Returning to his roots: Clayton Morrison Jr. tabbed as new Jefferson boys basketball coach

JEFFERSON -- Clayton Morrison Jr. is elated to be back where it all began.

Morrison, a 2013 graduate of Jefferson High School, was hired recently to be the program's new head varsity boys basketball coach.

"I'm beyond excited," Morrison said. "There's coaching in my family with my dad (Clayton Morrison Sr. who coached the women's basketball team at Maranatha Baptist University for 29 years before retiring last spring).

"My experience at Jefferson High as a student there is really what set me on this path. I had some of the great coaches like Megan Carstens, Doug Siegert, the late John Stellmacher, Steve Gee, Jay Benish and Greg Fetherston.

"All these great coaches have had such an impact on my life, an impact that goes well beyond sports. They helped give me the skills to not only survive beyond high school but succeed in the world after high school. Those people got me into coaching and I'm thankful I get to coach in the same high school as some of them now."

Morrison played college basketball for four seasons at MBU, where he played point guard before graduating in 2017 and moving to Virginia to pursue a masters degree in sports management. It was in Virginia that Morrison got his first opportunity to coach, guiding an AAU boys basketball 16U squad.

"That's when I fell in love with coaching," Morrison said. "My mother passed away in the summer of 2018 and I was living in Virginia at the time coaching but wanted to move back to help with family.

"I picked up coaching with my dad and the women's team at MBU for three seasons. Once I married my wife, we moved out to the Twin Cities for two years and I was the head girls coach at Fourth Baptist Christian School. In the summers, I coached more AAU boys basketball. Last season, I was the Williams Bay girls basketball head coach."

Morrison points to Benish, now the head boys basketball coach at Oconomowoc, as his biggest mentor.

"Jay has kind of offered himself up to any questions and anything I could ask of him," Morrison said. "He's been more than willing to help me up to this point and moving forward. What a great guy to have kind of in my back pocket, so to speak. He's a big name in Wisconsin high school basketball and I'm really happy to have someone like that mentor me."

Morrison wants his teams to take on an underdog mantra.

"We're not going to solely rely on a skill we have, but we are going to rely on the fact that we are going to outwork you," Morrison said. "We'll build confidence on the fact that no one is going to work harder than us."

Morrison supplants Jacob Marshall, who resigned from his teaching and coaching position after three seasons at the helm. This year's group will look increasingly different than the senior-laden one that went 17-9 last season.

"What really excites me about the team I have is they are all excited about the opportunity to play at this level," Morrison said. "Jefferson had a really good team last year with a lot of seniors, so these guys now didn't get to see much time. That's led to hungriness within our guys and we're excited to see what they are capable of. Having players with that mindset gives a coach so much to work with."

Morrison is on pace to complete his Masters of Business Education degree this coming May and is hopeful a compatible teaching position opens up in the Jefferson School District in the near future.

This summer, Morrison has enjoyed getting to know and watching his team compete during the recently completed Highway 26 Summer League.

"It's been great getting to know our guys," Morrison said. "I've been able to start to determine what our strengths and weaknesses are and develop a plan that will hopefully allow us to have success this winter."