At 6'8" Alex Murphy is one of the most coveted recruits in the class of 2012, due to his unique mix of skill, basketball acumen, and athleticism. The son of 6'11" former NBA veteran Jay Murphy, who coaches him along with former Celtics coach John Carroll for the New England Playaz,  and  his wife, Paivi, a 5'4" former Finnish National point guard and ex-Swedish league pro, Alex has been bred to be a difficult match-up on the court. After a thirty point outing against Quincy Miller and D-One Sports, Murphy spoke with Blue Devil Nation about his recent offer from Duke, his relationship with both Kaleb Tarczewski and Shabazz Muhammad, and the comparisons between the rising junior and his older brother Erik of the Florida Gators

Can you talk about your match-up with Quincy Miller?

Yeah, it was a good match-up. He's a tough player. Anytime you get a chance to play against somebody like that in the first round of a tournament it's a challenge, but luckily we came out on top this time.

What schools are coming after you the hardest right now?

Duke, Florida, Arizona, Kansas, Syracuse, Butler, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, and Boston College

Do you have a timeframe for when you'd like to decide by?

I don't. Not yet.

Where have you visited so far and what do you have planned for the future?

I visited Florida last year. I just visited Duke when I was down there for a tournament. I've been to Boston College. I've been to UConn as well. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit all of the places I haven't been that are still on my list, but we'll see.

Is there a player that you try to model your game after?

Well, Kevin Durant is my favorite player in the league, but guys like Mike Dunleavy [private] and Mike Miller are a little bit closer to my game.

They're about your height as well.

Yeah, and I think they have similar games too.

What are you looking for ideally whenever you do decide?

Whatever best fits me. A program that I help from day 1 and do whatever I can and in return ultimately helps get  me to the next level and do what I want to do.

Who will you be seeking guidance from?

My family primarily and also from some of the guys with this program.

St. Mark's as well?

Oh, yes, absolutely. I'll definitely be talking with my coach there, Dave Lubick. He's family as well. Well, he's basically family anyway.

What are your strengths and weaknesses at this point?

Well, one thing I think I need to improve upon is my strength.

I think that's one of the things that you have noticeably improved upon already to a degree.

Yeah, well, I have because I was, for the most part, home during the month of June so I was lifting or working out. I feel like I'm already stronger than I was before and can deal much better with a physical opponent. I'm looking forward to hopefully putting on some weight.

Drinking some protein drinks?

Exactly, exactly

That moves to a later question. Do you do a lot of strength and conditioning right now?

Oh, yeah, I lift about three times per week and I'm in the gym working out almost every day. So I try to keep it balanced between basketball and getting my body into great shape.

Obviously, your not fat. So I didn't mean to get on you about hitting a treadmill or something

(Laughs) No, no

Before I forget, what do you feel is your strength or what you can bring to a program?

Oh, I think the way I think and my ability to make others around me better.

Definitely, a high basketball IQ

Yeah, and I think I can pass well, dribble, shoot, have a high basketball IQ, and, like i said, make others around me better.

Who's the toughest player you've faced so far, either at St. Mark's or in AAU competition?

Oh, I think I'm going to have to say that, during my freshman year at St. Mark's, we played Findlay Prep and they had Avery Bradley. He was just a first round draft pick so I think I'd have to go with him.

That league and the schedules that you play have improved so much. Well, at least during my lifetime. It used to be such an easy league, but now it's improved.

Yeah, it has. The out of league schedule helps us too.  We actually played Quincy and Quality Education during the season.
 

Oh, yeah, where was that?

It was down in Georgia. He beat us in double-overtime though, but we got him back today.

In terms of your goals for this summer..

Just win. That's all I want to accomplish this month is to win and keep playing. Just keep playing games. The rest of it will take care of itself.

You play with Kaleb both here and at Saint Mark's. Naturally, people are going to be curious if you guys have talked about playing together in college and, if so, how important would that be to you? You've both put yourself in a position where you will have many options. I know it can sometimes be an awkward issue.

Yeah, absolutely, but we're like best friends. We sometimes talk about it. We live like right next to each other at school. We're always together.

You guys both dorm at your school, right?

Yeah, yeah, but we don't live in the same room together. He lives right next door.

Talk about the preparation you receive at St. Mark's and how you think it might benefit you in your transition to college, both academically and from a basketball perspective.

Well, number one, it's a small school and academically real tough. From a basketball perspective, we play in a small league, but we play against a lot of fifth-years and other quality players.

And facing Nate (Lubick) and Erik (Murphy) in practice everyday had to have advanced your game. Where do you like to catch it?

Yeah, they did. Um, I like to catch it on the break more than anything else. I love to play up-and-down. So, transition basketball is my thing. just getting out there and getting easy buckets while the defense is trying to figure things out. Easy baskets, man.

Can you talk about your recent visit to Duke?

It was really good. We sat down with the coaching staff for a little while. We got to talk about

(Interrupted by an Adidas guy telling us we needed to move to a different area of the gym)

(Resuming) What was your reaction to the offer?

It was exciting. As you know, they don't just offer anybody out here. They're selective. It was really cool, but it was also motivation for me to come out here and keep playing as hard as ever. To continue to do what I've been doing, but also to push myself even more.

What do you think is your range right now? Where do you feel comfortable shooting it?

As long as it's a clean catch, I feel comfortable. I feel I can shoot the three pretty well.

Can you give a scouting report on both Kaleb and Shabazz Muhammad?

Yeah, well, I know Kaleb really well because we're together all of the time. He's my high school teammate and my roommate. He's been playing well and, if he continues to work, the sky is the limit for him. I'm really close with Shabazz too. We talk a lot. He's a real good kid too.

Yeah, he's a very nice kid to deal with off of the court and a killer on it.

Absolutely, he's a tremendous player. We met through Adidas Nations initially I think, but, yeah, he's great both on and off the court. I talk to him all of the time.

Genetically or otherwise, just how much of an advantage or impact  do you think it is in having a mother who was a professional point guard in Europe and and a  dad who was able to play in the NBA on you, Erik, and Tomas?

Yeah, I mean just everybody plays in our family. It's something we do and have fun doing. It's definitely an advantage. We're all pretty good athletically. It's just something I've grown accustomed to.

Do you know Tom Konchalski?

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

We're close and he had said that he thought you would be a good interview because you were more of an extrovert, to use his phrase, than Erik?

Yeah, I guess I am.

Can you talk about the similarities and differences between the three Murphy brothers?

Sure, when Erik was younger, he would always play inside. When we were growing up, we were always around the same size. When I was younger, my father would always try to have me play point guard, particularly when I was real young. I think it helped me develop more ball-handling skills than Erik. He's sort of worked his way out  and developed and I've sort of worked my way in and developed.

For those that haven't had the opportunity to see you play, please describe your game to them.

I think I'm a versatile player. I think that I can play inside and out, depending upon the match-ups. I usually like to take the smaller guys inside. With the big guys, I feel comfortable taking them off of the dribble or shooting right over them, if they don't want to come out.

You mentioned before about your development as an inside player. How comfortable are you playing inside for short spots or grabbing boards?

I've worked hard on both dimensions, but I feel like I can play inside. That said, I feel I can still improve substantially. I'm not done improving, by any means.

(The interview concluded abruptly as the team had to rush off) [/private]