Hall of Fame Spotlight
1/25/2016 11:11:00 AM | General, Athletics
By Marc Bowman
Chazny Morris wasn't always a scoring machine.
Once she became a Kangaroo, of course, Morris went on to glory as a two-time all-Summit League selection and as UMKC's all-time leading scorer.
But, early in her basketball career, she was known primarily for defense and teamwork.
“She was definitely a team player,” said her sister, Casey, who played at the University of California and Texas Tech. “She was more of a hustle player and a defensive player, and did everything for her teammates. She was always someone that everyone wanted to be on their team.”
Chazny teamed with Casey for two years at Piedmont High School, winning a state championship as a junior and competing for the state title again as a senior. The Highlanders were 63-5 in those two seasons.
“In my 14 years of coaching girls' basketball at Piedmont High School, we've been blessed to have a lot of talent,” said Piedmont Coach Bryan Gardere. “And Chazny Morris is one of the top two or three players to ever play at Piedmont.”
Although she knew the value of hustle and defense, Morris also worked hard to develop a smooth shooting stroke.
“Chazny was far ahead of the curve with her outside shot, the structure of her shot,” said her father, Charles. “The coaches in high school really helped her to develop. Chazny was lucky to have the coaches she had in high school. The coach at El Cerrito, Ron Williams, he put in a lot of time with her and then Bryan Gardere at Piedmont, he was a very, very skilled coach. But she was always working. She would come to practices when she wasn't playing at 11, 12, 13 years old, and she would get up shots. And her shot was always right. She shot the ball right.”
“Chazny was definitely one of a kind because of her ability to shoot the basketball and be able to score off the dribble,” Gardere said. “The way she took the ball and could shoot it… she was extraordinary with her ability to shoot it and be able to create and do things. And she could guard players that were bigger than her. But one of the most impressive things about her was her ability to shoot the basketball and it doesn't surprise me that she went on to UMKC and set records.”
Indeed, Morris wrote her name all over the 'Roos record books, beginning with an 8.5-points-per-game average as a freshman which earned honors as the league's top newcomer. After a summer in which she spent nearly every moment in the gym, Morris doubled her scoring to 17.3 ppg as a sophomore in 2007-08 and was named second-team all-Summit League.
“My first playoff game (as a freshman) I had 21 points and I said 'oh, my goodness, I can do this every game',” she said. “I went back to the gym in the summer and I just worked, worked, worked, as hard as I can. I was in the gym two or three times a day. I came back my sophomore year and it was easy… way easy. That's where all these records came from: from persistence and staying in the gym and pushing myself because I knew I could get better. I knew there was always something more I could do. I stayed in the gym and kept working.”
It wasn't always “way easy” for Morris. When she first started playing it was with the boys' team her father coached at the YMCA.
And she didn't like playing with the boys.
“I was just not getting along with boys and I said 'I need to quit',” Morris said. “So I quit the boys' team and started playing on the girls' team. My sister is more of a tomboy and I was more like a girly girl. I just said 'I don't like boys'. It ended up where now they are my best friends, but back then, I couldn't stand them. I didn't want to be on a team with them.”
“Boys at that age, they call girls names and such,” Charles said. “We would be short at times and I would have to get Chaz to play. I made her play. It worked out for her, but she didn't like it because boys would be mean to her. Of course, they didn't say anything in front of me, but sometime later she told me about the grief that she had from the boys.”
Morris had more fun as a junior and senior at UMKC when she was named first-team all-Summit League, again averaging 17.3 ppg as a junior, then led the 'Roos in scoring for a second straight year in 2009-10 with 16.0 ppg as a senior.
It was shortly after that regular season ended that she enjoyed one of her best memories as a Kangaroo.
In the opening-round game of the league tournament Morris drilled 30 points against the North Dakota State Bison, tying the Summit League record with seven three-pointers, but it came down to a last-second shot by teammate LeAndrea Thomas to capture a 76-75 overtime win.
“It's one of the things that stand out to me while I was at UMKC,” Morris said. “We went into OT and came down the court, and LeLe got the ball and went all the way down and finished a layup and won the game for us. It was a big win.”
The 'Roos lost to top-seeded Oral Roberts in the next game but were selected for the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational tournament, the first time ever that UMKC's hoops squad had played beyond the league tournament.
At the conclusion of her collegiate career, Morris ranked first in UMKC history with 1,806 points and now ranks second in scoring average (15.3) and in field goals (609), three-pointers (231), and free throws made (357). Her defensive prowess also showed; she is fourth in blocks (79), and sixth in rebounding (633) and steals (185).
“I can't believe I have all of these records,” Morris said. “I can't believe I have a record… period. I never thought that would happen. I never thought that I would go play basketball in the pros, or even in college. I'm happy, but I did put in a lot of work to get there.”
The WBI marked the culmination of her collegiate athletic career, but not her academics. Morris graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications studies, then returned to UMKC for a master's in public administration with an emphasis on non-profits, which has led her to her current work with the San Francisco Health Plan, a Bay Area non-profit. She has recently been promoted to project manager.
“There's a lot of growth in the place that I am now and I plan to keep growing and stay where I am because I really do enjoy this organization,” she said. “I love living in the Bay Area. I'm from here and I was able to come back and find a job that I love.”
Morris' hard work and dedication has paid off, although it wasn't always clear that she would become a Kangaroo. Her primary scholarship choice out of high school was between UMKC and the University of Hawaii.
“Everybody asked me 'Why would you not go to Hawaii',” she said. “And it was because I would feel like I was on vacation all the time. I decided that I needed to make an executive decision and be smart about the situation and actually go to class every day. And I decided to go to UMKC. I was happy with the decision I made.”
Dedication and making correct choices are traits instilled in all three Morris sisters by their parents, Charles and Rosalyn.
“It was great to have her as an older sister,” Casey said. “Chazny has always been a protective sister and a type of sister that would do anything for her sisters. We're very fortunate to have the parents we had. They always pushed us. We all learned from our parents. They're also very competitive people and very driven people themselves. I think we got a lot of those characteristics from them. Chazny's drive and my drive, my younger sister's drive is just because of them, and them teaching us that education is the most important and to compete academically.”
“They were amazing parents,” Gardere agreed. “All three of the sisters had good grades. They were all good academically and they all have degrees and they have their master's. Three kids and all three had scholarships. That's impressive. Mom and Dad did a really good job with the sisters. And the grandmother, she didn't miss a game. They were just a good family. It doesn't surprise me that she went on to UMKC and did wonderful things there.”
Morris will be officially enshrined into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night at Pierson Auditorium on the UMKC campus.
