Murray’s Monumental Move

Rosedale native’s decision to leave Christ the King for Francis Lewis reaps rewards
BY ZACHARY BRAZILLER
Vionca Murray’s best game at Christ the King paved the way for her exodus from the national basketball powerhouse. Murray remembers the performance - 21 points and 11 rebounds against then No.1 ranked Bishop McNamara of Maryland in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, AZ, back in December of 2003.
But Murray, the 6-foot-1 junior power forward from Rosedale, also recalls how she felt when the Royals returned home, and her role hadn’t significantly changed - she was still on the bench, still frustrated.
“It was the same thing when we came back to New York,” she said. “I felt I should’ve been playing more, and after that, I knew it wasn’t right [for me].”
It was at that point Murray began seriously considering changing schools. She finished the year with Christ the King without complaining, helping the Royals to another Catholic School city and state championship.
That summer Murray decided to go to Francis Lewis, the girls’ public school powerhouse. In two years, she scored over 1,000 points, leading the Patriots to a pair of PSAL Class A city championship appearances and Queens-A titles while also earning a major Division I basketball scholarship to Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Coach [Michael Eisenberg] had a lot of confidence in me [from the beginning],” said Murray, an outstanding student with a 90 average and qualifying SAT score. “He was really excited to have me. It was real exciting because the whole team welcomed me, and I fit right in.”
Murray returned the warm welcome by producing. As a junior, she averaged 17.7 points and 8.6 rebounds. This season, she upped those numbers to 22.5 and 8.9, respectively, while shooting over 50% from the field. “She’s the best offensive player in the PSAL that’s not a guard,” Eisenberg said. “The two things everybody told me about her were she was a good kid and a tremendously hard worker.”
Indeed. Although Murray’s wide array of jumpers and post moves are her strength, Murray’s work ethic is the basis for her accomplishments. After almost every practice and game while she was at Christ the King - even when she saw significant playing time - Murray would work out with her personal trainer and father, Kelvin Murray. First would be a jog on the treadmill in her home, then push-ups and sit-ups. After that, Murray would head over to nearby Roy Wilkins Park to run sprints on the track. Lastly, she would venture over to the M.S. 168 gym to work on her game.
“75% of it was me,” Kelvin Murray said. “Sometimes she would go on her own. Being young, you need that extra push. When you’re young, you might not understand the payoff until you’re older.”
“As a freshman, he had to push me to do it,” Vionca Murray said. “But afterwards, [my hard work] would show on the court.”
Murray admits a big part of the extra running and shooting had to do with her disappointments on the court. “It made me much hungrier,” she said of her time at Christ the King, “because I would see girls who weren’t better than me on the court. That would make me go home and work harder.”
All the extra work, obviously, has paid off. “It’s somewhat surprising,” Murray said of her meteoric rise, “but I never doubted myself. I knew I could do better. That was my goal - to succeed and earn a Division I scholarship.”