John Hollinger wrote:PROSPECT OF THE WEEKKeegan Murray6-8 So. PF, IowaShould Keegan Murray be getting more attention at the top of the draft? His stats jump off the page: 42.8 points per 100 possessions, 63.8 percent shooting on 2s, 36.8 percent on 3s and a 38.3 PER. Moreover, he’s not doing this in some hyphenated minor conference but in the Big 10. And unlike his teammate a year ago, Luka Garza, he’s not some masher who will be pick-and-rolled to death in the pros.
The combo forward is particularly potent in transition; He doesn’t look like he’s running all that hard, but he glides up and down the court and is particularly good at getting quick seals early in a position. More generally, he excels at the little stuff off the ball: quick cuts and duck-ins that get him tons of points just off of random offense.
Moreover, he’s not going to be a dead duck defensively. Iowa is a bad defensive team overall but when you go through clips, Murray usually isn’t the target. While he is probably better suited to play the 4 than the 3, he shows some mobility with his footwork on the perimeter and has a comfortingly high steal rater for a player his size.
Murray is also a gifted one-on-one scorer, especially in transition. Whether attacking from the block or facing up from the perimeter, he has great instincts for how to free his shooting hand and get a shot away. While not an overwhelming athlete, his size and touch let him complete plays relatively easily, and his hands catch everything in the paint.
He’s not a great shooter from the perimeter, but he also hasn’t needed this weapon yet. There’s nothing in his stroke to suggest he’ll struggle to shoot 3s as a pro. You’d also like to see him create shots for teammates once in a while. In the open floor, he has a habit of dribbling with his head down and missing open players ahead of him, but you
can’t argue with the result. In the halfcourt, he also can get tunnel vision once he puts it on the floor.
Murray makes some scouts skittish because he isn’t a crazy athlete and his skill set doesn’t translate neatly into being a role player. Additionally, he’s an older prospect. Though only a sophomore, he will be 22 when he comes to an NBA training camp next fall.
That said, Murray has a lot going for him. He’s an advanced scorer who has the size and mobility to hold up on the defensive end, plus he has a tremendous motor on the glass. The player he really reminds me of is T.J. Warren; a combo forward with amazing instincts for getting buckets. Warren was the 14th pick in a strong 2014 draft, whereas 2022 looks like a much weaker one, especially after the first four picks. It may take Muray a minute to find his place, but in a draft with few sure things, it seems Murray is one of the safer lottery bets on the board.
