Cathy Self-Morgan led Duncanville to a 42-0 record, a Texas state title and the No. 2 spot in the Xcellent 25, earning MaxPreps Girls Basketball Coach of the Year honors in the process.
Photo by Keith Owens
Cathy Self-Morgan of
Duncanville (Texas), this year's MaxPreps Girls Basketball Coach of the Year, got a rude introduction to the most difficult side of coaching at a young age — and she was on the wrong end of the discussion.
Self-Morgan, who was just Cathy Self back then, had been a star at tiny
Jourdanton High School in Texas, and had become one of the best players at the University of Texas, averaging 27 points a game her sophomore season and 24 a game as a junior. But then future Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt arrived, and brought with her 10 top-shelf players that Conradt knew had to win a lot of games if the then-young coach was to keep her job.
Self-Morgan, a 5-8 forward, got to start a few games as a senior, but then on a trip to New York she got called in to talk to Conradt. The upshot was that Self-Morgan was no longer going to be a starter, despite being MVP of the team the past two years, and was going to have to accept a backup role on a team she had starred for.
"It was really a good life lesson," said Self-Morgan, who is now in her 34th year of high school coaching. "It was an eye-opener."
But Self-Morgan showed Conradt, and herself, why she was going to be so successful in the future, as she bit back her disappointment and accepted her new role. She became a team leader and an occasional contributor — and gained a mentor for life.
"Jody's always been there for me," said Self-Morgan, though her lifetime record of 957-199 indicates she didn't need a lot of help.
Self-Morgan directs traffic on the sideline.
Photo by Jim Redman
She got her first head coaching job at Westlake High School, and stayed there 22 years. She won three state championships during that span, including one over Duncanville in 1996. That proved to be a more significant win than she thought, because the Duncanville folks didn't take losing lightly.
In fact, the pressure to be successful at Duncanville is so great that even though the Pantherettes were one of the best teams in their area for the next three years, few were satisfied. A minimum level of achievement was getting to state, which in Texas means being one of the top four of about 900 schools — and both Duncanville and Westlake were 5A schools, with the biggest enrollments.
"I wasn't expecting to leave (Westlake)," said Self-Morgan, "but they called me and asked me to visit."
Self-Morgan was offered the assistant athletic director job (she's the AD now) as well as the girls basketball position, and she was so impressed she decided to move on to Duncanville, despite not only the high expectations but also the long memories of the Pantherette fans.
"When I took the job at Duncanville, half the town still hated me," she said.
But she quickly won them over — by winning.
In 2003, she guided the Pantherettes to the Texas title, and in 2004 they lost in the championship game. This year, Duncanville won its second straight 5A championship, compiled a 42-0 record and finished No. 2 in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Rankings.
Obviously Self-Morgan isn't stuck in the past, despite her many years of success.
"You have to adjust," she said. "I've tried to stay progressive and be a student of the game. I'm intense and passionate. The players know I love them, but I'm hard on them."
Self-Morgan had her chances to move on to the college level, but her first priority was her daughter, Kristen. The life of an assistant coach in Division I involves lots of travel and lots of time away from home.
"I didn't want to put her through that," she said.
Of course, Self-Morgan hasn't racked up those 957 wins without putting in a lot of time and energy, but even after 34 years and six state championships, she's still excited about coaching.
Retirement?
"It's not even in the vocabulary," she said.
