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Moving On

Murphy thinks new coach Mike Brey can lead Notre Dame to the Big Dance

Troy Murphy Junior F, Notre Dame 22.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg

We couldn't wait until Midnight Madness to catch up with college basketball's premier players, so we decided to track them down during summer break. Check back here each week to find out whether your favorite hoopster has been bulking up, barbecuing or perfecting his turnaround J.

By Carl Bialik, CNNSI.com

Murphy, who led the Big East with 10.3 rebounds per game, will work on his post skills at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp in August. Manny Millan

Doherty left the program less than two weeks after the NBA draft, which Murphy had skipped because he wanted to return to South Bend for his junior season. The 1999 consensus first-team All American and Big East Player of the Year says he would have stayed in school even if had he known in advance of Doherty's decision to leave. However, Murphy also says he passed on being a likely lottery pick in part to play again for Doherty, who as a first-time head coach took the Irish to the NIT finals last season. "Last year we really didn't know what to expect," Murphy said a few days before Doherty's departure. "We weren't accustomed to winning and we won over 20 games. I think we'll do a lot better this year."

Now the Irish are again in the position of having to adjust to a new coach. So far that process has gone smoothly. "We met with Coach Brey the day he was hired," Murphy says. "At first I was somewhat confused because I really didn't know too much about him, but when we met with him as a team I was really happy. Everyone came out of the meeting very impressed."

Quotable On his demeanor during a game: "I don't get too crazy. Things happen and I'll get excited. But when it comes down to it, it's just a game." On his economics major: "I took an economics class in high school and liked it. Some of these majors, you don't see where you're going to use it so much. I think with econ, you can see where it comes into play." On playing for Notre Dame: "I love playing here. We have a good football tradition and a good basketball tradition. People just don't realize [about] the basketball. I think now, as basketball comes back, they're starting to realize it, and there's a lot of excitement for basketball in South Bend." On the Jersey shore, his favorite locale in his home state: "Going down there, you can just drive right along the beach, and then you have the boardwalk, and you can go on rides. You go to the beach and you see the girls. It's just a lot of fun."

Murphy was in South Bend during this game of coaching musical chairs, taking two classes -- economics and Irish art history -- and working on his strength and ballhandling. He played at 6' 10", 230 last season, but has already added 15 pounds to his frame, which has a body fat percentage of seven. Murphy is also running dribbling drills to cut down on his turnovers (he averaged 3.1 last season). "A lot of the time when we got pressed I would end up catching the ball facing the press and my first option was to pass," he says. "A couple of turnovers came like that. I want to be able to confidently advance the ball myself."

The notion of Troy Murphy with the ballhandling skills of a point guard is a scary one for Notre Dame's opponents, who last year were torched for 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game by the Morristown, N.J. native. Even more daunting is Murphy's warning to coaches who would consider double-teaming him next season, as many often have in the past. "If they do, we'll just kill them," says Murphy, who last year was the Irish's leading scorer in all but six games. "We have the guys to destroy teams." The Irish return four starters, plus newcomer Ryan Humphrey, a junior forward who sat out last season after transferring from Oklahoma. The former McDonald's All-American has sharpened his perimeter shooting and should help ease the burden on Murphy to score.

Murphy will spend the latter part of the summer strengthening his post skills. After working as a counselor at Michael Jordan's Flight School camp at UC Santa Barbara in the beginning of August, he'll attend the Pete Newell Big Man Camp in Honolulu, starting August 13. That preparation should help Murphy and the Irish meet the high expectations for them going into next season -- two Internet preseason rankings have them in the top 20. Hopes among members of the team are higher. Last year, Doherty told the team to keep the same five goals in mind every day

1. Get better each day
2. Win our next game
3. Win the Big East regular-season championship
4. Win the Big East conference championship
5. Be in the running for a national championship

Doherty may be gone, but Murphy still lives by those same priorities. "Those are our five goals," he says, "and as long as we're playing basketball, they won't change."

Note: Murphy was chosen for the USA Men's Select team.

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