Former Iowa Hawkeyes Star Improving In Critical Area

This Iowa Hawkeyes star has shown significant improvement in one crucial area with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Mar 9, 2023; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Kris Murray (24) looks to shoot against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Former Iowa Hawkeyes star Kris Murray does not carry the same cachet as his twin brother, Keegan, but he could be on his way to becoming a reliable rotational player on the NBA level.

The Portland Trail Blazers forward made his professional debut last season, averaging 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds over 21.7 minutes a night on 39.6/26.8/66.1 shooting splits.

Obviously, those aren't great numbers, and Murray's lack of efficiency thus far has been a problem. However, the 24-year-old worked hard during the offseason to improve his outside shot, and he is already seeing the fruits of his labor in preseason.

Through his first three exhibition games, Murray has made 57.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 40 percent of his three-point tries, and while the sample size is small, it's an indication of progress for the former first-round pick.

Most recently, Murray scored 14 points off 6-of-9 shooting in a win over German club Ratiopharm Ulm on Wednesday. So, what is the secret behind Murray's improvement?

Apparently, it's all in his arms.

“I’m back to the basics,” Murray said, via Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “I just kind of realized that the more I dip, my arms are so long that there’s more that can go wrong with it. So, we just kind of reworked it. Just went to no dip. It feels good. Just kind of worked on that recently. I’ve had good results with it so far.”

Murray spent three years at Iowa and averaged 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during his final season with the Hawkeyes in 2022-23.

We'll see if Murray can keep progressing with Portland.