold was something special.
“Guys like Greg and I came in here when it was a rebuild and it was something special, the way the community was behind us. It’s just something we always cherish,” Sahlia said. “There were so many great memories. My fondest memory was the 2009-10 season, because that’s where everything took off, when Andrew Hackner hit that game-winning buzzer beater against Queen’s. We got our first national championship berth and we never looked back.”
Also inducted on Saturday were hockey's Jeff Richards and women's basketball star Tasia McKenna.
