NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing transfer Trey Murphy’s 4 finalists

Houston Cougars

Houston’s roster would actually be familiar to what Murphy worked with at Rice. In the last couple of seasons, the Cougars have only had one rotation player above 6’8, using small-ball lineups to succeed. So Coach Kelvin Sampson would be able to maximize the transfer’s strengths and put him into a comfortable position to succeed.

And while Houston isn’t near Murphy’s home of North Carolina, it is close by his now former college home of Rice so there isn’t extra traveling. An under the radar reason to pick Houston over the others is that the AAC will be much easier to play in compared to either the ACC or Big East. Is Murphy a starter in either of those top conferences? That’s something to consider.

Pittsburgh Panthers

The Panthers could desperately use this Murphy’s shooting, as they were ranked in the bottom-20 out of 353 teams in terms of three-point percentage. His ability to rebound would also be of use, as the team was near the bottom of that category as well. So even if the ACC is a tough place to play, Coach Capel, who is still recruiting players to get the program back to being competitive, there’s a need for players who can put the ball in the basket.

With both Trey McGowens and Ryan Murphy transferring out, along with Xavier Johnson possibly leaving after the junior season, the Rice guard would have an inside track at playing time. And his 6’8 size would come in handy not only on the boards but also to deal with some of the bigger guards that teams such as Duke and North Carolina will throw at Pittsburgh as well.