Morris Shuns Distractions, Then He Shines as USC’s Shortstop

Billy Morris studies psychology and communications at USC, where the double major also turns double plays as a shortstop for the Trojan baseball team.

The academic emphasis is fitting for Morris, a junior who couldn’t keep himself focused in 1990, only to right his course this season after a straight-talk meeting with the coaching staff.

Morris, 20, is playing with confidence in the field while batting .288 for the second-ranked Trojans, who swept then top-ranked Stanford in a three-game Pacific-10 Conference Southern Division series last weekend.

“People say playing this game is 90% mental,” Morris said. “But I say it’s 99% mental, especially if you’re struggling.

“You can have all the talent in the world, but if you’re not mentally in the game and you’re doubting yourself, you’ll never do anything.”

Morris wasn’t the only one who had doubts last season. The Trojan coaching staff questioned his commitment--and with good reason. When he arrived at USC in the fall of 1989, Morris, a former standout at St. Francis High, seemed to possess all the talent necessary for a successful career at the Division I level. But in his first season at USC, he failed to meet those expectations.

After batting .407 at Pierce College as a freshman, Morris was deluged by four-year schools offering full scholarships.

The Atlanta Braves, who had selected him in the 36th round of the 1988 draft after he graduated from high school, picked him again in the 15th round in 1989.

Unfortunately for Morris, shortly after enrolling at USC, he rushed for and was selected to become part of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

“We try to sell guys on the dynamic place that USC is,” Trojan Coach Mike Gillespie said. “There is a lot of fun and good times to be had when you come to school here. Billy took us at our word. He wasn’t going to miss any of it.”

Morris’ nocturnal wanderings kept him out regularly until 3 a.m., after which he slept through classes, missed meals and often woke up just in time to make it to the field for practice.

Morris’ natural ability enabled him to open the season as the Trojans’ starting shortstop, but his extra-curricular activities and the pressure to perform for the 11-time national champion Trojans quickly removed him from the lineup.

“I was expecting to be babied,” said Morris, who committed 16 errors and batted .231 in 34 games. “I got to ‘SC and I was a little fish in a big pond. (Division I players) are good and you have to work your butt off. It kind of came as a shock. Plus I kind of got caught up in joining a frat.”

Indeed, Morris proved so proficient at fraternity activities, he was made rush chairman last fall.

Thankfully, Morris said, he never got the opportunity to reach his full potential in a toga.

The Trojan coaching staff took care of that by casually inviting Morris to stop by the baseball office for a chat before the team began practice last fall. Morris obliged, fully expecting a pep talk about the upcoming season.

Instead, the door slammed shut upon Morris’ entrance. For two hours, the coaching staff grilled him.

“Basically, they said, ‘If you don’t get your act together off the field, your scholarship will be pulled,’ ” Morris said. “That woke me up in a hurry.

“I don’t blame the fraternity because it was me who was living in a fantasy land the whole year.

“That meeting opened my eyes. At first it seemed like they (the coaches) hated me, but I could see as it went on that they were concerned about me as a person.

“I knew what I had to do and where I stood.”

Morris’ first act as rush chairman was to resign and place himself on the inactive list.

“I just told them that I came to USC on a scholarship to play baseball, not to join a fraternity,” Morris said. “I told them, ‘if you start paying me $20,000 a year for school, maybe I’ll rejoin.’ ”

Morris is hoping that he and his teammates will join the party at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., this season. The Trojans, who sit atop the Pac-10 with an 8-1 record, have not appeared in the World Series since 1978. Last season, the Trojans fell one game short, losing to Louisiana State in the final of the Southeast regional.

“Last year, we had more talent but people were worried about their futures,” Morris said. “We didn’t really pull for each other.

“This year, we still have good talent, but we have unity. All of us, including myself, know what our priorities are.”