Peter Morris

Peter Morris ranks as one of Acadia’s best all-time basketball players. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Morris, a 6’7” forward, graduated from Windsor Regional High and entered Acadia in the fall of 1983.  

Peter had been part of a Roger Caulfield-coached provincial championship team at WRHS in 1982. He lists Caulfield and long-time Windsor and former Acadia head coach Ian MacMillan as “great influences” on his career. He arrived at Acadia relatively unheralded, despite having been “pretty heavily recruited” by most AUS head coaches, including Steve Konchalski at St. F.X., as well as some schools in Ontario.   

The 1983-1984 Axemen roster consisted of largely first- and second-year players. Despite being not that high on the depth chart at first, Peter recalls becoming a starter early in his first season. He made more than 50 per cent of his shots during 1983-1984 and showed definite promise as a rebounder. In his second year, Peter improved his stats to 14.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and helped Acadia capture the conference championship. Individually, his play merited a spot on the second all-conference team. 

After continued improvement in 1985-1986, when he was again a second-team all-conference selection, Peter really came into his own in 1986-1987, shooting 56.2 per cent from the floor and a career-best 81.9 per cent from the free throw line. He was second in the conference in scoring at 20.4 points per game and finished top-two or top-three in several other categories. He was named the AUBC Most Valuable Player, was first-team all-conference, and was selected a second team All-Canadian. 

Peter made his final season at Acadia his best. He led the conference in rebounds with 148, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, was second in scoring at 18.4 points per game and third in the conference with a 59.6 shooting percentage. He repeated as AUBC Most Valuable Player and a first team all-star and capped his career by being named a first-team All-Canadian.  

At the 1988 CIAU nationals in Halifax, the Axemen topped Bishop’s 77-58 and perennial national champion Victoria 86-83 to reach the national final. Peter had 22 points against Victoria and ended up being named a tournament all-star. Acadia’s run to a national title ended with a loss to defending champion Brandon in the final. Peter was a major part of the Axemen success along with fellow Nova Scotia-born starters Grant McDonald, Kevin Veinot, Charles Ikejiani and Tyrone Carvery.  

Peter was Acadia’s Male Athlete of the Year for both 1986-1987 and 1987-1988. After graduation, from 1987 through 1990, he played more than 40 games with Canada’s national team.  

Peter joined the RCMP in 1990 and was posted to British Columbia where he has lived and worked since then.  

His Acadia coach Dave Nutbrown once said of Peter, “he comes as close as you can to being a self-made basketball player.” Nutbrown felt that Morris was one of two players he had coached who had improved the most from day one at Acadia to the end of their Axemen career. Coincidentally, the other player in that conversation, Jan Trojanowski, is also among this year’s Acadia Sport Hall of Fame honorees.