Alex Murphy to Florida

[_Gary]

If McCaffrey is the gold standard of a transfer who flourished elsewhere after leaving (even though he got plenty of playing time here), then he's kind of the exception that proves the rule. Who's second? Chappell?

Gotta be Chappell. And I agree, it is the exception that proves the rule. Most guys that transfer out don't go on to "superstar" status in the college (or pro) game. Just doesn't happen.

[Edouble]

Agree with this. Players who are in a position to be major contributors on the court at Duke are very unlikely to transfer away from Duke. The only cases I can remember are EWil (who had family reasons play at least some role) and Billy McCaffrey. All the rest seem like great guys and solid players, but would not have been able to accomplish what they wanted to at Duke (Murphy, Olek, King, Gbinije). I can't really say that any of those guys transferring worked out to be the wrong move for the player or a significant blow to Duke. We have also had 2 terrific inbound transfers recently.

Mike Chappell comes to mind. Rumblings said that he didn't want to compete hard for PT, even though he was still starting some games as late as February of '98.

[CDu]

If McCaffrey is the gold standard of a transfer who flourished elsewhere after leaving (even though he got plenty of playing time here), then he's kind of the exception that proves the rule. Who's second? Chappell?

Easily Elliot Williams. Considering that he got drafted, one could even make an argument for him over McCaffrey.

[gurufrisbee]

Sorry to see you go Murph. Best wishes elsewhere (unless you are playing Duke).

Not really crushed - I'd like to see Matt and Semi get more minutes though if there are any.

[freshmanjs]

Elliot Williams?

ewil and mccaffrey have to be the top 2. i don't think either of them left because of lack of playing time, though.

[Gthoma2a]

I am really saddened by this. I like Alex. He seems like a very good kid and he looked to have a lot of promise. I hope he finds success and the comfort that he never seemed to have on the floor here. He wasn't a bad shooter, if I remember correctly, in high school, but he couldn't find his stroke here. Makes me think that part of it was anxiety. I really do wish him the best, though. It may not have worked out, but I will still consider him a blue devil in another uniform.

[Newton_14]

Gotta be Chappell. And I agree, it is the exception that proves the rule. Most guys that transfer out don't go on to "superstar" status in the college (or pro) game. Just doesn't happen.

No way. EWill is a much better player than Chappell ever was. Now, neither Billy M nor EWill left because of being buried on the bench, but that kind of proves the overall point anyway.

So if the question is "Who among those that left due to lack of PT became the best player elsewhere" then neither Billy nor EWill can be in the discussion.


As for Murph... the news saddened me. One of my favorite players, and I always hoped he would put it together and become a starter or regular off the bench. It just did not play out that way, but I do think he can have success elsewhere. Very athletic, can take it to the rack, good hops. His two biggest weaknesses that really factored into his PT was lack of an outside shot, and lack of confidence. I wish him nothing but great success wherever he decides to go. Really great kid. Even on the bench Tuesday against Michigan, he was encouraging teammates, giving instructions to Matt and Amile right after timeouts, etc. High character kid.

[_Gary]

Easily Elliot Williams. Considering that he got drafted, one could even make an argument for him over McCaffrey.

For some reason I always think of Elliot differently than all the other transfers, so I didn't even consider him when answering the question. But technically, you're correct. He has to be right up there at the top.

[throatybeard]

Fine, throw them both in. So three guys in thirty-four seasons. Woe is us.

Note also that we won the national championship during Chappell's RS-senior season, and we lost the national championship by a fingernail during McCaffrey's RS-senior season. I think we may have also won the 2010 national championship sometime shortly after EWill decamped.

[Goduke2010]

Murphy was ranked as the #11 prospect in the Class of 2012 (according to Rivals) before he re-classified to the Class of 2011 (and thus got ranked lower in his new class). So, would you think the same thing if instead of being a RS Sophomore ranked #36 in HS he was a "standard" sophomore ranked #11 coming out of high school? Certainly, the rank gives a general sense of a recruit's ability to contribute, but there are certainly other factors. TT was ranked around 100...Not saying I disagree with your general premise though.

My ranks are consensus rankings from 24-7.

It's a good question about Alex, I recall that (seemingly) huge drop in his ranking when he reclassified and wondered what justified that. There are probably several explanations, but I suspect that if he had stayed in his original class, he would have dropped in ranking his senior year. To answer your question, if he had stayed @ #11, yes, I would still think that, on average, there's a good (and provable) relationship between high school ranking, college performance, and NBA potential.

[Duvall]

Ummm, right. If you don't think those two variables are highly correlated...

Are they, for players in the 10-15 range? Remember, this is freshman year only.

