By JACOB POLACHECK
Preston Murphy Jr., the 6-foot, 173-pound point guard from St. Andrews (RI), picked up an offer from Bryant on Monday.
“They’ve just been watching me for a while,” Murphy said. “Obviously, it’s a local school and they talked about how interested they’ve been from seeing me play. They just want to watch me get better and stuff like that.”
Murphy is the son of former Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy Sr.
In addition to Bryant, Murphy also heard from schools such as Georgetown, Michigan, Boston College, Providence, UConn, UMass and Rhode Island.
Georgetown: “Obviously, it’s a great program. They play in a great conference. I know a lot about their past. One of my favorite players is Allen Iverson. They had a really good guard last year in [James] Akinjo. They’ve got a lot of guards my size that have been able to benefit well from that program.”
Michigan: “I’ve always been a big Michigan fan, so I’ve always followed their players, Trey Burke, the Fab 5, Jamal Crawford. My family is from there, so I’ve always known a lot about Michigan.”
Boston College: “I have a deep family history there. My dad used to coach there. I know a lot of good guards they used to have throughout the years: Tyrese Rice, Reggie Jackson and Olivier Hanlan. I’ve always been pretty deeply rooted with Boston College.”
Providence: “Again, another local team. Same thing, they’ve had a lot of great guards come through here: Kris Dunn, God Shammgod and right now they have David Duke. They’re all programs that have had prominent success with their guards.”
UConn: “I know coach [Dan] Hurley because my dad used to coach with him. I’ve known him from a while back. Same thing with their guard play, having a lot of good guards over there with Kemba Walker. Right now with [James] Bouknight and then Shabazz Napier. A lot of my favorite guards have gone to these favorite schools so that’s the main stuff I know.”
UMass: “I know coach [Tyson] Wheeler used to play with my dad. Just another local east coast school that I’ve always known about.”
Rhode Island: “State school where I’m from. It’s a great program. I grew up around it. It’s another great school of guard play.”
He has also received interest from Holy Cross and UIC.
Murphy says he’s factoring in style of play, guard play and relationships with coaches when making his decision.
He is also looking to take visits in the fall.
“I’ll probably take some once this coronavirus settles down,” Murphy said. “They’re all trying to get me to come up on campus once everything starts to open up.”
Murphy was set to play with Expressions Elite on the Nike EYBL this summer before the circuit was canceled for the remainder of 2020.
“I’ve just been using this time off to work as much as I can, finding gyms here that may open up, playing a lot outside on the outdoor courts and hoops,” he said. “Then, working on my body a lot, lifting, band workouts, working out in the sand.”
“Just really trying to work on my body, advance my skills and use this as a time to propel myself forward. If I can find a light in all this that’s going on, I’m going to continue to get better.”
According to 247Sports.com, Murphy is ranked as the No. 25 point guard and No. 99 overall player in the Class of 2022.
Photo: MEC Focus
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