Former Iowa Star Excelling In One Crucial Area

This former Iowa Hawkeyes star is doing one thing particularly well with the Sacramento Kings this NBA season.

Mar 12, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) celebrates the win against the Indiana Hoosiers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Former Iowa Hawkeyes star Keegan Murray has not exactly gotten off to the start he was hoping for with the Sacramento Kings this NBA season, but he is doing one thing particularly well.

Through Murray's first seven games of the 2024-25 campaign, he is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game, which is well above his career average of 5.2.

Additionally, Murray's total rebound percentage is up from 9.1 percent last year to 11.7 percent this season, and his offensive rebound percentage has gone from 4.5 percent to 7.1 percent.

Now, this certainly coincides with Murray playing more minutes at the 4 this season due to the arrival of DeMar DeRozan, who is now occupying the small forward position.

Still, its an impressive feat for Murray, who is in the process of adjusting to a new role.

Offensively, the 24-year-old has not been great, as he is registering 14.4 points per game on 44.2/30.2/85.7 shooting splits.

His perimeter shooting has been rather dreadful, which is obviously a concern considering that Murray's three-point shooting also dipped last season.

During his rookie campaign, the Iowa product connected on 41.1 percent of his long-range tries. Last year, that number declined to 35.8 percent.

There was hope that Murray, who has a reduced role offensively this season, would see an uptick in efficiency thanks to the Kings now having more offensive weapons. Thus far, that has not manifested.

But, at the very least, Murray is doing a fine job crashing the glass, and he remains a very versatile asset on the defensive end.