Jay Dennis Murphy (born June 26, 1962) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played four seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) for the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

and

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

College career

He attended high school at Francis T Maloney High School in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, Murphy played for coaches Tom Davis and

Gary Williams Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. I ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

(BC) in

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Chestnut Hill is an affluent New England village located west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is located within one or more incorporated municipal entities. It is located partia ...

. He averaged 14.6 points per game in his four-year career. Murphy was a key reason why BC enjoyed success in the early 1980s, leading the Eagles to three NCAA Tournaments – two Sweet 16s and one

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

– and one

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) in his four seasons (1980 to 1984). He was a three-time All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

honoree, earning first-team honors as a senior. He ranks sixth on the school's career scoring list (1,795 points) and seventh on the career rebounding list (763 rebounds).

Professional career

Murphy was selected in the second round (31st pick overall) of the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He did not play a game with the Warriors as he was immediately traded to the

for center

Jerome Whitehead Jerome Whitehead (September 30, 1956 – December 20, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. He was selected by the San Diego Clippers in the second round (41st overall) of the 1978 NBA draft. A 6'10" center-forward from Marquette ...

. On December 17, 1985, he was waived by the Clippers. On September 3, 1986, he was signed as a free agent with the

. His final season in the NBA was the 1987–88 season, during his time with the Bullets. He scored a total of 160 points in his 4-year, 67 NBA game career. Murphy also played in the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

(USBL) for the Springfield Fame (1985–86) as well as in Europe notably in France and Italy before finally retiring in 1995.

Personal life and legacy

Murphy was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. His son Erik played basketball at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 2013 NBA draft. Murphy's son

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

played at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, the

and

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

. Both sons have dual citizenship due to their Finnish mother Päivi, and Erik Murphy played for the Finnish national team at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. He also has another son, Tomas, who was named to the Colonial Athletic Association 2017-2018 All-Rookie Team after his freshman season with Northeastern.

References

External links

*
Boston College Eagles Athletic Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Jay 1962 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players ASVEL Basket players Basketball players from Connecticut Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Fabriano Basket players Golden State Warriors draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players Paris Racing Basket players People from Meriden, Connecticut Power forwards (basketball) Washington Bullets players