Jamal Murray update (no reclassify, yet)

[Son_Of_Saul]

You're right, let's forget all about the entire 2012-2013 season, especially the month post-Noel ACL tear and being humiliated by Tennessee, the probation era, multiple seasons of mediocrity at the end of Tubby's tenure, two seasons of irrelevance and embarrassment where we lost to teams like Garner Webb and VMI. No, no, going to a Final Four and missing out on recruits, (In a class where we already had the #1 ranked player per multiple services.) ranks right there at the top of the list.

Perhaps on a certain level, I am right. Let me explain. First, I was clear when I established the window at "thirty days". Second, disappointment implies there was an expectation. When Noel went down, it essentially negated any expectation for the rest of the season. Did you honestly expect a tournament bid on selection Sunday of 2013? The second Vandy ran UK out of the gym in the SEC tourney, nary could a UK fan be found who was predicting what seed Kentucky would earn. A historical, once in a generation, push toward 38-0 with 9 future draft picks, however, tends to lend itself to disappointment when a title doesn't happen. When those draft picks aren't replaced and 5 straight recruiting failures occur (all within the same 30 day period I established as my time table), again, the implied disappointment compounds even more.

Also, your referencing the BG years as some sort of comparable disappointment is also curious. Those teams were lacking in talent, quality, and any other type of measurable positives. The fact that BG had two total draft picks on those teams is telling. One of those picks, Joe Crawford, was a 2nd rounder who blew away in the league like a tumble weed.

On a personal level, probation to me was the darkest time in UK history, but it took some time for it to play out and I was specific when I wrote "thirty days". It should be noted that the UK program was already under an unassuming stranglehold with Sutton at the helm, long before the scandal broke. When the scandal did break, I don't think too many UK fans were surprised, especially in retrospect (although perhaps the penalties were surprising). Now, would I measure the last month of UK hoops as worse than probation? Absolutely not. That would in fact be insanity. But if we're talking a 30 day period where reality and expectation never correlate? Then yes, I'd choose the last 30 days over any period in UK history.

I'm sure folks will continue to disagree with my point, even with me having illuminated what I mean by "disappointment." I didn't say the "worst" time or "UK's darkest period", etc. I was clear when I wrote "disappointment" based on a thirty day window. That's okay, though. I have my opinion; they have theirs. It's all good.

 

[caneintally]

Murray is better than briscoe, sorry

how many times have you seen him play ? if you have seen him more then handful of times( 5 or more) then i will take your word for it . I have seen him play once and i have seen Briscoe 9 times and Briscoe is the most impressive guard I have seen in HS in a few years. Now the one time i saw Murray he was the 3rd best player on the court ( Skal and Diallo better) but one game does not a legendary player make. He is ranked in the 26th for a reason while Briscoe is top 10 . But maybe i am wrong although if i am Murray would have to be John Wall level good to be better then Briscoe and I don't see it.

 

[loublue22]

aaaaa no , just no. Briscoe is better right now . Briscoe IS the best guard since Knight IMO though. Wall then Knight then Briscoe in that order. Murray would be behind him though maybe though Lamb was badass.

Murray is as complete an offensive player as I've seen on the high school level in a while, he has no weaknesses. Briscoe is great and I'm ecstatic to have him, but Murray is better.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

I have read where some scouts have been thinking about placing Murray as the best guard in the class over Trier.
If we land Murray I would feel damn good about another FF trip next year, I just think it's a toss up now if we can go if we could get some reliable point production from Lee and Poy. I think Ulis will continue to do his thing and look good but your gonna expect the freshmen to have up and Down games and not be consistent.
When I first saw Murray he was really good, now he is even better than when I first saw him. He didn't back down from anybody. He has a scoop layup shot that is very difficult to stop as he is driving to the basket and just scoops it into the glass all in one motion. It is an old time move that was done all the time but a forgotten art now.
When I saw him and Newman go at it Newman was king of the hill for most of the game until the 4th quarter. That is when Orangeville prep just gave Murray the ball and got out of his way just the same way Newman had been playing the whole game. If Murray had just been used as a scorer and not a facilitator then it wouldn't of surprised me if he wouldn't of had 40-50 in that game. Nobody could stop him on Newmans team not even double teams.
He takes the game seriously and is very focused on the court. He has that focus that you see in great players. For you guys who remember watching Jordan play that is one thing that made him so great was that refuse to lose and he took it serious on the court.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

how many times have you seen him play ? if you have seen him more then handful of times( 5 or more) then i will take your word for it . I have seen him play once and i have seen Briscoe 9 times and Briscoe is the most impressive guard I have seen in HS in a few years. Now the one time i saw Murray he was the 3rd best player on the court ( Skal and Diallo better) but one game does not a legendary player make. He is ranked in the 26th for a reason while Briscoe is top 10 . But maybe i am wrong although if i am Murray would have to be John Wall level good to be better then Briscoe and I don't see it.

