Rex Morgan (basketball)

{{short description|American basketball player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Rex Morgan

| image =

| width =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 190

| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|10|27}}

| birth_place = Charleston, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2016|1|15|1948|10|27}}

| death_place = Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.

| high_school = Charleston (Charleston, Illinois)

| college =

| draft_year = 1970

| draft_round = 2

| draft_pick = 21

| draft_team = Boston Celtics

| career_start = 1970

| career_end = 1972, 1992

| career_number = 20

| career_position = Shooting guard

| years1 = {{nbay|1970|start}}–{{nbay|1971|end}}

| team1 = Boston Celtics

| years2 = 1992

| team2 = Jacksonville Hooters

| cyears1 = 1988–2001

| cteam1 = Jacksonville / Daytona Beach Hooters / Jacksonville

Shooters / Barracudas / Gulf Coast Sundogs / Lakeland Blue Ducks

| cyears2 = 2002

| cteam2 = Saint Joseph Express

| highlights =

As player:

As coach:

  • USBL Coach of the Year (1990)

}}

Rex Thomas Morgan (October 27, 1948 – January 15, 2016){{cite web |title=Rex Morgan Obituary |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/rex-morgan-obituary?id=15474936 |website=Legacy |access-date=October 26, 2023}} was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was drafted in the second round of the 1970 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics and played two seasons with the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a shooting guard.

In college, he played guard for the 1969–70 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team that reached the national championship game, losing to UCLA.

Morgan was a head coach in the United States Basketball League for 14 seasons. He spent 13 seasons with the Jacksonville Hooters franchise from 1988 to 2001 during which time they were also known as the Daytona Beach Hooters, Jacksonville Shooters, Jacksonville Barracudas, Gulf Coast Sundogs and Lakeland Blue Ducks.{{cite web |title=Rex Morgan minor league basketball coaching statistics |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbasketball/stats/c-morgarex001 |website=Stats Crew |access-date=October 26, 2023}} Morgan was named USBL Coach of the Year in 1990.{{cite web |title=USBL Unveils 20th Anniversary Team |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/usbl-unveils-20th-anniversary-team/n-3181002 |website=oursportscentral.com |publisher=Our Sports Central |accessdate=11 November 2020 |date=21 June 2005}} On June 25, 1992, he activated himself as a player when the Hooters had four players unavailable in a game against the New Jersey Jammers; he scored 12 points in his first professional appearance in 20 years.{{cite news |last1=Olausen |first1=Tom |title=Jammers rip Hooters in 'pick-up' game |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-jammers-rip-hooters-in/163238328/ |access-date=January 17, 2025 |work=Asbury Park Press |date=June 26, 1992 |page=56 |via=Newspapers.com}} Morgan also served as coach of the Saint Joseph Express during the 2002 season. He is the winningest coach in the USBL with 196 victories.

Career statistics

{{NBA player statistics legend}}

=NBA=

Source{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morgare01.html|title=Rex Morgan NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=4 November 2024}}

==Regular season==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"

!Year

!Team

!GP

!MPG

!FG%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!PPG

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1970}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston

| 34 || 7.8 || .402 || .648 || 1.8 || .6 || 3.4

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1971}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston

| 28 || 5.4 || .320 || .742 || 1.1 || .6 || 2.0

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 62 || 6.7 || .375 || .682 || 1.5 || .6 || 2.8

{{S-end}}

==Playoffs==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"

!Year

!Team

!GP

!MPG

!FG%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!PPG

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 1972

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston

| 4 || 2.5 || .143 || .333 || 1.3 || .0 || .8

{{S-end}}

References