Virtually any and all high major Division I programs in need of a dominant big man are showing tons of interest in one of this year’s impact transfers, former LaSalle center Aaric Murray. The 6’10 and 250 lb shot-blocking sophomore has decided to leave the Explorer program for more national exposure at a larger school.
Outside of diehard hoops heads (like myself), most of the nation probably hasn’t heard of Murray, but he has been one of the Atlantic-10’s best shot-blockers, rebounders, and interior scorers over the past 2 seasons. Just last year, the athletic PF/C averaged a cool 15.2 ppg, 7.7 rebounds, and tallied 73 blocks (2.3 per game), good for third in the conference and 2nd in school history.
If you remember, Murray was actually 2009’s #5 rated center prospect (behind Cousins, Plumlee, Gallon, and Orton), and #59 overall by ESPN. Many were surprised by the elite prospect’s decision to play at nearby LaSalle when he had offers from a number of high major programs like West Virginia, Villanova, Syracuse, along with fellow A-10 schools Temple and St. Joes’s.
After an impressive freshman campaign (12.2 ppg, 6.6 reb, 2.3 blk) and prior to his sophomore season, Murray was listed as a probable late 1st round to early 2nd round NBA prospect last year by most scouting sources but after being benched twice this past season over clashes with his head coach, many soured on Murray. Despite being arguably the most athletic big man in the A-10 and having a great statistical season, somehow Murray failed to even get a sniff on the conference’s 1st, 2nd, or 3rd All Conference Teams.
I have actually seen Murray play in person back in 2008 while at Pennsylvania basketball powerhouse Glen Mills HS in rural NW Philadelphia. Even as an uber athletic 17 year old, Murray passed the eye test as a future Division I stand-out. He plays as if he’s on a pogo stick with a wide, yet mobile body, and has a still evolving offensive game with range on his jumper to the 3 point arc. At this point Murray prefers to score in the post with his right hand on jump hooks, pump fakes, and offensive put-backs.
Standing a legit 6‘10, and with an already above average jump-shot, Murray projects well in the pick-and-roll/pop heavy NBA. He’s an outstanding offensive rebounder and can be downright dominant on the defensive end from day one. Coming out of high school, he was considered still a raw talent who was only at the beginning stages of his basketball development, opening the door for some huge potential.
The early favorites for Murray’s services are reported to be Kansas, followed closely by West Virginia, Kentucky, UConn, OK State, Florida, Marquette, and DePaul. Of course, per NCAA rules, Murray will be forced to sit out a year and resume his junior season with his new team for the ’12-’13 season. He would fit nicely in Kansas coach Bill Self’s system at either the 4 or 5 positions after incumbent starter Thomas Robinson probably exits as a 1st Round Draft pick after next season. With the talents that Murray possesses, he probably won’t stick around Tho Phog long thereafter.
His HS mixtape while at Glen Mills HS doesn’t do him justice as he has gotten in much better shape over the past 2 seasons on the Philly mainline.
Check out Aaric Murray doing dunking drills for NBA scouts last Summer:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
