Story by Thomas Corhern, Cookeville Herald-Citizen Assistant Sports Editor
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Kevin Murphy is a man on a mission.
And to hear him and everyone around him tell it, he always has been.
As he spoke to campers at the Steve Payne Basketball Camp on Tuesday at the Hooper Eblen Center, the main thing the former Tennessee Tech standout wanted to impress on the gathered youth was they could do it too.
Overhead on the Eblen Center videoboard, the campers were shown footage from one game, and it was a big one.
January 12, 2012.
Sure, it doesn't seem like it was that far away, but for Murphy, it almost seems like a lifetime ago.
The video footage showed Murphy nailing shot after shot after shot against SIU-Edwardsville in an Ohio Valley Conference contest on the same court the campers were currently sitting.
As the tally in the lower right corner kept climbing, Tech men's basketball head coach Steve Payne interjected, "Guys, this is still just the first half."
Assorted oohs and ahs greeted the footage, astonishment in what became a 50-point game for the Tech standout.
As the total reached 50, and the Tech team celebrated in the background of the footage, even a couple of 'Wow's could be heard uttered from the crowd.
And the message Murphy tried to instill to the assorted players was that one of these days, it could be one of them in his place accomplishing that feat.
"Tech was the only school that offered me a scholarship," Murphy told the audience. "It wasn't a recruiting masterpiece or anything like that. Tech was my only choice.
"But I had a vision. Ever since I was a kid, everyone told me I couldn't make it. But I wanted to prove it. I stuck to it. I kept working."
Payne told the campers about how Murphy, with his girlfriend-now-wife Shekedra rebounding for him, would work late hours in the Eblen Center, just working on every aspect of the game, so late that the Tech police would call Payne to let the coach know he was still in there and to let Murphy out of the arena.
"He did the right thing," Payne said. "He wasn't hanging out at the club or getting into anything bad. He was in here, working."
And the 50-point night was the start of something big. After that, according to Payne, 26 NBA teams expressed interest. In 2012, Murphy was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 47th pick.
But from there, it's been a bit of a whirlwind. He was traded to Golden State, who later waived him. He played briefly in France, then made a run in the National Basketball Developmental League, then played this past season in China.
Currently, he is playing for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA Summer League, trying to earn a spot again on an NBA roster.
"I'm still trying to chase that dream.......
