Collin Murray-Boyles led a horrible South Carolina Gamecocks staff this season, and he’s performed with faculty ball.
This season, the South Carolina Gamecocks went solely 12-20, though somebody needed to lose video games in a loaded SEC. Regardless of their lackluster season, star Collin Murray-Boyles broke out and is anticipated to be a lottery choose within the 2025 NBA Draft.
Murray-Boyles performs a little bit of an old-school sport reliant on attending to the rim and dribble-drives, however nobody within the NCAA was higher at it than he was. He led the SEC with a 58.6% mark from the ground and makes use of his power to play bully ball, even in opposition to bigger opponents.
Nonetheless, there are very actual issues surrounding him, and he isn’t anticipated to be a positive factor like another gamers within the draft class. Right here’s every little thing followers must know.
- Age/Date of Start: 19 (June 10, 2005)
- Nationality: American
- Top/weight: 6-foot-7, 231lbs
- School: South Carolina Gamecocks
- Sophomore season stats: 16.8 factors, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks, 2.4 turnovers, 58.6 FG%, 26.5 3PT%
- NCAA Event stats (2024): 6.0 factors, 1.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 40 FG%
- Profession highs: 35 factors (vs. Arkansas), 16 rebounds (vs. South Carolina State), 8 assists (vs. Florida)
- NBA comparability: Paul Millsap
Murray-Boyles isn’t one of the best athlete, however he has the power to protect greater positions and the wingspan to make life powerful for faster, smaller gamers. The staff that drafts him will probably be hoping he can change into a fixture of All-Defensive groups for a number of seasons.
He has fast reactions and superb court docket imaginative and prescient, which can translate on each ends of the ground. His passing, regardless of his excessive turnover numbers, is quite fairly good, and he could possibly be a connector on the greater degree, particularly when he’s surrounded by extra succesful teammates.
He can rating and rebound inside with one of the best of them, and though he isn’t an explosive athlete, he can get to the rim and create simply sufficient house to get a shot off on the rim. Longer defenders like Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama will give him bother, however they provide everybody bother. In opposition to extra common facilities, he should not have any drawback scoring down low.
He can deal with the ball pretty properly for a participant of his dimension, particularly with a full head of steam, and has the power to attain that method or kick the ball out if a assist defender leaves his man.
Within the fashionable NBA, the true energy ahead is now not a place. Wings have changed the ahead, and Murray-Boyles doesn’t have the skin shot to be a real wing. He could possibly be a small-ball heart, however his rim safety leaves loads to be desired, particularly for an in any other case high-level defender.
He’s a little bit too quick to be a real heart, which suggests he must play subsequent to a floor-spacing huge, no less than in a really perfect world.
His free-throw share of 69.5% in faculty doesn’t bode properly for an improved shot, and for a participant who takes a lot contact, factors will probably be left on the board except he can knock down pictures at a extra constant clip from the charity stripe.
As touched on earlier, he might want to play subsequent to a floor-spacing heart. The San Antonio Spurs can be an excellent match, however they have already got Jeremy Sochan as a non-shooting ahead, and De’Aaron Fox isn’t precisely a knockdown shooter, both.
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, with Chet Holmgren, is a good match, and he might nonetheless be on the board when the Los Angeles Clippers are referred to as as much as the board, with their choose conveying to OKC.
If Alexandre Sarr can proceed to enhance his outdoors shot, the Washington Wizards wouldn’t be a foul spot for him, both, though Washington has its sights set on Cooper Flagg. With John Collins and Lauri Markkanen in Utah, the Jazz can be an excellent match, too, though Utah can be hoping to choose within the high three.
