Murray Twins Join Select B1G Company

Kris, Keegan Only Pair of Brothers Named 1st-Team All-Conference

Iowa Basketball's twin brothers, Kris (front) and Keegan Murray, pose for a photo during the team's annual media day on Oct. 11, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Kenyon and Michelle Murray were proud parents Tuesday, as you might expect.

Their son, Kris, was named to the all-Big Ten first team. His brother, Keegan, was a first-team pick a season ago, making the Murrays the fourth brother-brother tandem in Big Ten history to win that award.

“Michelle and I are very proud,” said Kenyon, who scored 1,230 points in his 124-game Hawkeye career (1992-93 to 1995-96). “They never set out to be all league, they just wanted to compete and help their team win. It’s a crazy feat, and one that further cements me as the third-best Iowa basketball player in the family.”

There was another brother-brother storyline on Tuesday.. Northwestern guard Boo Buie joined his brother, Tailor Battle, as a first-team honoree. Battle, now a Northwestern assistant coach, was an all-Big Ten point guard at Penn State. Buie was a first-team selection by the media Tuesday, but not the coaches.

Murray, Zach Edey of Purdue, Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana and Jalen Pickett of Penn State were unanimous choices.

“I think you look at Kris, he decided to come back,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “He probably would have gone in the second round (of the NBA Draft), and he came back to make a statement. It’s hard to be a first-team all-league in this conference, and he did that.”

Other brother-brother first-team picks were Jay and Sam Vincent at Michigan State and Chad and Woody Austin at Purdue.

Keegan Murray became Iowa’s fifth consensus all-American and a first-team pick in 2021-22 after leading the conference in scoring. He averaged 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds in all games and 22.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in conference games. Keegan scored 20 points or more in 26 games, with five games of 30 or more.

While he was doing that, Kris contributed 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds and played valuable minutes off the bench for a 25-win Big Ten Tournament championship team. Keegan entered the NBA Draft and was the highest-drafted selection in Iowa history when the Sacramento Kings took him with the fourth pick.

While Keegan spent the summer preparing for his rookie season in the NBA, Kris was preparing for an expanded role with the Hawkeyes in 2022-23.

“He’s a very even-tempered guy, but he’s also really smart,” McCaffery said back in October. “So he knows what he’s capable of, and he knows what our team needs from him. He’s accepting that responsibility.”

McCaffery bristled on more than one occasion when asked if Kris could step in and be Keegan. He’s not Keegan, he’s Kris, was McCaffery’s stock response. Then Kris went out and had a first-team all-Big Ten season.

Kris more than doubled his scoring production. The Big Ten’s third-leading scorer, he averaged 20.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in all games, and 21.0 points and 7.1 rebounds against Big Ten competition..Kris scored 20 points or more in 22 games this season, with four games of 30-plus points.

“We knew he was capable of doing what he has done,” Kenyon said. “For Kris, it was always about having the opportunity to show what he could do. He showed flashes last year when given the minutes. This year, he bet on himself. He put the time in over the summer to be able to shoulder the minutes, the offensive load and the defensive load he knew he would have to. So this is no surprise to the Murray household.”

Kris Murray is the eighth Iowa player to receive first-team all-Ten recognition in the last 10 seasons under McCaffery.

Devyn Marble got the ball rolling in 2013-14, followed by Aaron White (2014-15), Jarrod Uthoff (2015-16), Peter Jok (2016-17), Luka Garza (2019-20; 2020-21) and the Murrays. The last four were all unanimous selections.

Iowa nearly had brothers share first-team all-Big Ten honors in 1945, when the Hawkeyes won the outright Big Ten title at 11-1. Guard Herb Wilkinson was a first-team selection. His brother, Clayton, finished sixth in the voting and headed the second team.

Keegan and Kris represent the first set of twins to be first-team picks in Big Ten history. Identical twins Dick and Tom Van Arsdale played together at Indiana from 1962-65. Dick wore No. 30. Tom wore No. 25. That was the only way Coach Branch McCracken could keep them straight.

Tom scored 1,252 points in his career, Dick 1,240. Both played 72 games for the Hoosiers. Dick was a first-team all-Big Ten pick in 1964. Both were second-round draft choices and enjoyed 12-year NBA careers.

But the Murray family completed the twin sweep on Tuesday when Kris joined his younger brother, Keegan, as a first-team honoree.

“Well deserved by both of them,” Kenyon said.

The Big Ten’s Brother-Brother Fraternity

Jay Vincent and Sam Viccent, Michigan State - Jay, a 6-7 forward, was a first-team choice in 1980 and 1981. He led the Big Ten in scoring (all games) as junior (21.5 points) and senior (22.6 points). Sam, a 6-2 guard, was a first-team pick in 1985 after leading the conference in scoring (all games) at 23.0 points an outing. Jay, who also started on the Spartans’ national championship team in 1979, scored 1,914 points over 114 games at Michigan State. Sam scored 1,851 points in 110 games. Both were third-team Associated Press all-Americans as seniors.

Woody Austin and Chad Austin, Purdue - Woody, a guard, was a first-team all-Big Ten pick in 1992 after averaging 18.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a senior. Chad, also a guard, was a first-team choice in 1997 and 1998. He averaged 17 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a junior and 17 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists as a senior. Chad scored 1,694 points in 129 games as a Boilermaker. Woody scored 1,076 points in 93 games.

Talor Battle and Boo Buie, Penn State/Northwestern - Talor, a point guard, is Penn State’s career scoring leader with 2,213 points. He was first-team all-Big Ten selection as a sophomore in 2009 after averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Battle was first-team pick by the media and a second-team pick by the coaches in 2010, when he averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists as a junior. Buie is averaging 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists for a Northwestern team that tied for second in the Big Ten standings after being picked for 13th.

Keegan and Kris Murray, Iowa - Lightly recruited out of Cedar Rapids Prairie, the Murray twins used a season of prep school to work on their games and turned that into outstanding careers at Iowa. Keegan scored 1,046 points in just 66 games with the Hawkeyes. Kris has scored 902 points in 75 games. Their father, Kenyon, scored 1,230 points in 124 games.