Morris Schrimsher
Class of 2005
As a player, Morris Schrimsher was a star. As a coach, he was an innovator, and his use ofthe 1-3-1 trap and the zone press produced three state championship teams with him on the sideline and one from a county rival.
"We started using that 1-3-1 trap in '79," said former East Limestone and Athens High head coach Jimmy Drake. "Jeff Taylor, who had played at the Bible School, had run that 1-3-1, and he was on our staff.
"We put it in with his guidance and probably ran it a lot like Morris did. It was just right for us because of our lack of size and our quickness."
Schrimsher first bought these forms of defense to Danville High School in 1960 and produced Class A State Championships in 1962 and '63. It was used when he was assistant head coach at Athens Bible School in 1976.
But even in 1979, when East Limestone began to run it, opponents often time didn't know what to do with it.
"I can remember playing in the state tournament against Plainview," Drake said. "Everybody had scouted you then, and we didn't go to it until the second quarter.
"The first time we came out with it after a made basket, they came down and started backing the ball up. Then the first pass went out of the gym. "Nowadays they've got the hang of it, and they can break it now if they are patient. Back then nobody had a clue how to break it."
Schrimsher played for East Limestone High School from 1951-54, making all-district each year and scoring over 1,000 points.
He signed with Memphis State University and until 1988 was the only East Limestone player to have ever signed a Division I basketball scholarship.
Schrimsher transferred to Centenary University, where he averaged 15 points and 1 rebounds per game from 1956 to 1958.
He coached at Suttle High School for two years, Danville for three, Athens high for four, and Athens Bible School for three years. He compiled a 158-117 record in 13 years as a head coach.