After a historic sophomore season in Iowa City, former Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray made more history in the 2022 NBA draft. Murray was drafted No. 4 overall by the Sacramento Kings, becoming the highest-ever selection in Iowa’s program history and the Hawkeyes’ first first-round pick since Ricky Davis in 1998.
It makes sense why the Pistons fell in love with what they saw from Murray. The 6-foot-8, 225 pound forward just polished off a season where he led all Power Five players with a scoring average of 23.5 points per game. He also finished second in the Big Ten in rebounding, hauling in 8.7 boards per night.
With his size and length, Murray is a natural to defend the No. 1 through No. 4 positions comfortably at the next level. He also knocked down 39.8% of his 3-pointers this past season, a trait that modern NBA teams love.
In addition, Murray became just the second Division I player in history to amass more than 800 points, 60 blocks, and 60 3-pointers in a single season. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native joined Kevin Durant in that distinction.
Murray was the 2021-22 season’s Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. He was also a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, the Lute Olson Award and the Lefty Driesell Award.
Murray was honored as the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week on Feb. 14 and a six-time Big Ten Player of the Week. He is one of only three Big Ten players to earn at least six Big Ten Player of the Week honors since the weekly award was introduced prior to the 1981-82 season, joining Ohio State’s Evan Turner in 2009-10 and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan in 2016-17.
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