In his short time at Kentucky, John Calipari has somewhat taken the role of the General of an army. He has stocked the Cats arsenal with weapons to defeat their opponents year in and year out. So far, he seems to like the idea of adding point guards and power forwards to play in his dribble-drive motion offense. But, the key player in that offense is the small forward. Small forwards are best suited to play in that system, they are athletic, tall, quick, versatile, can shoot from the outside or take the short jumper, rebound, and play the wing. All these traits describe the small forward and so far Calipari has only recruited one true SF in Michael Gilchrist for 2011. Now, just how long do you suppose he will play at UK before he bolts towards the NBA? Exactly.
That is where 2012 SF Alex Murphy comes in. He is your new TN16YOYWBOW. The junior, who plays at St. Marks School (South Kingstown, RI) and also plays for the New England Playaz (AAU), is ranked as the top SF in his class by Rivals and ESPN, and is the second-best in the lastest rankings from Scout.com. If UK is going to continue to use their offensive system as a recruiting pitch for prospects, they will need to recruit an ideal player like Murphy who fits the bill. At 6-foot-8, he has great size and can shoot the ball, very similar to Darnell Dodson who has the size but plays on the wing as if he were a guard. He is mostly a shooter but is also a slasher, as he can also attack the basket. His size can create match-up problems on both offense and defense. He has not been offered yet by UK but has them listed.
ESPN.com had this to say about Murphy:
Strengths:
"Murphy is a very skilled with that has great size for the small forward position. He scores with athletic slashes to the rim where he can finish with either hand. Mid range pull ups and opens threes are also good weapons for Murphy. He is an excellent ball handler and passer with a matching basketball IQ. Murphy is a good decision maker and does a great job of taking what the defense gives him.Weaknesses:Murphy must add strength and should be more aggressive given his skill set because he could add to an already productive output. Murphy could be a better rebound and a more consistent shooter from behind the arc although his is pretty good at this stage of his game.Bottoms Line:Murphy brings great size, skill and feel for the game to the small forward position. He is a match up problem because of his size and even could be a face up power forward in a small line up.NotesTravel Team: New England Playaz…Younger brother of Erik Murphy (Florida Gators)…Texas, Boston College, Villanova, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Wake Forest, Georgetown and UConn are involved…"
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