Tag: Trey Murphy

2021 NBA Draft Big Board 1.0: Who are the top players to know?

While the college basketball season has been strange, we have a more clear idea of which top prospects are expected in the 2021 NBA draft.

While the college basketball season has been strange, we have a more clear idea of which top prospects are expected in the 2021 NBA draft.

Unfortunately, putting together a big board at this point in the year is an incomplete task. The inaugural NBA G League Ignite team, a new developmental team that plays exhibitions and is meant to serve as an alternative to college for some players, has not yet begun their season.

That makes it impossible to track development for top prospects like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green as well as potential risers like Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix.

While there are some honorable mentions included for some fringe prospects, several names (e.g. Duke’s DJ Steward, UNC’s Caleb Love, Texas Tech’s Terrence Shannon, Miami’s Earl Timberlake) were omitted on account of projected returns to the NCAA. As of right now, however, it is still a great challenge to predict who will be in this class.

The key to this draft is fluidity and being willing to accept that things will change quickly. Players will have slumps and some may be slow to adapt to the new normal. Rankings now are hardly reflective of where they will be as we get closer to March Madness.

Note that any conversations with NBA scouts mentioned in the article were held under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on behalf of their teams.

All relevant statistics are from BartTorvik.com, KenPom.com, Sports-Reference, RealGM and Synergy Sports Tech. Data is accurate as of January 22, 2021.

Texas interested in two more transfer guards

Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin and Trey Murphy have recently announced they will be transferring.

After making the final six of Illinois sophomore guard Alan Griffin, Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin out of Rhode Island and Trey Murphy from Rice have recently announced they will be transferring and Shaka Smart has reached out.

Starting with Martin, he will also be entering his junior season after two seasons with the Rams. A decent scorer averaging 12.8 points per game, Martin brings length to the perimeter, standing at 6 feet 6 inches. His seven rebounds a game ranked 12th in the Atlantic-10 last season.

Martin does struggle behind the three-point line though, a huge part of Shaka’s offensive strategy. Shooting 32% from deep last season, Martin’s freshman year was worse, shooting 31%.

Murphy may be a more desirable option for the Longhorns going forward, especially because he is a better shooter. While he dropped off 6% from his freshman year to his sophomore season, Murphy still connected on 36% of his three-pointers, fourth-best in Conference USA.

Scoring just over 13 a game, Murphy is even bigger than Martin, coming in at 6 feet 8 inches. His rebounding isn’t as efficient, grabbing 5.5 per game, but Martin’s scoring is what makes him the more attractive transfer option.

Between Griffin and now Martin and Murphy, Texas has a solid chance of adding a transfer guard this offseason to bolster the roster. The core three of Coleman, Ramey, and Jones is nice, but Shaka Smarts needs more behind them.

Those three and one of the transfers could even play on the court at the same time if the Longhorns wanted to go small ball. Either way, a transfer this offseason opens up opportunities for how Texas’ offense will look next season.

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