Alabama basketball hiring Preston Murphy as special assistant to head coach

Nate Oats has added another piece to his staff for the 2023-24 campaign, as former Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy is joining Alabama as a special assistant to the head coach. Murphy will provide on-court coaching and on-campus recruiting support, according to a UA release.

“I’m pleased to be completing our basketball staff with the addition of Coach Murphy,” Oats said. “He was a highly sought-after candidate, and we were fortunate he was most interested in joining our program. I have known Preston for a long time, and I am excited about the many ways he can add tremendous value to what we do. I am always impressed with his energy, his humility, and his basketball acumen. His insight, experience and ability to connect with student-athletes will be a significant advantage for us.

“Additionally, Preston is a great person who is highly-regarded throughout the college basketball community. We have every expectation his hire will contribute to the continued success and high benchmarks of Alabama basketball.”

Murphy coached with the Bluejays from 2015-2019, where he resigned in November of 2019 due to an FBI investigation. In 2021, Murphy was hit with a two-year, show-cause penalty, which ended last month, for accepting improper payments. According to ESPN, “a federal indictment in March 2019 accused Murphy of accepting a $6,000 payment from an undercover FBI agent in a meeting with Christian Dawkins,” one of the people at the center of the FBI’s probe.

Prior to Creighton, Murphy served one year as an assistant coach at Boston College in 2014-15 – the same school where he started his college coaching as a director of operations (2006-10). Murphy was a guard at Rhode Island from 1995-99 and landed his first assistant coaching job at his alma mater in 2010. He worked there for five years, earning a promotion to associate head coach in 2014, before moving on to Boston College and a chance to work in the ACC.

Murphy graduated from Rhode Island in 1999 with a degree in finance. He scored 1,218 points for the Rams while playing in four straight postseasons, which included a run to the Elite Eight in 1998. He ranks among URI’s all-time leaders in three-point percentage, assists and steals. After graduating, Murphy played three seasons professionally in Belgium and Holland. Murphy’s first coaching job came as the head coach at Woonsocket (R.I) High School from 2003-06.

“It’s a privilege to join Alabama Athletics and become a part of the great Crimson Tide tradition – it’s an honor I will work every day to deserve,” Murphy said. “I appreciate the trust Coach Oats, Greg Byrne and the University have put in me, and I look forward to serving this institution and adding to its long history of success.”

The Crimson Tide is tasked with replacing all of its three assistant coaches that have been part of Oats’ staff for the last four seasons. Charlie Henry was first hired as the head coach at Georgia Southern, then Bryan Hodgson landed the head coaching position at Arkansas State and most recently, longtime assistant Antoine Pettway was hired as Kennesaw State’s coach.

Alabama already announced the hirings of Austin Claunch and Ryan Pannone, who made their way to Tuscaloosa after serving as the head coach at Nicholls and an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans, respectively. Now Murphy is set to join the Crimson Tide basketball program, barring approval from the UA System Board of Trustees, for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

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