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Y! MyWebWITTENBERG PREVIEW
Murray's mentality starting to pay off
Saturday, February 09, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Kevin Murray made the jump from the Wittenberg bench to the middle of the action when he began to look at the court as a driveway.
If he could play like he did back home, not worrying about every shot, not thinking that one miss could mean fewer minutes or no minutes, then he could find consistency and live up to his potential.
Kevin Murray (21) of Wittenberg takes a shot while defended by Chris Roberts (24) of Hiram earlier this season at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Murray is the Tigers' third-leading scorer, averaging 11.8 points per game. Staff photo by Barbara J. Perenic"I just said, 'If I miss a shot, I miss a shot,' " Murray said. "There's always the next possession. You've got to go play defense. You've go to carry on. That mentality has helped me a lot."
In turn, the 6-foot-2 junior wing from Carmel, Ind., has helped the Tigers. Averaging 11.8 points per game, Murray is the team's third-leading scorer and, more surprisingly, its second-leading rebounder (5.3 per game).
Murray played four minutes in each of the first two games of the season.
"It's been a lot of fun this year, but it was kind of rough at the beginning of the year," he said. "I had to prove myself to coach (Bill Brown). He told me, 'You're real close. You're right there.'
"I just decided, 'I'm going to turn it on here, and I'm going to show him how I play. I played all summer and worked my butt off. Why am I going to sit here and let this opportunity pass me by? There are a lot of spots on this team. I want one of those spots.' "
In the third game of the season, Wittenberg's home opener against Capital, Murray earned one of those spots. He had a breakout game with 22 points — he scored a total of 107 points in limited action off the bench his first two seasons — and four games later, he was put in the starting lineup for good on Dec. 8 against Hiram.
Murray has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games entering today's 3 p.m. game against Allegheny at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
He's no longer the player who would get down on himself after every missed shot.
"If I missed a shot, I would be like, 'Crap, I've got to make the next one,' " Murray said. "Every shooter has bad days. Every shooter has great days. You've just got to hope that great day is coming. You've just got to keep that short-term memory."
Wittenberg was 1-5 when Murray was put in the starting lineup. In games he has started, the Tigers are 12-1. He missed the first Allegheny game, also a Wittenberg victory on Jan. 12, with a head injury.
Murray's worst shooting performance as a starter came in Wittenberg's most recent loss. He shot 3-of-12 at Ohio Wesleyan.
It's a performance that may have depressed him in the past, but in the four games since, he's shooting 60 percent from the field (24-of-40) and 58 percent from 3-point range (14-of-24).
The Tigers (14-6 overall) won all four of those games and remain tied with Wooster at 10-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
"I think there's a lot of people who doubt that we can even still win the conference, but I'm a firm believer that we can still win out," Murray said. "I think we're paying really well. We've had a couple stumbles. We didn't play that well (against Earlham on Wednesday), but we're definitely on the track we need to be. We're controlling our own destiny."
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
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Wittenberg Tip-off Tips
Today's game
Who: Allegheny (10-10, 5-6 North Coast Athletic Conference) at Wittenberg (14-6, 10-1 NCAC)
When: 3 p.m.
Where: Pam Evans Smith Arena
Series history: Wittenberg leads 35-10.
Last meeting: Wittenberg won 72-55 on Jan. 12.
Last game: Allegheny beat Oberlin 74-55 in Meadville, Pa., on Wednesday; Wittenberg beat Earlham 70-54 in Springfield on Wednesday.
Coaches: Rob Clune, Allegheny (sixth season, 68-81); Bill Brown, Wittenberg (15th season, 341-81).
Allegheny's probable starters: George Raftis, 6-5, so., forward, 11.9 points per game; Ben Torsney, 6-5, sr., forward, 6.9; Bill Babe, 6-0, sr., guard, 7.6; Craig Devinney, 6-3, so., guard, 10.2; Larry Sharp, 5-11, sr., guard, 3.9.
Wittenberg's probable starters: Gregg Hill, 6-foot, jr., point guard, 17.2 points per game; Brandan Barabino, 6-4, sr., wing, 12.2; Brandon White, 6-0, sr., wing, 1.9; Kevin Murray, 6-2, jr., wing, 11.8; Jeromy Romero, 6-6, jr., forward, 4.9.
Allegheny notes: The Gators have won two in a row after losing six of seven. ... Seven different players have led the team in scoring in games this season. ... Raftis is the top rebounder in the NCAC (9.7 per game).
Wittenberg notes: Wittenberg is shooting 74.1 percent from the free-throw line (254-343). The school record for a season, set in 1964-65, is 75.1 percent (350-466). ... Hill is averaging 30.3 minutes per game. No Wittenberg player this decade has averaged more than 30 minutes per game in a season. In the previous 10 seasons, only one player has averaged as many as 29 minutes over a season (Dane Borchers, 29.0 in 2006-07).
