Morris goes into Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame

Longtime Lima basketball official Dr. Denny Morris was among 17 people inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 on Sunday.

He was the seventeenth official to join the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, which has been in existence since 2005.

The 2020 Hall of Fame class, including former Bluffton and Ohio State women’s basketball standout Caity Matter Henniger, was inducted at the same ceremony.

Morris began his officiating career while he was still a student at Elida High School, working freshman and JV games and scrimmages.

While he was in college at Bowling Green, he got his Ohio High School Athletic Association permit to officiate varsity games. “And it just progressed from there,” Morris said.

He has officiated high school basketball for 47 years and high school football for 46 years. He also has been a Big Ten football official for 20 years.

Morris, a podiatrist, is the Chief Medical Officer and Vice-President of Medical Affairs at Lima Memorial Hospital. He has been the Rules Interpreter for the OHSAA since 2005 and its Director of Officiating Development since 2010.

Sports and officiating have gone through many changes since he began his career in the 1970s. One of the most talked about differences is a current shortage of officials.

“It’s every sport but I think for some sports it’s more dire because you don’t have that many officials to start with. Lacrosse is one that comes to mind,” he said. “There are a multitude of reasons why there there is a shortage and it’s not just in Ohio, it’s nationwide.

“The sport has certainly changed. When I started, basketball was considered a non-contact sport. I don’t think anyone thinks of it that way today. We did not have the 3-point line. At the high school level, dunking wasn’t allowed. We’ve changed the free throw rules many times. When I started we actually had a jump ball at every held ball.

“As far as officiating, the biggest thing is fan behavior – sort of a lack of respect for authority,” he said. “Recruiting officials might not be as big as retention. Guys do it for a year or two and decide it’s just not worth it.”

Morris