Robert Duncan Morse (born January 4, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. In 2008, Morse was chosen as one of the 50 most influential personalities in European club basketball, over the previous half-century.

High school

Morse attended Kennett High School, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he played high school basketball. He was a prolific scorer for the Pennsylvania high school.

College career

Morse graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972, after playing college basketball with the Penn Quakers. He led the team in scoring in each of the three seasons, from 1969–70 to 1971–72, in which Penn's win–loss record was 78–6, including two NCAA Division I Elite Eight appearances (

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

). He co-captained the 1972 squad, along with Corky Calhoun, and was awarded the Class of 1915 Award, as the outstanding student-athlete of the Class of 1972. Morse was elected to the Philadelphia Big Five Hall of Fame in 1977.

Club playing career

Morse's tremendous scoring ability helped the great

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

club,

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

to win three EuroLeague championships in the 1970s (

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

), in seven consecutive EuroLeague Finals appearances, and to win four Italian League Championships (1973, 1974, 1977, 1978). Morse led the Italian League in scoring for six seasons. His career averages for 11 seasons played in the Italian League were 27.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He shot 60.9% from the field, 85.9% from the free throw line, and 54.5% from three-point distance.

Post-playing career

In 2007, Morse earned a Master of Arts in the Italian language, from the University of Virginia. In 2009, in recognition of his contributions on and off the court, the City Council of Varese, Italy, made Morse an honorary citizen of the city.Varese, Italy, Honorary Citizenship BASKET: BOB MORSE DIVENTA CITTADINO ONORARIO DI VARESE .
/ref> In 2016, after nine years of teaching Italian at Saint Mary's College (Indiana), Morse retired. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon.

References

External links

Bob Morse, the legend of VareseTheDraftReview ProfileItalian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Bob 1951 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Buffalo Braves draft picks Lega Basket Serie A players Olympique Antibes basketball players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Pallacanestro Varese players Penn Quakers men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards University of Virginia alumni