I feel like this look back for Liam Murphy is a bit of “Liam Murphy, we hardly knew ye.” Our last profile was on the one year transfer of Oscar Cluff, who undoubtedly had a huge impact on this past season. He was personally responsible for the win at Nebraska and he had a gigantic role in Purdue’s win over national champion Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament final.
Murphy was also a one-year hired gun like Cluff, but he unfortunately did not have as much of an impact. In fact, by the end of the season
his appearances were very sporadic. I remember being at the Ohio State game in Columbus and, desperate to provide a spark to a languid team, he got major minutes in the second half. He can also say he got to play in the NCAA Tournament, as he entered in the final five minutes of the first round blowout over Queens and even hit a three-pointer.
That final glimpse was the original role we envisioned for him. After losing Camden Heide and Myles Colvin in the transfer portal coach Painter went in search of a guy who could come off the bench and shoot threes in their stead. The role was open, and given the nature of Purdue’s offense, the shots would be there. Murphy shot 42.3% from three (104 of 246) last season at North Florida, so a 6’8” sharpshooter looked like the perfect addition.
It never worked out.
Murphy saw extensive action in the first two games of the season and scored a season best 11 in the 87-77 win over Oakland. He finished that game by going 4 of 7 from the floor and hitting three triples in just 10 minutes of action. In fact, his three just before halftime tied the game so then No. 1 Purdue didn’t head into the locker room trailing a lowly Horizon League team.
Part of the reason Murphy played 28 of the first 80 minutes of the season was due to the early hip injury for Trey Kaufman-Renn. Once TKR returned to the lineup Jack Benter slid into that backup role and Murphy fell out of the rotation. He also dislocated his shoulder in practice on November 15th and missed some time.
After scoring 14 points in the first two games of the year he would score just 14 the remainder of the season. He had three-pointers in wins over Rutgers and Minnesota, a three in the home loss to Iowa State, and a basket in the blowout win at Maryland. The three-pointer in the tournament against Queens was the only three he hit after December 10th.
So it wasn’t quite the year we all envisioned for him. All told, he saw action in just 12 games, and only four of those games came after the new year. He finished 8 of 23 from three and 10 of 27 total from the floor. He added 11 rebounds, three assists, and a steal as well.
All in all, it wasn’t horrible for him. He got a front row seats to see one of the best teams in the country and a free year of grad school. He was the 10th man in a nine man rotation and he was never able to get back into form after his early season injury. Still, he contributed. I mean, if he goes scoreless Purdue loses at home to Oakland as the No. 1 team in the country. For that, we’re thankful.
