New Zealand guard has Maryland in top-3, ties to Terp assistant and Juan Dixon
Maryland is one of three schools in the running for Taine Murray, a 6-foot-5, 190 pound shooting guard from New Zealand, 247Sports reported Sunday.
The 18-year-old Murray, who’s a member of the class of 2021 but graduates in December and could join a team this season, is down to Maryland, Virginia and Stanford. Purdue, Colorado, California and Creighton expressed strong interest as well but failed to make the cut.
While he’s from the otherside of the world, Murray has connections to Maryland. His current coach is former Georgetown standout Kevin Braswell, a Baltimore native who was close friends with Maryland assistant Bino Ranson and Juan Dixon growing up.
"I feel very fortunate to be recruited by the University of Maryland,” Murray told 247Sports. “I think the way they play and the pace in which they play with are awesome to watch and can only imagine what that would be like to play in. I am really taken back by coach [Mark] Turgeon, he has an approach that is very unique and a high achieving program."
Braswell, whose family took in a young Dixon briefly after his mother died, is Murray’s long-time mentor. He began training him when he was around the age of 12 and became his coach for the first time after the Auckland Huskies selected Murray in the fourth round of the league’s inaugural draft in June. Former Kentucky big man Tai Wynyard came off the board a few picks before Murray.
“I’m going to need Taine to deliver every night, and score,” Braswell said after the draft. “He’s not a guy we are bringing off the bench or thinking he’s going to play five or 10 minutes, he’s a guy who will probably play 25 minutes a night.
“We want him to capitalise on this opportunity. He’s a kid who has worked so hard to get to the level he is at now and I believe the sky’s the limit for him.”
While Murray’s season was cut short due to a broken hand last month after just 10 games, he outperformed his draft slot and Braswell’s expectations and was recognized as one of the top 20 players in the league by one site. Playing against players nearly twice his age, he averaged 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.9 steals in 32.8 minutes per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 43.5 percent from three and 65.4 percent from the foul line. Only one player in the league made more threes per game than Murray, who shot 30-69 from downtown during the abbreviated season. His ability to get hot from deep is his most translatable skill at this stage, but the 18-year-old also flashes impressive athleticism for his age, including a strong first step and the ability to finish above-the-rim in traffic.
"I would personally describe my strengths as a player who is fast and athletic, can shoot off the catch and bounce and is tough on both ends," Murray said. "Obviously I am always trying to continue to become better, and have weaknesses in which I work on everyday.
"For me I believe that adjusting and working on my foot speed to be able to guard smaller, shiftier guards which are very present in the United States is big for me to work on, as well as continuing to work on my decision making and playing without an advance."
The competition for Murray includes Virginia and Stanford. The Cavaliers were late to enter the race, but won a national title with fellow Kiwi Jack Salt in 2019. Stanford, meanwhile, boasts impressive academics and a shorter distance from home. Maryland and Stanford both have extra scholarships available if Murray chooses to enroll early, while Virginia is currently over the limit.
"I think [what I’m looking for in a school] first and foremost is style of play, for sure," he said. "As an international recruit, we play a little different than some of these American teams and I think there’s a common trend in these schools with the style of play being quite efficient and using a lot of actions. I think the coaching relationship is something that is big to me and then opportunity for sure. I want to use college to develop my skills and hopefully use it as a platform to continue with basketball after college."
Murray originally planned to take visits in October and make a decision shortly after, but his timeline is up in the air now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.