By Five Boro Sports
Michael Murray is a quick learner. Give him a drill or a task and with hard work and dedication he will have it mastered eventually.
The St. Francis Prep guard was moved up to the varsity as a sophomore last season in hopes of preparing him for the years to come. Murray quickly learned what it was going to take to be very successful at that level.
“Now I see I have to be stronger, quicker and more skilled than I was before,” he said.
Playing against older competition is nothing new to Murray. When he was growing up Murray would face kids three years his senior.
The 6-foot junior played on the summer-league teams of his brother Declan, who played basketball at Cathedral Prep. His father, Patrick, who played his high-school ball at Power Memorial, was the coach.
“I was scared most of the time,” he said, “but that’s how I learned how to handle myself.”
It was something he said helped him in his varsity transition; he saw major minutes off the bench. But there is still no substitute for playing against the size and speed of the competition in the CHSAA Class AA division. Murray has dedicated himself to getting stronger and quicker this summer. He lifts weights every day and afterwards finds a court to practice his skills. Murray plays for the Long Island Lightning AAU program to boot.
“A lot of kids you have to worry about in the summer time.” St. Francis Prep junior varsity and assistant varsity coach Jim Lynch said. “Are they playing basketball, are they doing the right thingi Him, you probably have to worry about the opposite. Is he putting the ball down at alli Is he resting and relaxing a little biti He is a throwback kind of kid.”
The biggest improvement Murray needs to make is dealing with the speed of the game. He could likely find himself as part of a three-guard core with senior Roger Harris and fellow junior George Hatzionides.
“He has to probably dribble the ball less and deal with the quickness both defensively, cover the quick guys and not to be so careless with the ball, but he is going to be alright,” Terriers coach Tim Leary said.
The young Terriers struggled last season, especially to score. They did not win a league game. Murray knows if that is going to change this year a lot is riding on him.
“We won a couple of games by working hard, and hopefully this year we get a league win by playing hard,” he said.
That has never been a problem for Murray.
“He probably plays a million summer-league games,” Lynch said. “His work ethic is probably second to none.”
