Don't look now but Minnesota freshman Jordan Murphy might be hitting a new stride as the season draws to a close.
The 6-6 forward followed up his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor with another double-double in the Gophers' 83-61 win over Rutgers on Tuesday night. And still, he wasn't the story of the evening.
If fact, Murphy has been steady enough that we've almost grown to expect such stellar performances. He's had eight double-doubles this season and been a consistent force on the boards and as a post scorer in most games, putting up double digits in ten of the last 11 games and grabbing six or more rebounds in nine of those.
Now in the last two, Murphy has combined for 36 points and 25 rebounds. Last night, the freshman was a difference maker late, helping to keep pushing the Gophers' momentum and dunking four times.
But the most impressive thing about Murphy, for now, might be what he's NOT doing.
On Tuesday, the forward went 8-for-17 from the field, leaving a potential of 19 points on the floor. As coach Richard Pitino has pointed out many times, the points Murphy is getting are mostly the result of scrapping, fighting, pure will. His athleticism allows him to get putbacks and dunks that others wouldn't have access to. But his moves to the basket aren't totally polished yet and he's missing some easy buckets that way. And while foul trouble has been a lot better lately, it's slowed his aggressiveness all season. Basically, Murphy is dominating despite not really knowing what he's doing out there.
Assuming he can continue to develop and improve in those areas, the ceiling could be quite high for this Texas native. When he moves past those hurdles, Murphy has the ability to be nearly unstoppable under the hoop.
Pitino agrees.
