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Everybody wants him, but it’ll be over a month before they can even see him again. The top college coaches from around the country are clamoring over high school junior Alex Murphy.
He’s a 6’8”, 215 lb. guard/forward who has basketball in his bloodlines. His father Jay Murphy was a second-round NBA draft choice in 1984 and played for the Clippers and the Bullets. His mother played overseas, and his older brother Erik plays for Billy Donovan at Florida.
After coaches watched his high school workouts at a few open gyms – St. Mark‚Äôs in Southborough, MA – they’ll now have to wait until the the prep hoops season opens November 20th. It‚Äôs a long wait just to sneak a peak at a potential recruit, but time will surely fly for college coaches as they prepare for official practice later this month.
The coaching stars were out to watch the big man go through practice including Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Bill Self, and from the Big East Jim Calhoun, Bob Huggins, and Jay Wright. Nobody from Syracuse was reported to have been in attendance, but SU is on Murphy’s unofficial list.
Murphy visited Duke over the summer and from watching him play, you get the feeling of another Blue Devil in Kyle Singler.
He’s got the height, athleticism and a pretty pure stroke to knock shots down from the outside. As a junior, Murphy has the advantage of time on his side, and says he’s prepared to wait until he finds the right fit for him:
“Up to this point there is no timetable. In my opinion I think it’s one of those things where you will know when a certain spot is the place for you.  With the way I feel right now it could happen next week or it could happen next year.”
Murphy’s father obviously knows the recruiting game well enough because his son was sought by both Syracuse and Florida, and chose the Gators. When talking about Alex’s list, he was up front about it:
“I don’t know if that will be five or eight but It won’t be 15, I can tell you that. You don’t want to waste people’s time. This way he can focus on his season and do some further investigating in these schools and coaches.”
The power brokers of college basketball are anxious for November 20th. So is The Fizz.
Posted: Mike Couzens
