By JACK LeGWIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Dejounte Murray is out to show that the Northwest still has high-level basketball.
The 6-foot-4 guard from Rainier Beach (Wa.) has helped lead the Vikings to a 22-0 record, including a 9-point win over Whitney Young (Ill.) and a 28-point win over Bishop Gorman (Nev.). Rainier Beach is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation by D1 Circuit, trailing only Mater Dei (Ca.).
Murray says that the team has one goal, and that is to take their undefeated season to New York City for the ESPN high school national championship in April.
“It would mean a lot to all of us,” Murray told SNY.tv. “It’s all we’ve been talking about. It started last summer when we were all working out. Our whole goal was to make it to the national tournament, and then bring home the National Championship to Rainier Beach.”
Murray plays along Louisville-bound Shaqquan Aaron and Washington-bound David Crisp at Rainier Beach. He says that the whole group has been out to prove something since Day 1.
“We proved we could win on the national circuit when we beat Bishop Gorman and Whitney Young,” Murray said. “We just wanna show the world that we can play with any team in the country.”
Murray, ranked No.46 in Scout.com’s new class of 2015 rankings, says that multiple schools have consistently been in touch.
“Oregon, Washington, Washington State, Boise State, Gonzaga, Cal, Arizona, Stanford and Louisville have all been in touch,” Murray said. “Kentucky is coming to see me play next week.”
Murray says that Kentucky has been a favorite of his since a very young age.
“Kentucky has been a dream school of mine since first grade,” Murray said. “I never knew that they had heard about me out here in Washington on the West Coast.”
Well, Kentucky has heard about Murray and he expects assistant Orlando Antigua to see him in a playoff game.
A long and lanky guard, Murray is extremely smooth and can contribute on both sides of the ball due to his length. He has the ability to shoot of the dribble with a decent amount of range, and handles the ball well in the open court.
Murray currently holds offers from Washington, Cal, Oregon, Gonzaga and Washington State. He will play on the EYBL Circuit with the NW Xpress this summer.
