Bohnenkamp: Kris Murray Ready to Make Name for Himself

Iowa Junior Understands Questions About Comparisons to Twin Brother, Keegan

Iowa’s Kris Murray drives around Rutgers' Dean Reiber (21) in the Big Ten Tournament on March 11, 2022 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

MINNEAPOLIS — The question made his teammates chuckle, because they knew it was inevitable.

So, Kris, how different are you from your brother Keegan …

Iowa forward Kris Murray just smiled.

“I think this year you’ll see that our games are a lot different than a lot of people think, just because we look the same,” he said at Tuesday’s Big Ten basketball media days at the Target Center. “I’m looking forward to this year to show what I can do, not be compared to him all of the time. Because I’ve been getting that a lot.”

More chuckles.

Kris is back for his junior season with the Hawkeyes. His twin brother, Keegan, is in the NBA after being a lottery pick in this summer’s draft.

So the questions of the comparison will be hanging over Kris for a while.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was ready for the question, and while he acknowledged that the query was “fair,” he also made the point that it’s time to realize that Keegan is Keegan, and Kris is Kris.

“Like if you're around these two guys, they're different,” McCaffery said. “Their games are different. Their personalities are different. Kris is really a confident guy. Kris is probably more verbal than Keegan was.

"I kind of wish he could just be himself and not continually be asked that same question. He's a completely different human being. They just look alike. If Aaron White was replacing Keegan Murray, we wouldn't be asking these questions.”

Kris was asked if the questions bother him.

“It does,” forward Patrick McCaffery interjected from the podium during the question-and-answer part of the day.

Kris laughed at that.

“It doesn’t annoy me,” he said. “I’ll answer the questions about him and talk about him, because he deserves it. What he’s done is really special.

“But, we’re turning a new page. He graduated … well, he didn’t graduate last year … but he moved on to better things last year. We’re looking forward to this season.”

Kris does like to have fun with the comparisons, though.

“I’m a more willing passer,” he said, making the other three teammates at the podium — Patrick McCaffery, Connor McCaffery and Tony Perkins — crack up. “I like to make my teammates happy.”

So, are you saying Keegan didn’t like making his teammates happy?

“He didn’t make me happy,” Kris said, failing to contain a smile. “I can pull up a lot of clips. A lot of clips.”

The Murrays are different players, but also different personalities.

“He’s a homebody,” Kris said. “He doesn’t do much besides basketball, golf, watch TV in the house. I think he’s seen everything on Netflix.

“I hang out with the guys a little bit more. I think it helps with the team chemistry a lot. We’ve got really good guys on the team. I’m probably a little bit more outgoing than he is.”

“Kris is right,” Connor McCaffery said. “Kris will come out and hang out with us more. He’s a little bit more ongoing, a little bit more of a comedic personality. Keegan is very chill. He’s not going to be out, going to the bars, out partying. He’s pretty much, ‘Go to the gym, go play 18 holes, go home, watch TV.’ Kris is just not like that.

“You just take them both for who they are.”

And that, Fran McCaffery said, is something that he hopes can happen as the season begins.

“They’re dramatically different people,” he said. “They have different games. And I would like to see them treated as such. I get it. I’ve seen people ask Kris for an autograph and they’ll say, ‘Keegan, can I have your autograph?’ I’ve seen it.

“The questions are inevitable. But, at some point, it’s got to be, ‘OK, enough.’ Kris is here, Keegan is going to be rookie of the year for the Kings.”