[Troublemaker]

It's that the recruit, here Alex Murphy, probably misjudged his ability to earn playing time on a team that wasn't going to go deeper than 7 or 8 guys.

I don't disagree, but I think the mentions of Coach K's typical rotation habits actually understates Alex's minutes dilemma. If Coach K went 9-10 deep this season, would Alex have been one of those 10 guys? I think the odds are against it. I think the way things are developing, Semi and Alex are the 11th and 12th men. So unless Coach plays an 11 or 12-man rotation (and one isn't going to find many examples of those around), Alex just wasn't going to play this season. Next season, Coach K would probably have to go with a 9 or 10-man rotation to give Alex playing time. From the Murphys' perspective, even if Coach K went deep into his bench (superdeep in the case of the 11-man rotation), would they have been okay with 5 mpg as the eleventh man this season and 10mpg as the ninth man next season? I really doubt it. I think they want to see him start games by at the latest next season. That just wasn't going to happen here because Duke is loaded this season and next.

The question may arise: did Alex make a mistake returning for this season at all then? Well, with the benefit of hindsight, one could make that argument, sure. But, going into this season, at 6'9" 230 lbs, he had no reason to believe he couldn't get the minutes that Josh and Amile are currently receiving. Maybe Alex wasn't the favorite going in to beat those guys out for a rotation spot, but why not give it his best shot and see what transpires? Especially since, by all accounts, Alex loves being a Duke basketball player. He gave it an honest shot this season and I really respect that. I respect both ends of the Murphys' decision-making . First, for Alex to try his best and go for it this season, and second, now that he was beaten out, to analyze his situation going forward and arrive at the decision to seek his minutes elsewhere. Just sensible stuff all-around, imo. Again, I wish him the best of luck.

[tommy]

No way. EWill is a much better player than Chappell ever was. Now, neither Billy M nor EWill left because of being buried on the bench, but that kind of proves the overall point anyway.

So if the question is "Who among those that left due to lack of PT became the best player elsewhere" then neither Billy nor EWill can be in the discussion.

If that's the question, the candidates for the answer would probably have to include Jamal Boykin, who developed into a nice player at Cal, averaging almost 12 points and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes per game as a senior for the Bears, before they were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by . . . Duke. En route to a national championship.

[FerryFor50]

If that's the question, the candidates for the answer would probably have to include Jamal Boykin, who developed into a nice player at Cal, averaging almost 12 points and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes per game as a senior for the Bears, before they were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by . . . Duke. En route to a national championship.

I think Olek was on par with Boykin.

[tommy]

I think Olek was on par with Boykin.

Yes, but Boykin was playing for a high major program and Olek for a mid-major. Different level of competition on a night-by-night basis.

[johnb]

Assuming he and Collins got along, I like the idea that he considers Northwestern...

[Des Esseintes]

Yes, but Boykin was playing for a high major program and Olek for a mid-major. Different level of competition on a night-by-night basis.

Agreed. Plus, that year's Cal team played at glacial pace. 12 & 7 may not look more than solid, but they were good enough to earn him 2nd Team All-Conference honors. Had Cal played a more typical number of possessions per game, his numbers would have graded out around 15 & 9. Of all our transfers out, I think Boykin developed his game the most after leaving Duke. Admirable.

[Skitzle]

Carrik Felix was on an NBA Roster, he never played a game here, but does he count?

Word is still out on Gbjneinijjni

[Des Esseintes]

Carrik Felix was on an NBA Roster, he never played a game here, but does he count?

Word is still out on Gbjneinijjni

I think he's more in the Tyler Adams/Kris Humphries/Shawn Livingston camp of guys who were in the bag as recruits but for one reason or another never made it to a day of actual practice. Not the same as a transfer. Unlike the transfers, where the reasons for transferring usually boil down to court time, the stories with these guys are all over the map. Adams was playing time, Felix was grades, Humphries was diva-ness, and Livingston was being good enough not to have to screw around with college.

[Mike Corey]

(1) Billy McCaffrey - Two-time All American at Vanderbilt, averaging 20.6 and 20.9 ppg. (His family has not soured on Duke. Billy's brother's son is a star receiver for our Blue Devils.)
(2) Elliot Williams - Averaged 11 ppg with Memphis in one season, and was a 1st round NBA draft pick. He has not made a splash professionally.


The rest:
Mike Chappell - Never averaged more than 6 ppg with the Spartans, playing 14.4 and 13.6 mpg, respectively.
Andre Sweet - Averaged about 9 ppg over three seasons with Seton Hall.
Eric Boateng - Averaged about 8 ppg in his senior year with Arizona State.
Jamal Boykin - Averaged about 10 ppg in his senior year with Cal.
Olek Czyz - Averaged 12 ppg in his year with Nevada.