Tag: Troy Murphy

Most recent Notre Dame players to be NBA draft selections

All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.

Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.

The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:

Notre Dame’s Markus Burton named ACC Rookie of the Year

Congrats, Markus!

Notre Dame has a brighter future than it did a year ago, and a lot of that has to do with [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag]. The freshman “from next door in Mishawaka” as he’s introduced before home games now has some serious hardware. Burton has been named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

This is the first time a first-year Notre Dame player has earned this honor in the ACC. The Irish had two Big East Rookies of the Year in [autotag]Chris Thomas[/autotag] (2002) and [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag] (1999), the latter of whom just had his program rookie freshman scoring record broken by Burton (535).

Burton also tied with Duke’s Jared McCain for the most votes on the ACC All-Rookie Team. This is the third straight year a Notre Dame freshman has been so honored after JJ Starling in 2023 and [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] in 2022.

Burton, who is averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game, also made the All-ACC Third Team. This marks the Irish’s return to the all-conference team after being shut out from it a year ago.

Here are some images from Burton’s impressive freshman campaign:

Notre Dame falls short in regular-season finale vs. Virginia Tech

The Irish made it interesting until the end.

After being crushed by North Carolina in its last game, Notre Dame hoped for a better showing at Virginia Tech to close the regular season. That was the case, and the possibility existed that the Irish might steal a second game from the Hokies this season. That wasn’t the case with the Irish losing, 82-76.

While the Irish (12-19, 7-13) never led in the second half, they kept the Hokies (18-13, 10-10) on their toes until the final minute, never trailing by more than seven after halftime. It wasn’t until a layup, steal and then another layup by Sean Padulla in the final minute to put the Hokies up six that this game essentially was decided.

Although [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] brought the Irish within three with a layup and free throw after that, little time remained, and the Hokies only had to make their free throws to with the Irish forced to foul, which they did.

A few things could have made this game turn out differently. The Hokies held a considerable 15-5 advantage in offensive rebounds and used that to outscore the Irish in second-chance opportunities, 17-8. They also blocked six shots while the Irish got only one of those from [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag]. It was a hard lesson to be learned for sure.

Pedulla led all scorers with 28 points. MJ Collins had the best all-around game with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Off the bench, Tyler Nickel scored 15 points.

Burton scored 24 points, giving him 535 for the year and breaking [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag]’s Notre Dame freshman scoring record of 519. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored 13 points, which included making all five of his free throws, and grabbed six rebounds. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] scored 11 off the bench, and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 10.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 30

Today’s installment focuses on the 14 players who wore No. 30 over the years as of August 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 14 players who wore No. 30 over the years as of August 2023.

Top 10 Notre Dame men’s basketball players according to ChatGPT

Let’s see what AI knows about Irish men’s hoops.

For the past few months, I’ve heard quite a bit about the AI information bot known as ChatGPT. It was the subject of an episode during this past season of “South Park”. More importantly, I’ve heard how it’s such a game-changer that writing jobs are done for. We’ll see about that as I’m not too worried about it, but then again, I’m sure newspaper employees said the same thing about the internet in the mid-1990s.

When our editor Nick Shepkowski decided to ask ChatGPT what it thought Notre Dame’s 10 best football players were, I decided to follow suit and ask the same question but for the 10 best men’s basketball players instead. Keep in mind that even the bot knows this list is subjective:

“Please note that there are many other outstanding players who have played for Notre Dame and could also be included on this list.”

So keep that in mind as you go over the following list, which also includes ChatGPT’s description of each player:

On this day: IT goes for 53, Coach Russell hangs first banner; beat 76ers in ’81 ECF

On this day in 2017, Isaiah Thomas hung 53 points on the Wizards on his late sister’s birthday, and in 1968 Bill Russell won his first championship as a coach.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Boston big man luminary Bill Russell won his first NBA championship in 1968 serving as player-coach of his Celtics squad when Boston dispatched their longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers 124-109 on the road in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Celtics forward John Havlicek led all players with 40 points and 10 rebounds, forward Bailey Howard added 30 points and 11 boards and point guard Larry Siegfried chipped in another 22 points and 6 assists in the win. It was the Celtics’ 10th banner hung as a franchise, the first won in Russell’s rookie season and his penultimate overall.

It was also the first championship won without legendary general manager Red Auerbach serving in the role of head coach. It was the first time NBA play had taken place in the month of May, and first of the four major U.S. sports to see a Black head coach win a championship in the modern era.

Mike Brey speaks after Notre Dame survives late scare vs. Howard

That was too close.

Mike Brey probably needed some antacids as soon as Notre Dame finished holding off a late charge by Howard in a 71-68 win. An 11-point lead with less than three minutes to go was cut down to one as the Bison (6-8) imposed a full-court press that the Irish (11-6) simply could not shake off. It took a late layup by Prentiss Hubb and a missed Bison 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Irish to escape enemy territory with a victory.

