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Michael Morrell completed his first season as a full-time member of Oliver Purnell's staff at Clemson in 2008-09, his second with the program. He was promoted to the position of director of men's basketball operations in the summer of 2008 after Josh Postorino was moved into an assistant coach position with the team. Morrell worked as a graduate assistant on Purnell's staff for the 2007-08 season.
As the team's director of operations, Morrell is in charge of the team's travel arrangements, scheduling, recruiting organization, and hiring and supervising of the managerial staff.
"Mike did an outstanding job for us as a graduate assistant," Purnell said. "He certainly distinguished himself as a good basketball person and a hard worker. I feel he will continue to grow in his role as director of basketball operations."
The Tigers certainly grew as a program with Morrell playing a key role within the staff. Clemson finished the season with a 23-9 overall record and #24 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. The Tigers enjoyed their third straight 20-win season, a school record. Morrell has been on staff for two of the three 20-win campaigns. Clemson also put together a 9-7 conference record in 2008-09, which included an upset of #3 Duke by a score of 74-47 on Feb. 4. It was the school's largest margin of victory ever against a ranked opponent.
As the team's graduate assistant, Morrell had multiple responsibilities which included film breakdown, organizing recruiting mail-outs, providing assistance in opponent scouting, and assisting with the coordination of the Oliver Purnell Basketball Camp. He worked previous camps for Purnell during the summers prior to his hire at Clemson.
In Morrell's only season with the team, Clemson compiled a 24-10 overall record and finished with a #22 national ranking by the AP. The Tigers advanced to their first ACC championship game since 1962, and also made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 10 years. Clemson earned a #5 seed for the Midwest Region.
Before being hired as a graduate assistant, Morrell spent two years at King College in Bristol, TN, where he served as the school's golf coach and was an assistant with the men's basketball team. He helped the Tornadoes to a 23-11 overall record in 2006-07 on the hardwood.
Morrell was a two-sport athlete at Milligan College in northeast Tennessee. He scored over 1,400 points in his basketball career, a figure that ranks among the top 10 in school history. He was a three-year starter and helped the Buffaloes to a berth in the NAIA National Tournament as a freshman in 2000-01. As a golfer, he was two-time all-conference and led the team to a league title in 2003. He earned a bachelor's degree in History from Milligan College in 2005.
