NCAA Basketball: 10 college assistants poised to become head coaches
By Joey Loose
2. Luke Murray – Louisville
Let’s completely ignore the fact that Bill Murray (Luke’s father) would instantly become a fan of whichever program hired his son. All else aside, Murray has put together an impressive young coaching career. He started as a grad assistant under Sean Miller at Arizona before getting his first full-time gig under Dan Hurley at Wagner. He would move on to Towson and then Rhode Island (under Hurley again) before Chris Mack brought him to Xavier in 2015. He’s spent the last four seasons with Mack, including this last season at Louisville, and he’s clearly made an impact.
Murray has become one of the top ranked recruiters in the nation based on this upcoming class, landing bigtime talents like Samuell Williamson, Aidan Ighieon, and David Johnson. He’s honed his on-court coaching under Hurley and Mack and has done fantastic work. Mack has labeled him “an organized, detailed and high-energy recruiter” who has also excelled with perimeter players on the court.
The last few months have seen Murray’s name mentioned in connection with several head coaching gigs, including Buffalo and Northern Kentucky. He’s back for his second year on the Louisville bench, but he’s destined to be a head coach very soon. Whether it’s finding the right fit or just wanting to get more experience with the Cardinals, this wasn’t the right time for Murray to make the jump. Next year might just be different.