Nate Laszewski was the big player for the Irish as he scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his third double-double this season. Dane Goodwin also scored 17, and Blake Wesley added 13 to break Troy Murphy’s program record for most double-digit scoring games by a true freshman (14). Of course, all anyone wanted to talk about after this game was how close it was. Here are some of Brey’s comments from his postgame news conference:

Antoni Wyche returns to Notre Dame as assistant coach

A familiar face is coming back to South Bend.

Notre Dame continues to shake up its coaching staff ahead of what many expect to be a big season. The Irish have hired Siena assistant coach Antoni Wyche to be in the same role under Mike Brey. This is the second time Brey’s staff has been shaken up after adding Anthony Solomon earlier in the offseason. As Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune points out, this move affects longtime Irish assistant Rod Balanis:

Longtime Irish fans will remember Wyche as a four-year player for the program at the end of the 1990s. During his career, he averaged 7.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game on 40.4 percent shooting from the field. After serving as a regular bench player during his first two years, he started all but one game for his final two years. He saved his best for last as his 11.2 scoring average his senior season was behind only Troy Murphy and David Graves on the team.

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On this day: IT goes for 53, Coach Russell hangs first banner; beat 76ers in ’81 ECF

On this day in 2017, Isaiah Thomas hung 53 points on the Wizards on his late sister’s birthday, and in 1968 Bill Russell won his first championship as a coach.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Boston big man luminary Bill Russell won his first NBA championship in 1968 serving as player-coach of his Celtics squad when Boston dispatched their longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers 124 – 109 on the road in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Celtics forward John Havlicek led all players with 40 points and 10 rebounds, forward Bailey Howard would add 30 points and 11 boards, and point guard Larry Siegfried chipped in another 22 points and 6 assists in the win. It would be the Celtics’ tenth banner hung as a franchise, the first won in Russell’s rookie season and his penultimate overall.

It was also the first championship won without legendary general manager Red Auerbach serving in the role of head coach. It was the first time NBA play had taken place in the month of May, and first of the four major U.S. sports to see a Black head coach win a championship in the modern era.

Player-coach Bill Russell talks to newsmen after leading the Boston Celtics to an NBA title at Los Angeles, May 2, 1968. The Celts downed the Lakers 124-109 to take the title series 4 games to 2. (AP Photo/Harold Filan)

Draft Rewind: Warriors select Troy Murphy out of Notre Dame in 2001 first round

Before the Warriors are on the clock in 2020, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s draft history to highlight memorable picks.

Before the Golden State Warriors are on the clock with the No. 2 overall selection next month, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s draft history to highlight some of the most memorable picks — trades, surprises, busts, sleepers and everything in between.

In the 2001 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors were busy with three picks, including two in the top 14 selections. After bringing Michigan State’s Jason Richardson to their wing unit at No. 5, the Warriors were eyeing a prospect that could fit the frontcourt with the No. 14 overall pick in the draft.

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June 27, 2001

With the first overall pick, the Washington Wizards started the 2001 draft by selecting Kwame Brown out of Georgia’s Glynn Academy. Just four picks later, the Warriors drafted the high-flying Richardson with the No. 5 selection.

Brian Winters and Garry St. Jean’s night wasn’t over after the top five. The Golden State Warriors were back on the clock near the end of the lottery. With the No. 14 pick in the 2001 draft, the Warriors landed Troy Murphy out of Notre Dame.

During his three seasons in South Bend, Murphy never averaged below 19.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in his college career. Murphy tallied 21.8 points on 47.1% from the field in his junior season with 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per contest.

Despite his solid numbers, Murphy performed slightly better as a sophomore. In the 1999-2000 season, the 6-foot-11 big man recorded 22.7 points on 49.2 % shooting from the field with 10.3 boards and 1.0 blocks per contest.

In his final two seasons at Notre Dame, Murphy earned a bevy of accolades, including Consensus First Team All-American and Big East Player of the Year. Murphy earned the honors in back-to-back seasons as a sophomore and junior. In 2016, Murphy was inducted into Notre Dame’s Ring of Honor.

As a rookie, Murphy started slowly with Golden State, averaging 5.9 points on 42.7% shooting from the field with 3.9 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game. Despite his underwhelming rookie season, Murphy broke out in his second year in the Bay Area.

Murphy finished second in the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, registering 11.7 points on 45.1% shooting from the field with 10.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Murphy went on to average a double-double in three out of his six seasons in Golden State.

In 2007, the Warriors included Murphy in an eight-player trade with the Indiana Pacers that landed the Warriors Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington.

After his time in Indiana, the Notre Dame product went on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks in his 13-year career in the association.

Other notable members of the 2001 NBA draft class included Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph, Brendan Haywood, Gerald Wallace, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas and Brian Scalabrine.

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