By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Former Tennessee Tech men's basketball standout Kevin Murphy recently signed a free agent deal with the Orlando Magic of the NBA's Eastern Conference.
The Golden Eagle's second all-time leading scorer will report to training camp for the Magic Tuesday, Sept. 27 in hopes of nailing down a roster spot for the 2016-17 season. Murphy played for the organization's summer league team this past July, averaging 11.2 points 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 26.6 minutes per game in five appearances.
Originally drafted in 2012 by the Utah Jazz, Murphy spent a full season between the team and it's D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. He has since made stops in France, China, and Japan, as well as a highly impressive showing in the NBA D-League for the Idaho Stampede in 2013-14. He earned All D-League First Team honors after averaging 25.5 points per game and setting the Stampede's all-time single-game scoring record with a 51-point outburst that February.
A finalist for the 2012 Tennessee Tech Outstanding Male Athlete award, Murphy shattered numerous school, conference and national records over the duration of his four-year career. He became just the second Golden Eagle to join the 2,000-point club with 2,019 career points in 128 games overall (14th in OVC history) en route to becoming just the 16th player in conference history to score 2,000 career points.
He broke the program's single-game scoring record as a senior, dropping a staggering 50 points against SIUE, the highest-scoring performance in the nation during the 2011-12 season.
Nationally, Murphy finished his senior campaign ranked No. 10 in scoring, while his 20.6 points per game led the OVC. A member of the OVC All-Tournament Team his final two years, and a two-time All-OVC First Teamer, Murphy was also a finalist for CollegeInsider.com's Lou Henson Player of the Year award as a senior.
The Atlanta, Ga. native averaged 15.6 points per game from 2008-12, played in 128 games (the most of any Golden Eagle in history) and started in 100. He tallied 533 rebounds and 252 assists on his career, and shot at a .437 mark from the floor. He also shot over 40 percent from behind the arc in his last two seasons as a Golden Eagle, finishing his career with 36.7% accuracy from downtown.
Photo by TTU Sports Information
