Remember when Taine Murray had that big second half in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game with Iowa?
I’ll forgive you if you don’t; that one was way back on Nov. 29, 2021.
Murray, then a freshman, had 14 points in the game, 11 in the second half – three threes and a layup – as Virginia fought back from a 14-point second-half deficit.
The final three gave the Cavaliers a 71-70 lead with 1:40 to go in what turned into a 75-74 loss.
It seemed at the time that this was a breakout game for Murray.
Now, fast forward to Wednesday night, when you saw Murray put up 12 points in Virginia’s 77-53 win over Louisville.
You never would have guessed back on Nov. 29, 2021, that Murray’s next double-digit game at Virginia would come more than two calendar years later.
Credit to the kid for continuing to plug away.
“I was so happy for Taine. You know, he just works and works, and he gave us a good lift and played well,” UVA coach Tony Bennett, man of few words, said after last night’s game.
The hardworking Murray, a 6’5” junior, hails from the other side of the world, Auckland, New Zealand.
You’d have forgiven him looking for other options given the lack of playing time his first two-plus seasons at Virginia.
After that big night against Iowa early in his freshman season, Murray only got double-digit minutes three more times that year, with 14 DNPs – Did Not Play.
The trend continued in his sophomore season, his posterior glued to the bench, recording 14 DNPs in a 15-game stretch in ACC play, before finally getting limited rotation minutes in five of Virginia’s final six games, including an 11-minute run in the NCAA Tournament loss to Furman.
This season, Murray is averaging a career-high 13.1 minutes per game, and in Virginia’s three ACC games, he’s averaging 14.7 minutes per game, and he’s been productive – scoring 7.0 points per game on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from three.
His numbers are small sample size, sure, but for the season, he’s shooting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three.
On top of that, one thing you can always say about Taine Murray is, he just does his job – doesn’t turn the ball over (2.3 turnovers/100 possessions, best among UVA’s guards), stays in front of his guy on defense (opponents are shooting 32.6 percent against him on D).
And one other thing is a given – kid is going to work.
“I’m so proud of Taine, man, I’m so happy for him. You know, he works so hard. Like, he’s probably one of the hardest working guys on our team. He’s, you know, putting in extra hours after practice, before practice,” sophomore guard Isaac McKneely said.
“He does the little things, you know, the little things right, so I’m super happy for him,” McKneely said. “He was bound to have a game like this, and I think he’s just going to continue to help us and continue to provide that spark off the bench. So, I’m really happy for Taine.”
Murray’s dedication to his game, and to Virginia Basketball, had him hanging around town last summer, as many of his teammates scattered to the winds, so that he could get extra work in.
Says a lot about a guy that he would do that when you note that he got on the floor for a total of 239 minutes in his first two seasons.
“I guess I just believe in this program,” Murray told reporters after his big night in the win over Louisville. “I trust, obviously, Coach Bennett and the coaching staff. That’s why I obviously came here. So yeah, just tried to stay as positive as I can, throughout the highs and lows. And yeah, obviously awesome to be able to kind of play like that tonight.”
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Chris Graham
