South Carolina basketball star makes National Player of the Year watch list
South Carolina basketball sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles made the early season watch list for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award.
One of 50 players selected to the early season watch list, Murray-Boyles is averaging nearly 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. The athletic forward is among the best players in the country and is viewed as a potential NBA Draft 1st round pick next summer.
The Lute Olson Award winner will receive the honor in April.
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From the South Carolina Athletics press release:
BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles was named to the 2024-25 Lute Olson ‘Early Season’ Watch list on Tuesday. The award is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I college basketball. He is one of 50 players named to the watch list for the prestigious award.
Through four games, Murray-Boyles is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He’s 59.0 percent (23-of-39) from the floor and in the team’s two wins this season is 80.0 percent (16-of-20) from the floor. He had a season-high 27 points in the 80-54 win vs. Towson (Nov. 12) and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in a 86-64 victory over SC State (Nov. 8).
The Columbia, S.C., native was a Preseason All-SEC selection by the media and the league’s coaches after earning SEC All-Freshman honors last year. In 2023-24, he averaged 10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds (led team), 1.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He shined down the stretch in league play a season ago, highlighted by a 31-point outing in a double-digit win over Vanderbilt (2/10/24) and a 24-point performance against Arkansas (3/14/24) in the second of round of the SEC Tournament that helped Carolina to its first win in the conference tournament since 2018.
Murray-Boyles’ 59.7 percent (117-of-196) field goal percentage in 2023-24 was the fourth-highest for a single season in South Carolina basketball history and the highest by a freshman in Gamecock history (min. 30 FGs made).
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The award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch, he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances, and a National Championship in 1997.
Olson is one of just 25 head coaches in NCAA history to win 700 or more games (all divisions) and ranks ninth on the Division I career victories list. He finished with a winning percentage of .731 and is the all-time winningest coach in Arizona history with 587-190 record (.755). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times.
Olson also guided Arizona to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons and is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons In 2002, Olson was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Coach Olson passed away on August 27, 2020.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
The 2025 award will be announced in April in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the 2025 Final Four.
| 2024-25 LUTE OLSON AWARD EARLY SEASON WATCH LIST | Height | School |
| Robbie Avila | 6-10 | Saint Louis |
| Ace Bailey | 6-10 | Rutgers |
| Oumar Ballo | 7-0 | Indiana |
| Johni Broome | 6-10 | Auburn |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | 6-3 | Florida |
| LJ Cryer | 6-1 | Houston |
| Johnell Davis | 6-4 | Arkansas |
| Tyson Degenhart | 6-8 | Boise State |
| RJ Davis | 6-0 | North Carolina |
| Hunter Dickinson | 7-2 | Kansas |
| Eric Dixon | 6-8 | Villanova |
| Darlinstone Dubar | 6-6 | Tennessee |
| VJ Edgecombe | 6-4 | Baylor |
| Cooper Flagg | 6-9 | Duke |
| Vladislav Goldin | 7-1 | Michigan |
| Tyon Grant-Foster | 6-7 | Grand Canyon |
| Dylan Harper | 6-6 | Rutgers |
| Dajuan Harris Jr. | 6-2 | Kansas |
| Coleman Hawkins | 6-10 | Kansas State |
| Bryce Hopkins | 6-7 | Providence |
| Josh Hubbard | 5-11 | Mississippi State |
| Kam Jones | 6-5 | Marquette |
| Alex Karaban | 6-8 | Connecticut |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | 7-1 | Creighton |
| Kon Knueppel | 6-7 | Duke |
| Yaxel Lendeborg | 6-9 | UAB |
| Tamin Lipsey | 6-1 | Iowa State |
| Caleb Love | 6-4 | Arizona |
| Zeke Mayo | 6-4 | Kansas |
| Liam McNeeley | 6-8 | Connecticut |
| Collin Murray-Boyles | 6-7 | South Carolina |
| Matthew Murrell | 6-4 | Ole Miss |
| Grant Nelson | 6-11 | Alabama |
| Ryan Nembhard | 6-0 | Gonzaga |
| Norchad Omier | 6-7 | Baylor |
| Clifford Omoruyi | 6-11 | Alabama |
| Great Osobor | 6-8 | Washington |
| Caden Pierce | 6-7 | Princeton |
| Kadary Richmond | 6-6 | St. John’s |
