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Kris Murray’s consensus All-American status caps fantastic breakout season

jacob keppen
·3 min read
2

Iowa basketball certainly had an interesting season. It was a very up-and-down campaign. At times, they looked like contenders in the Big Ten and ready to break off a streak of wins behind great shooting performances. Other times, though—particularly away from Carver—games that should have been simple victories turned out to be anything but.

The constant throughout the entire season though was the fantastic play from forward Kris Murray. The 6-foot-8, 220 pound forward finished averaging an eye-popping 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He did that on 47.6.% field goal shooting, including 33.5% from 3-point distance.

All preseason there was an aura of hype surrounding the returning Murray brother, projected to take over the star mantel from his twin brother Keegan. Kris did exactly that. For his efforts, he was named a consensus third-team All-American.

Murray is now the fourth Hawkeye in eight years to become a consensus All-American. It also marks the fourth consecutive season that Iowa has boasted a consensus All-American.

For Murray, it truly is well deserved for a player who unfortunately flew under the radar. Paired in the same conference with stars such as Zach Edey and Trayce Jackson-Davis—not to mention playing for the same school as Caitlin Clark—it never felt like Murray truly received his due credit this year.

On a team known for its streakiness, Murray always seemed to just do his thing. Sometimes, that meant taking over, but the true value in Murray was his inability to have more than one off game. He was the model of consistency all year for a team that desperately needed a steady hand.

Whether or not this is his last year in Iowa City—Murray already flirted with the NBA draft last season—he deserves recognition for what he did this season!

Along the way, there were plenty of highlight-worthy moments.

Getting busy

The 30-20

Dropping dimes

That Iowa-Indiana tradition

1 wild comeback

Sendback!

Leading the blowout

Slammin' it home against Auburn

Spoiled

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire