AMES - Surrounded by the players he recruited and coached at Iowa State, Wayne Morgan began to fight for his future Tuesday.

Ousted as the Cyclones' head basketball coach late Thursday night, Morgan said that while he "did not fit into the vision" of new Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard, he believes he can and will lead a successful program in the future.

Morgan refuted reports in the days following his dismissal which he said unfairly portrayed the character and integrity he has displayed during the three decades he has worked as a college coach.

"There is a perception, perhaps more on a national level than within the state, that something wrong took place here," Morgan said. "That couldn't be further from the truth.

"No rules were broken. The president and athletics director at this institution have examined what took place and have agreed no rules were broken."

Specifically, Morgan said no rules were bent in the recruitment of junior college transfer Anthony Davis. He also said Davis' attendance at Iowa State had nothing to do with D-1 Scheduling, a company which had ties to the Los Angeles junior college Davis attended and was also hired by ISU to help upgrade its nonconference schedule.

"All of the appropriate ISU administrators made sure D-1 Scheduling was legitimate and could serve our needs. The bond as a coach and father figure that I have with Anthony Davis predates the existence of D-1 Scheduling," said Morgan, referring to his recruitment of Davis as a high school athlete while he was still coaching at Long Beach State.

Morgan said he had never met or spoken to any operating officer or employee of D-1 scheduling.

"I reiterate - not one phone call, not one conversation. I did nothing wrong. Jamie Pollard did nothing wrong. (Assistant coach) Damon Archibald did nothing wrong," Morgan said.

Morgan said he did not know that Mike Miller, Davis' coach at Los Angeles City College, was on the board of D-1 Scheduling until Pollard informed him of that last Wednesday, the day a CBS Sportsline story broke questioning the company and its placement of players at schools in exchange for assistance in scheduling games.

"I have been a college basketball coach for 32 years. I have an excellent reputation throughout my career," Morgan said. "I have worked hard to earn a respected name in my chosen profession. That has not and will not change. I look forward to success in my next challenge in this sport."

Morgan, 55-39 in three seasons at ISU but just 22-26 in Big 12 games, said he was proud that all of the players in his program are on schedule to graduate and that the team had a cumulative grade point average of 2.6 during the fall semester.

Morgan said he was "kind of dazzled" by his dismissal, indicating that he was not contemplating taking legal action against Iowa State at this time.

"My main objective at this point is to make it clear that I have done nothing wrong," Morgan said.

Thanking university president Greg Geoffroy and former athletics director Bruce Van De Velde for the opportunity to replace Larry Eustachy as the Cyclones' coach, Morgan indicated that he will leave ISU with fond memories, including leading a team to the NIT semifinals in 2004 and the second round of the NCAA Tournament one year ago.

"The athletics director at any institution has the right to have his own vision," Morgan said. "While I did not fit into his vision, I believe I do fit into the vision of any school looking for a coach to lead a successful program and help young men fulfill their academic and athletic goals."

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.