In this vast sports desert with fans thirsting for real news, Wahoo basketball faithful found an oasis Monday.
Trey Murphy III, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound guard/small forward who played two seasons at Rice, has decided to transfer to Virginia. Murphy, who is from the heart of ACC country in Durham, N.C., chose UVa over a top four that also included Villanova, Houston, and Pittsburgh.
Murphy, who has grown 4 inches since his senior year of high school and has a 7-foot wingspan, will sit out the 2020-21 season and then have two years of eligibility remaining. He is apparently looking forward to taking the year off to develop both his game and his body. UVa has one of the nation's best strength coaches in Mike Curtis, so Murphy will be in good hands.
His freshman season at Rice, Murphy came off of the bench and scored 8.4 points per game while averaging 2.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.5 blocks. He shot 44.2 percent overall from the field, 42.1 percent on 3s, and 72.5 percent from the free throw line. His sophomore season, he started 23 of 29 games and averaged a team-leading 13.7 points per game along with 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.6 blocks. He shot 43.4 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.4 percent at the stripe. Even though his overall field goal percentage went down slightly, and his 3-point shooting decreased a few percentage points, he actually shot better on 2-pointers last season (57.1) than in 2018-19 (52.6), according to Sports Reference. His minutes went from about 20 per game in 2018-19 to about 30 per game in 2019-20, so he was relied on much more heavily, which can partially explain his drop in 3-point percentage. He shot 7 3s per game last year compared with 4.8 per game two years ago.
You've maybe noticed all the different ways I've described Murphy already -- "wing," "guard" (his official roster designation on Rice's athletics website), and "small forward." Depending on where you read about Murphy, you'll see him called different things. I've also seen "stretch four." As I've mentioned in this space before, the game of basketball is almost positionless now. It's all about what skills a player brings to the table and what roles that player can fill. A great coach like Tony Bennett will do his best to bring out the best in a player and highlight his strengths to help the player and the team.
Probably the most recent UVa player style comparison for Murphy is De'Andre Hunter or Braxton Key. Hunter was comfortable as a guard and could shoot 3s, but also was physical and could get points that way if need be. Key was more comfortable grabbing rebounds and playing a physical-style of game while being a glue guy, but he could also occasionally step out and hit a 3 and handle the ball a bit. Murphy could end up being some sort of amalgamation of those two players. Or perhaps his game could more closely resemble someone like Sam Hauser, the Marquette transfer forward who will be eligible this coming season for the 'Hoos. We will just have to wait and see how Murphy develops his game, and how his body changes. As you can see, he took a serious jump in his rebounding numbers, and he will be looking to put more muscle on his growing frame. For now, just know UVa landed a solid-looking rangy guard/small forward who can shoot 3s, score in other ways, and can handle the ball a bit. He's also in that versatile area where he will be able to guard multiple positions, something Bennett covets. You know Bennett wouldn't take Murphy if he didn't think he could play defense well or put in the right amount of effort on that side of the court.
To read more about Murphy, check out the write-up at HoosPlace.com.
And check out some highlights below:
Virginia was after another Trey this transfer season as well, Trey Wertz, a 6-foot-4 guard from Santa Clara. Wertz put UVa in his final seven, but ultimately he chose ACC rival Notre Dame on Saturday.
Stay tuned. There could be more basketball news in the coming days and weeks. Once the dust settles, I'll take an early look at the 2020-21 UVa season.
Also, don't let your quarantine go by without checking out this hilarious and on-point recreation of "The Play" against Purdue (Kihei to Mamadi for the tie), as performed by Virginia's Grant Kersey and Tomas Woldetensae:
Trey Murphy III, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound guard/small forward who played two seasons at Rice, has decided to transfer to Virginia. Murphy, who is from the heart of ACC country in Durham, N.C., chose UVa over a top four that also included Villanova, Houston, and Pittsburgh.
