Tide Hoops: Meet the New Guys: Preston Murphy Jr. gives ‘Bama court vision, perimeter shooting depth

Preston Murphy, Jr.
Point Guard, 6’1” (175)
ESPN 500, 3-Star No. 38 PG

Yes, we know why Preston Murphy, Jr. is on the Tide’s roster. For my part, at least, I don’t care. It is a fair price to pay for what his dad brings to the staff as both a recruiter and floor coach. That’s just how the game is played: Coach’s kid always has a spot waiting for him, should he wish to avail himself of it.

But, it might just surprise you to learn along the way that the Tide picked up some decent (and always-needed) depth at ballhandler, as well as a very good open three-point shooter.

Murphy was a star at Rhode Island’s Cranston Academy, despite being somewhat undersized even in high school — he was still a shade under 6’ going into his senior season. Despite his stature, he was a very productive point guard, and drew offers from several A10 squads, including the home state Rams. His senior year, PM2 averaged 22 a night on 60% floor shooting, with a crisp 2:1 asst/to ratio and a sterling 41% from beyond the arc.

It was a bit of a surprise when Murphy left the region and committed all the way across the Atlantic, to New Orleans. He played as a true freshman at UNO, making 22 appearances and four starts. But his productivity simply was not there, and he was relegated to a reservist, limited to just under nine minutes a night.

Buried on the bench, and the Privateers absolutely cratering amid a gambling scandal, Preston headed to JUCO Northern Oklahoma for the chance to earn playing time and get a reset on his career. Enid was much kinder to Murphy, as he would become the Mavericks’ star player, starting in 25 contests, and having a very healthy all-around stat line: 14.4 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per night.

From thence, the Junior landed in Tuscaloosa.

I know people are going to scream “Nepo baby,” and there’s some truth in that. But on his own merits, Murphy does actually have skill on the floor.

He’s a very good rebounder for his size, and moreover is very active doing so. He follows everyone’s misses, not just his own. He’s not the most explosive athlete with his first-step, but his second and third steps are significantly better off the dribble, giving him the ability to turn the corner on defenders and get to the rim. He’s an outstanding three-point shooter, particularly as a spot up shooter. He will have to work on getting better without the ball to make space. But if the the open look is there, he can knock them in.

But it is PM2’s floor vision that is his best asset. He occasionally pulls a Sears and gets lost in No Man’s Land among the bigs, but from both the lane and the key he sees the floor very well, and distributes the basketball to the open shooter….and usually does so safely. He is a small player (listed at 6’1”, 175), so you don’t want him dribbling down there heedlessly, but Preston can usually find the rim or find a shooter to extricate himself from danger.

Murphy is not apt to become a key rotational core of the ‘Bama bench, and almost certainly is not destined to be a household name. But he was a 3-star athlete in his own right, and several quality D1 programs offered him. Being a Top 500 recruit and the 36th best point guard in a signing class is not exactly insignificant in a sport where there are 4628 scholarship athletes: ballhandling and three-point shooting depth are a welcome addition on almost any bench in the country.

It’s worth giving him a shot to prove himself, in any case.

Welcome to Tuscaloosa, Preston

Roll Tide