Former Tech standout Kevin Murphy taking advantage of shot with Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are sure to go through some growing pains over the next few years with the aging Kobe Bryant arriving at the final few years of his career and former All-Star Pau Gasol signing with the Chicago Bulls in free agency.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Los Angeles Lakers are sure to go through some growing pains over the next few years with the aging Kobe Bryant arriving at the final few years of his career and former All-Star Pau Gasol signing with the Chicago Bulls in free agency. Hoping to make a lasting impression on the organization this summer is former Tennessee Tech great Kevin Murphy, who has already shown off his greatest skill in the 2014 NBA Vegas Summer League.
One of just two Golden Eagles to ever join the 2,000-point club, Murphy flashed what many Tech fans became accustomed to seeing first-hand in his time with the program in his 2014 summer league debut against the Toronto Raptors last weekend. The Atlanta, Ga. native dropped 16 points in just 24 minutes of action, his first since ending the 2013-14 NBA D-League season as a member of the All D-League First Team.
Murphy was drafted in 2012 by the Utah Jazz and spent a full season between the team and it's D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Most recently, the former two-time All-OVC selection played as a member of the Idaho Stampede, averaging a staggering 25.5 points per game in 34 games this past season. Murphy also added over five rebounds per contest while spending nearly 36 minutes on the floor each game.
He earned D-League Performer of the Week honors in February this season after averaging 36.0 points on .616 shooting, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.7 assists in three games. Included in the week was a monster 51-point outburst that at the time set the Stampede's all-time scoring record. The contest occurred nearly two years to the date of his TTU-record setting 50-point game against SIUE as a senior member of the Golden Eagles.
In three games with the Lakers this summer, he is averaging over eight points per contest in just over 16 minutes of playing time per game.
