Kentucky coach John Calipari met with Canadian point guard Jamal Murray and his family on Saturday in Ontario following the Wizards-Raptors game, and the message the Hall of Fame coach sent was that he’s ready to take the 6-foot-5 lead guard “anytime.”
“Just like any other school’s message, they would take him anytime [in 2015 or 2016],” Roger Murray, the player’s father, told SNY.tv by phone Sunday evening.
A scholarship offer is understood.
This was the first time Roger Murray had met Calipari, although he has met the staff before. Calipari was with assistant Kenny Payne.
“We’ve been in contact before [with Kentucky],” Roger said. “It’s not like this is the first time Kentucky talked to us or anything like that.”
Kentucky lost seven players to the NBA Draft, including four bigs and three guards, and could use Murray next season in the backcourt alongside Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Charles Matthews. Or they would be ready to take him in 2016 if he chose that route.
Jamal Murray and his family are still debating whether he will reclassify to 2015 from 2016, but they could make that decision in the coming weeks.
“To tell you the truth, I think we’ll probably just wait until the end so that we can cover all the ground,” Roger said. “If we cover all grounds two weeks from now then we’re good. If we take a month or so, then we’re good. We’re going to cover all grounds right now.”
Meantime, a slew of other schools are also in contact with the Murrays, including Syracuse, SMU, Oregon, Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana. Roger said “Syracuse just called again.”
“Talks are ongoing with everybody basically,” Roger said.
Roger also pointed out that Jamal is now officially on Twitter at @BeMore27 and that the previous account, as we already reported, was fake.
Murray is currently projected as the No. 18 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.
It’s possible that he could spend a year in college before heading to the draft. Alternatively, he could remain in Canada at Orangeville Prep next season and head straight to the draft from Canada in 2016.
“[NBA] people are not sure whether he is a 1 or a 2 right now,” one NBA scout told SNY.tv. “He can be a really good college player and could become a solid 1st-rounder, especially if he becomes a pass-first point guard and not a 2.”
The 6-foot-5 Murray has excelled in recent weeks, drawing increased interest from Kentucky and Duke after he scored 30 points to lead the World Team to the Nike Hoop Summit title over the U.S. last week and then dropped 29 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds in a loss in the BioSteel All-Canadian All-Star Game in Toronto on April 14.