I will be committing to... pic.twitter.com/0B8Z4sfH3H— Trey Murphy III (@Trey_M25) April 13, 2020
Murphy, who has grown 4 inches since his senior year of high school and has a 7-foot wingspan, will sit out the 2020-21 season and then have two years of eligibility remaining. He is apparently looking forward to taking the year off to develop both his game and his body. UVa has one of the nation's best strength coaches in Mike Curtis, so Murphy will be in good hands.
His freshman season at Rice, Murphy came off of the bench and scored 8.4 points per game while averaging 2.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.5 blocks. He shot 44.2 percent overall from the field, 42.1 percent on 3s, and 72.5 percent from the free throw line. His sophomore season, he started 23 of 29 games and averaged a team-leading 13.7 points per game along with 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.6 blocks. He shot 43.4 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.4 percent at the stripe. Even though his overall field goal percentage went down slightly, and his 3-point shooting decreased a few percentage points, he actually shot better on 2-pointers last season (57.1) than in 2018-19 (52.6), according to Sports Reference. His minutes went from about 20 per game in 2018-19 to about 30 per game in 2019-20, so he was relied on much more heavily, which can partially explain his drop in 3-point percentage. He shot 7 3s per game last year compared with 4.8 per game two years ago.
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| Trey Murphy III gives Tony Bennett another versatile wing to play with on the roster. |
You've maybe noticed all the different ways I've described Murphy already -- "wing," "guard" (his official roster designation on Rice's athletics website), and "small forward." Depending on where you read about Murphy, you'll see him called different things. I've also seen "stretch four." As I've mentioned in this space before, the game of basketball is almost positionless now. It's all about what skills a player brings to the table and what roles that player can fill. A great coach like Tony Bennett will do his best to bring out the best in a player and highlight his strengths to help the player and the team.
Probably the most recent UVa player style comparison for Murphy is De'Andre Hunter or Braxton Key. Hunter was comfortable as a guard and could shoot 3s, but also was physical and could get points that way if need be. Key was more comfortable grabbing rebounds and playing a physical-style of game while being a glue guy, but he could also occasionally step out and hit a 3 and handle the ball a bit. Murphy could end up being some sort of amalgamation of those two players. Or perhaps his game could more closely resemble someone like Sam Hauser, the Marquette transfer forward who will be eligible this coming season for the 'Hoos. We will just have to wait and see how Murphy develops his game, and how his body changes. As you can see, he took a serious jump in his rebounding numbers, and he will be looking to put more muscle on his growing frame. For now, just know UVa landed a solid-looking rangy guard/small forward who can shoot 3s, score in other ways, and can handle the ball a bit. He's also in that versatile area where he will be able to guard multiple positions, something Bennett covets. You know Bennett wouldn't take Murphy if he didn't think he could play defense well or put in the right amount of effort on that side of the court.
To read more about Murphy, check out the write-up at HoosPlace.com.
And check out some highlights below:
Rice transfer Trey Murphy has trimmed his list to four, including Virginia, along with Villanova, Pitt, and Houston. Murphy is a 39.5% career 3pt shooter, and at 6'8" can play and guard positions 2-4. Here's his 2019-2020 season highlight video that I put together: pic.twitter.com/xDa0ZHlnu5— Zach Carey (@zachcarey11) April 7, 2020
Virginia was after another Trey this transfer season as well, Trey Wertz, a 6-foot-4 guard from Santa Clara. Wertz put UVa in his final seven, but ultimately he chose ACC rival Notre Dame on Saturday.
Stay tuned. There could be more basketball news in the coming days and weeks. Once the dust settles, I'll take an early look at the 2020-21 UVa season.
Also, don't let your quarantine go by without checking out this hilarious and on-point recreation of "The Play" against Purdue (Kihei to Mamadi for the tie), as performed by Virginia's Grant Kersey and Tomas Woldetensae:
— Grant Kersey (@WhiteMamba_GK20) April 13, 2020
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