CHARLOTTESVILLE — Trey Murphy III first flashed on Virginia basketball’s recruiting radar as a junior in high school. UVA assistant Jason Williford even went to North Carolina to work Murphy out.
“We went down and took a look at him. He was, at that time, 6-foot-4, 150 pounds soaking wet,” said Williford. “And I just said to (Tony Bennett), ‘There’s a kid who shoots the ball really well. You’d like him, just from his ability to shoot, but physically, he’s not big enough to do it in our league.”
It wasn’t just UVA that passed. Murphy said he only had six offers, mostly from low to mid-major programs. He committed to Rice.
“At the time, that was my best option for academics and athletics,” said Murphy, now the third leading scorer for a No. 13 Virginia team that has won five in a row. “So that’s where I went. It was tough moving out to Houston and being away from my family, a 17-hour car ride. But I felt like it helped me mature a lot.”
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An only child, Murphy said being that far from his family back in Durham, N.C. was challenging, but that didn’t slow him down on the court. His senior year of high school saw him hit a growth spurt and, as a 6-8 freshman at Rice, he averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and set a school record by hitting 42.1% of this 3-point attempts.
As a sophomore, he became a starter and the Owls’ leading scorer, averaging 13.7 points.
Despite Murphy’s production, Rice had losing records in both of his seasons in Texas. And as he reviewed his play, Murphy wasn’t satisfied with his development. So, he decided to enter his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal, immediately becoming one of the most sought-after prospects on the transfer market.
“It was for the betterment of my career,” he said. “There were times throughout the season where I wasn’t happy. After every season I try to look back at all my games and go through the film. When I was at home watching the film, I just didn’t like what I was seeing. And I had to make a decision. Because I felt like this would have been a good time. If I went back and didn’t like it again, I’d be stuck.”
This time around, Murphy had no shortage of offers, ultimately narrowing his choices to Virginia, Villanova, Houston and Pittsburgh before picking UVA. His previous relationship with Williford played a part in the decision.
Part of the reason Williford went to see Murphy in high school was that former Richmond player Derrick Wall, a cousin of Murphy’s father who Murphy considers an uncle, reached out to him. Wall and Williford are friends and played together on a touring exhibition team.
So Wall urged Williford to come take a look at his nephew, whom doctors were projecting would grow to be 6-7 or 6-8.
“Trey’s always been a gym rat. A highly intelligent kid with a great basketball IQ and a workhorse,” said Wall, who played two seasons for the Spiders from 1993-1995 after transferring from Chowan. “He was a little small at the time, but I told Jason, just come take a look at him.”
When Murphy hit the transfer portal after his two seasons at Rice, Wall reached out to Williford again. This time, Murphy had the size and experience to grab UVA’s interest.
It didn’t take long at Virginia for Murphy to impress his new team. His first week on campus, Murphy caught the attention of the coaches and other players with his ferocious dunks during 3-on-3 workouts.
“He got to the rim a couple times and he dunked the ball in a way that would make any NBA player proud,” said Virginia assistant Brad Soderberg. “He just flushed it.”
Murphy originally expected to sit out this season, but the week of the team’s opener, the NCAA granted him a waiver to play immediately after transferring. He’s played in all 11 games, starting six, and averaging 11.1 points. He’s a team-best 26-50 from 3-point range for the Cavaliers (9-2, 5-0 ACC), who host Georgia Tech on Saturday.
While his offensive skills are undeniable, improving his defense has been Murphy’s focus since arriving in Charlottesville. Bennett’s emphasis on the defensive end is a dramatic departure from what Murphy experienced at Rice.
“I don’t think I played defense for the first 18 years of my life,” said Murphy. “Coming here and playing defense, it’s been a little bit of a transition period. But it’s all about want to. It’s just about being in front of your man and wanting to stop that person from scoring.”
With his length, athleticism and scoring ability, his coaches want Murphy to pattern his game on former Virginia two-way star De’Andre Hunter.
“He’s got the length of a De’Andre Hunter. If his lateral quickness catches up with that length, you’ve got a guy who could really be a stopper,” said Soderberg. “We’re looking forward to that day coming.”