Buckskin86
Moderator
Power forward
Southborough (MA) St. Mark's
AAU: New England Playaz
Ht: 6-foot-8
Wt: 210 lbs
Class: 2009 (High School)
Erik Murphy Profile - Basketball Recruiting
A private showing
By Bob Hohler, Globe Staff | October 3, 2007
SOUTHBOROUGH - Hey, wasn't that Billy Donovan, who coached Florida to the last two NCAA basketball titles?
And Roy Williams, who guided North Carolina to the 2005 championship?
And Ben Howland, whose UCLA team went to the 2006 final and this year's semifinals before losing to Florida?
Yes, indeed, they all checked in, along with Boston College's Al Skinner, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, Marquette's Tom Crean, Michigan's John Beilein, Providence's Tim Welsh, Virginia's Dave Leitao, and top assistants from Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Villanova, among emissaries for more than three dozen of the nation's premier collegiate programs.
In a landmark event in the annals of college basketball recruiting in New England, a cavalcade of America's elite coaches - their private jets idling at regional airports - converged Sunday for a special showcase at St. Mark's School for Erik Murphy, a 16-year-old boy with size 15 sneakers and boundless potential.
Some of the million-dollar coaches also had eyes for Murphy's 16-year-old teammate, Nate Lubick, another blue chip in the high-stakes talent hunt.
Rarely have so many coaching greats flocked to a New England high school gym for such a small private showcase.
"I've never been at anything like this," said Crean, one of eight coaches who already have offered scholarships to Murphy, a 6-foot-9-inch, 220-pound junior. His father, Jay Murphy, starred at Boston College and played in the NBA in the 1980s.
Florida has offered Murphy a scholarship, as have BC, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Virginia. Others are certain to follow.
"In my view, Patrick Ewing is the most accomplished player ever to come out of New England, but at the end of the day, Erik Murphy will be in the top five," said T.J. Gassnola, who operates the New England Playaz, an Adidas-sponsored national travel team whose roster includes Murphy and Lubick.
The Murphys said they plan to narrow Erik's college options to a manageable number - 8-10 - before he begins the high school season.
College coaches flock to see basketball prospects in Southborough pickup game - The Boston Globe