Collin Murray-Boyles wouldn't have left South Carolina for 'any amount of money'
After the freshman year he had, Collin Murray-Boyles didn’t have to come back to South Carolina. He could’ve seen what else was out there, whether that be at another school or explore the possibility of turning pro.
Yet, when he thought more about it, everything he wanted was right in front of him.
“Why wouldn’t I come back? This is a great coach,” Murray-Boyles said on SEC Now, sitting next to head coach Lamont Paris. “I just think that this is the place for me. South Carolina is always going to be my home.”
Murray-Boyles’ first year with the Gamecocks went about as good as it could’ve, even better than some expected. After missing the start of last season with mononucleosis, the 6-foot-8 forward made his college debut last December and didn’t look back.
He played in 28 games and started in the final 19 of the season. He averaged 10.4 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game, which helped him earn SEC All-Freshman honors.
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Now that he’s back for another year, Murray-Boyles is looking to take the next step in his game. Besides the fact he still hasn’t fully shown what he can do from three-point range, he’s also set his sights on helping South Carolina get back to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.
“I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for the world. For any amount of money, I wouldn’t leave the school,” Murray-Boyles said. “So, especially having this coach and the system he puts us in, it’s really good for us, and it really elevates us to the best of our ability.”
As Murray-Boyles enters his sophomore year with the program, a lot more eyeballs will be on him. He’s shaping up to be selected in next year’s NBA Draft if he decides to turn pro after this season.
But during the summer, he attended the Nike Basketball Academy, where he played against some of the top high school and college basketball players in the country. It was a great opportunity for him to showcase his skills in front of current and past NBA players, along with scouts and executives.
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“I just learned the mentality that you have to approach every day with, especially talking to all those pros,” Murray-Boyles said. “It was really an eye opener, because all of them just talked about how the real world can hit you like that, and it’s really going to show people’s toughness.”
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In the time he spent at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon, Murray-Boyles learned how to have the mentality to attack.
“I think that just having the mindset to go get it every day and just live like this is your last day,” he said. “Basketball isn’t forever. Nobody’s career lasts for a lifetime. So I think just attacking it like that every day is probably the biggest thing I learned.”
Entering the season, Murray-Boyles was selected to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team. There were three other forwards voted ahead of him. Auburn’s Johni Broome on the first team. Alabama’s Grant Nelson, and Arkansas’ Jonas Aidoo made second team.
When asked if how he felt about only making the third team, Murray-Boyles wasn’t worried about it. The focus still remains the same: winning games. The rest will take care of itself.
“I try to stay focused for this year, do the best I can win as many games as possible. That’s all I’m really here for,” Murray-Boyles said. “I’m not worried about my my accolades or anything like that. I’m just worried about winning, man.
