Morrow stars for NCAA No. 1 West Liberty

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Van Wert Cougar basketball star is also making a contribution on the No. 1 NCAA Division I team in the country.

VWHS grad Chris Morrow is a junior and a 232-pound starting forward for the West Liberty (W.Va.) University men’s basketball team, which just returned to the No. 1 spot in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Top 25 coaches’ poll.

West Liberty (25-1) replaced defending national champion Bellarmine, Ky. (23-2) at the top of the NCAA Division II heap on Tuesday when the NABC released the results of its weekly Top 25 balloting. The Kentucky school suffered its second loss of the season last week, dropping a 75-72 verdict to No. 9-ranked Southern Indiana.

It’s the first time this season the Hilltoppers have ascended to the top rung of the NCAA Division II ladder but it’s familiar territory for the Black and Gold, who spent the final nine weeks of the 2010-11 season firmly entrenched at No. 1.

Coach Jim Crutchfield, who led last year’s WLU squad to an Atlantic Region championship and a spot in the Elite Eight semifinals, was pleased with the recognition for his program and the university but admitted this was something he didn’t see coming when practice got under way in October.

“After losing four senior starters and 1,000-point scorers, I never expected to be No. 1 again this season — not in my wildest dreams,” Crutchfield told reporters after picking up his 200th career win on Saturday.

“After last year’s run, I could see us being ranked high at the start of the season based on reputation, but you have to play pretty good basketball all year to be No. 1 at the end of the season.”

Unfortunately, West Liberty won’t likely keep the No. 1 ranking long after a 109-99 upset by Wheeling Jesuit on Wednesday.