He is ranked a little higher I do believe in a class that has an insane amount of talent.
http://sports.yahoo.com/bwi/basketball/recruiting/player-Jamal-Murray-155521

Everybody is talking now about moving him up even more.
Briscoe is a really good guard but he isn't a gunner like Murray is who actually shoots at a very good clip for being somebody who will drill shots in ur face. Briscoe is stockier and stronger but not as quick or smooth as Murray.
If I was running the team I would put my best combo on the floor. It could be Ulis, Briscoe and Murray. But I doubt Murray would not be getting major minutes as he is as good as a player as I have seen in a while skill wise. I've seen much more athletic guys but are just not that good of players.
Murray just has a tremendous skill level, shooters mentality, point mentality, has decent athletic ability etc.
The only thing with Murray I would be concerned with if he ever played point for us would be keeping in front of small quick point guards like Walker for example. He is much better on D than Andrew but not as big, Prob 1-2" shorter. But way better player

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Murray is as complete an offensive player as I've seen on the high school level in a while, he has no weaknesses. Briscoe is great and I'm ecstatic to have him, but Murray is better.

I agree with what you said. He is tremendous at the shooting guard position, able to facilitate from the 1-3 would be a big + for us.
Having 2 threats with him and Skal would be something. I compared him to Meeks a while back and stand by that. He is more skilled than Meeks is but as far as scoring ability he is right their with him.

 

[loublue22]

I agree with what you said. He is tremendous at the shooting guard position, able to facilitate from the 1-3 would be a big + for us.
Having 2 threats with him and Skal would be something. I compared him to Meeks a while back and stand by that. He is more skilled than Meeks is but as far as scoring ability he is right their with him.

Meeks is a good comparison, but better off the dribble. His overall style reminds me a lot of Barbosa, but he can be better even.

 

[RondoBaller21]

how many times have you seen him play ? if you have seen him more then handful of times( 5 or more) then i will take your word for it . I have seen him play once and i have seen Briscoe 9 times and Briscoe is the most impressive guard I have seen in HS in a few years. Now the one time i saw Murray he was the 3rd best player on the court ( Skal and Diallo better) but one game does not a legendary player make. He is ranked in the 26th for a reason while Briscoe is top 10 . But maybe i am wrong although if i am Murray would have to be John Wall level good to be better then Briscoe and I don't see it.

Jerry meyer already said Murray will be ranked inside the top ten, which is higher than briscoe

 

[Bombur]

Jerry meyer already said Murray will be ranked inside the top ten, which is higher than briscoe

Jerry Meyer also wrote a premium article called "John Wall to Baylor."

Oh, and remember who Meyer had as the #1 recruit for Rivals back in 2010?

 

[Bombur]

Well, at least UConn also has two PGs on their roster (Purvis and 5-star FR Jalen Adams).

Purvis has never been a point guard. He is an undersized shooting guard.

 

[docholiday51]

Folks,he can be Magic,Meadowlark Lemon and Pistol Pete all rolled into one but if he doesn't show up here it doesn't matter very much

 

[bucsrule8872]

He is ranked a little higher I do believe in a class that has an insane amount of talent.
http://sports.yahoo.com/bwi/basketball/recruiting/player-Jamal-Murray-155521

Everybody is talking now about moving him up even more.
Briscoe is a really good guard but he isn't a gunner like Murray is who actually shoots at a very good clip for being somebody who will drill shots in ur face. Briscoe is stockier and stronger but not as quick or smooth as Murray.
If I was running the team I would put my best combo on the floor. It could be Ulis, Briscoe and Murray. But I doubt Murray would not be getting major minutes as he is as good as a player as I have seen in a while skill wise. I've seen much more athletic guys but are just not that good of players.
Murray just has a tremendous skill level, shooters mentality, point mentality, has decent athletic ability etc.
The only thing with Murray I would be concerned with if he ever played point for us would be keeping in front of small quick point guards like Walker for example. He is much better on D than Andrew but not as big, Prob 1-2" shorter. But way better player

Murray would not guard the PG spot much for us. Ulis, when on the floor, guards the 1 spot. Briscoe can guard the 1-3 spots and is a great defender. He would be on the 1 if Ulis is on the bench. Murray would guard the 2 or 3 spot.

