One dribble, a step-back, and release. An improbable three pointer swishes at the buzzer. Gus Gym roars. Tamalpais High School’s head basketball coach storms onto the court, celebrating the moment with a two-handed shove to the scoring player. The coach turns to the bench, clapping intensely. It is a passion that the Tam Basketball program hasn’t seen in a long time. It is an energy that the Tam Basketball Program desperately needs.
Tim Morgan is back as head coach of the Tamalpais Hawks.
Morgan, who stepped in after Neil Chavez left the program on Dec. 17, might be a familiar name. He first took the job as Tam’s head coach in 2013, and his six-year tenure was very successful. Morgan guided the team to be competitive for the first time in a decade. He led the Hawks to two Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) final appearances and a North Coast Section (NCS) Division II (DII) Final.
But off-court priorities called. Morgan and his wife, Mary, were starting a family with two young children at home in Novato. So, in the interest of spending time with his family, Morgan stepped away from the program in 2020. However during that time, Mary became sick, very sick. Unexpectedly and tragically Mary passed of complications from encephalitis.
Understandably, Morgan stepped away from teaching at Tam, from any interest in basketball.
But now, two years later, Morgan has decided to come back to the sport. Back to Tam. Back to Gus Gym.
“I was a little … stuck. I needed something that I was passionate about,” Morgan said, “ I wanted my kids to see me in a role of something that I love and work hard at, to see me kind of upbeat.”
Morgan hit the ground running.
Accepting the keys to the program on Dec. 23, it has been a rapid adjustment for the team. Learning new systems, plays, and mental approaches to the game has taken time. After dropping their first six games, Tam took their first league win of the year against Novato on Jan. 17. This was quickly followed up with Morgan winning his 100th career game on Jan. 28, securing his legacy as one of the top Tam basketball coaches in the program’s extensive history. Players on the team have felt reverberations of progress from the top down.
“He’s brought a ton of positivity, respect, and discipline,” said 11th-grade starter Porthos Olivera.
“He brought morale up throughout the team. He stopped people from quitting over winter break,” said another starter, 11th-grader Ashton Sadow.
Morgan has focused on the controllables so far and harps on the mental ability of the game. “Our first game against Ukiah, I had to call a timeout to get on them for dropping their heads and slumping shoulders. That’s a non negotiable for me,” Morgan said.
Morgan took over the program in a less-than favorable fashion. In the four year absence, the team hasn’t cracked the top four in MCAL once. Morgan alone led the Hawks to three of those appearances. The Morgan rehire is Tam’s third head coaching change in four years. The program is desperate for help.
“Especially mid-season, losing a coach is very tough, those are tough shoes to fill alone,” said Tam’s athletic director, Nathan Johnson: “We needed someone who was going to be able to finish out this season strong and bring their own positive aspects to the program to finish out the season.”
But Johnson wasn’t just trying to find someone to fill shoes. He was searching for someone to be the shoes: “We’re always looking for someone who’s going to build a team culture, while also building a winning culture”.
Morgan was the one he chose to lead the Hawks into a new era.
