OVC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

11. Grayson Murphy

A 6’2 point guard from Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, Murphy arrived at Belmont back in 2017 and was with the Bruins for their final five seasons in the OVC. He only played four games and redshirted with freshman year, but did a ton of damage as the full-time starter for four seasons with the Bruins, contributing to a plethora of victories.

In his redshirt freshman year, Murphy averaged 9.6 points and 6.5 assists, certainly impressive numbers for what was effectively his first season of college ball. He had a 16-assist game against UT Martin and helped lead the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament and a First Four win over Temple. He’d average similar numbers the next few seasons and picked up his first triple-double as a junior against Morehead State. Murphy had impressive steals numbers and added two more triple-doubles to his total as a senior.

Belmont went 104-25 in those four seasons with Murphy in the rotation. He was named First Team All-OVC for each of his final three seasons and claimed the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. He was a great rebounder who led the OVC three times in steals, and twice in both assists and 2-point field goal percentage. Murphy was a total backcourt weapon for the Bruins during an undeniably successful half-decade of play.