If we get Murray then he will be on the floor with Ulis and Briscoe most of the time and at least two of the three will be on the floor together at all times (with the game on the line at least).

 

[thebluestripes]

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Bump for Murray now ranked in the top 10 in the super loaded 2016 class. And boo to those who still doesn't believe he is a tremendous guard who just keeps getting better and better.
Really think Murray should come out now as he would more than likely be a top draft pic next year after a year in college.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Murray will not play college ball in 2016-17, IMHO.

If he plays in college, it will be this year.

Unless I am mistaken, he is eligible for the draft next season whether he plays in college or not.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Murray is a true scoring machine. Add to that he also gets a lot of assists, some steals and rebounds. The type you see in the pros that can do a lot of things and is very active. If he came here his stats would be full most nights with the type of players he would be playing with. A great big man, two great passing guards and plenty of good defenders. He would be the missing link taking us from a good team to a great team.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Murray is a true scoring machine. Add to that he also gets a lot of assists, some steals and rebounds. The type you see in the pros that can do a lot of things and is very active. If he came here his stats would be full most nights with the type of players he would be playing with. A great big man, two great passing guards and plenty of good defenders. He would be the missing link taking us from a good team to a great team.

I agree he is a piece that could set us over the edge in being a great team, he would be as big as a threat as would Skal down low. Having a tandem that you simply cannot ignore is a great thing to have. I watched him play and when he was guarded 1 on 1 nobody could contain him. Most teams were having to put 2 guys on him and he would simply find the open man and get the assist. He was excellent vision and a very good passer. I think Ulis would compliment him very well as would Briscoe, usually good passing teams do very well. ie ND this past year.

 

[KA4Prez]

Reminds me of Jamal Crawford.

 

[wcc31]

Doesn't remind me at all of Crawford. Maybe Brandon Roy but smaller.

 

[jrpross]

From the little I've seen of him, he has a scorer's mentality. We have a number of guys on the team this year who CAN score, but not really any, aside from Skal perhaps, who will be COUNTED on to be ready to score at all times. Tyler and Briscoe will be able to score, but both are natural point guards. Murray will provide some scoring but I question if he can really take over a game with his ability. Murray could provide that. Whether we actually get him or not is the question.

 

[Rondoed]

Doesn't remind me at all of Crawford. Maybe Brandon Roy but smaller.

Reminds me of a slightly souped-up version of Truman Claytor, who was Dwight Anderson's cousin who started on Kentucky's 1978 championship team.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

He actually reminds me of Jamal Murray.

 

[Owen68]

I like Murray. I want Murray. Like others I think if we get him we hang nine. However it's hard to belie we're going to get him. He'll play point in the NBA. Like others before him why wouldn't he go to a "Mississippi State" where he can play his natural position.

 

[UKCATSFREAK]

how many times have you seen him play ? if you have seen him more then handful of times( 5 or more) then i will take your word for it . I have seen him play once and i have seen Briscoe 9 times and Briscoe is the most impressive guard I have seen in HS in a few years. Now the one time i saw Murray he was the 3rd best player on the court ( Skal and Diallo better) but one game does not a legendary player make. He is ranked in the 26th for a reason while Briscoe is top 10 . But maybe i am wrong although if i am Murray would have to be John Wall level good to be better then Briscoe and I don't see it.

If you haven't seen Murray play but a couple of times then how can you say that Briscoe is better? If judging from that 1 game, Murray looked better than Briscoe. He showed a wide range of skills in his offensive game. Briscoe played well but Murray looked incredible. I've seen Briscoe play a few times and I've now seen Murray play a few and I love em both. I don't see the need to keep comparing them when we want both in blue.

 

[gracetoyou]

I like Murray. I want Murray. Like others I think if we get him we hang nine. However it's hard to belie we're going to get him. He'll play point in the NBA. Like others before him why wouldn't he go to a "Mississippi State" where he can play his natural position.

For one...
1. practicing against better players is better for anyone.

2. Playing against better competition would be better for him & UK's schedule is looking loaded!!

3. Not everyone wants to be the only quality player on their team.

4. He knows what he can do when the ball is in his hands 100% of the time but learning to play off the ball would better round his game. At UK he will play the 1, 2, & even some 3 which will greatly benefit him.

5. There's no college like UK thay helps prepare a kid for the spotlight & scrutiny of the NBA.

6. Coming to UK you know your going to be on a team that can compete for a national championship.

 

[Owen68]

I'm convinced. Jamal Murray. Come on down. Be part of Big Blue Nation.

 

[RondoBaller21]

Murray reminds me of Leandro Barbosa. Would love to have him. Looks like UK may get a visit soon!