Highly rated basketball recruit Alex Murphy will graduate from high school a year early and enroll at Duke in 2011 rather than 2012, his father confirmed Tuesday night.
Jay Murphy, who played four seasons in the NBA in the mid- to late 1980s, referred to a quote his son gave Fox Sports columnist Jeff Goodman, saying Alex considered this a difficult decision but one that’s best for him.
“We’re excited about the opportunity for Alex,” Jay Murphy said. “We know it’s a great program, and we know he’s going to have to work harder than he ever did before.”
Alex Murphy is a 6-foot-8, 180-pound forward at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Mass., who was rated the No. 11 player overall in the Class of 2012 by scout.com. He should have an opportunity to contribute right away because Duke is losing a player with similar size and skills, forward Kyle Singler, who was a senior in 2010-11.
Murphy will be the fifth member of Duke’s 2011 recruiting class. He joins guards Quinn Cook and Austin Rivers, forward Michael Gbinije and center Marshall Plumlee in the class.
Duke has one more scholarship left to give for 2011.
Comments
One reason he left high school early
Wed, 04/20/2011 - 08:59 — gvillegatrThe NBA is going to at least make these guys stay in college two years and this fella and his parents want to get the jump on the process.
I hope so...
Wed, 04/20/2011 - 13:23 — ProwlingWoofieI'd love to see the NBA go to the MLB model - either go pro right out of high school, or sign on for three years at the college of your choice. Know it won't ever happen, but I'd love to see it !
Word is
Wed, 04/20/2011 - 14:09 — gvillegatrThe owners are going to submit a high school jump or at least two years in college. Up to the players union to accept which they will try to fight.
Match-Ups
Tue, 04/19/2011 - 22:30 — ab3623Let's get down to the UNC-Duke nitty-gritty - match-ups in the game. Whether it's in the conference in one year or over several years, or in post-season tournaments just-once, individual match-ups can make the difference in the game's outcome. One interesting aspect of the college game is that players on teams that play two or three times in a season get to know one another. The second or third time they play, they have an idea of what to expect from the man they're guarding. Post-season, more of a surprise, when you match up with another player you have never played before (yes, game film in preparation helps, but it's not the same thing.) So . . . with UNC and Duke both bringing in five freshmen who will have an impact, how will they "match up" with their counterparts on the other team - playing against each other or playing as one group against another. Yes, the freshmen will have different roles on each team - starters, reserves - but if each position player at UNC had to "match-up" with his Duke counterpart, who would win? Guess what? I don't know, but I'd sure like to hear from the N&O experts!