Back to Brooklyn: The Kamari Murphy story
The days of waking up early to shoot some hoops at the Canarsie courts, then grabbing a soda pop and heading back to the courts to play basketball until the street lights came on, are just a few of his favorite memories from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Kamari Murphy has only made short trips home since graduating from Abraham Lincoln Senior High. This week he returns as a six-foot-nine-inch forward for the ninth-seeded University of Miami Hurricanes. This week he will compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in his hometown of Brooklyn.
The redshirt senior has received a lot of affection from his hometown neighborhood, called East New York.
“I am very excited to be going home. I get to see old friends and family members,” Murphy said. “There is a lot of love from the people in the neighborhood that have seen me play on TV.”
Prior to his playing days at Miami, before the quintet of recorded double-doubles, being named the MVP of the Hoophall Miami Invitational and the captain of the Hurricanes, Murphy was not known for being the athlete he is today.
Basketball was not his original calling. It was not until his stepfather pulled him off the couch from playing video games, at the age of nine, that he began his career as an athlete.
With limited knowledge of the game and experience playing on an organized team, the sport of basketball did not come easy to him, though. At the time, Murphy loathed the idea of being forced to play hoops.
The star forward accredits his success to an organized league, which really put the training wheels on for him, as those coaches took the time to develop his skill set. Since then, his love for basketball has evolved.
“I couldn’t dribble and I had a low basketball IQ. The organized league really gave me some roots in the game,” Murphy said.
Describing the neighborhood he grew up in as a very rural area controlled by a considerable amount of violence, Murphy did not have it easy growing up. He confesses that leaving Brooklyn is difficult, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to a bad situation.
“It is really tough to get out of Brooklyn. They say you have to be an artist or an athlete to get out, and nine times out of 10, it is true,” Murphy said. “Basketball kept me out of trouble. And now I take Brooklyn with me everywhere I go.”
The reality of his upbringing in Brooklyn did not take a toll on his aspirations to succeed. In fact, he is motivated by the opportunities that arose from playing the sport.
“I have met people that I should have never met, and I met them because of basketball. I appreciate that,” Murphy said. “I am going to keep using basketball to be successful and travel the world and meet different people.”
As he reminisced about his hometown, Murphy admitted there are a lot of good things that Brooklyn has to offer. He recommends that tourists visit the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn where the ACC Tournament will take place. He also suggests that tourist pick up cheesecake from his favorite place in Brooklyn, Junior’s Restaurant.
“There are so many neat things to do in downtown and Coney Island that tourists need to experience,” Murphy said.
Murphy is looking forward to DBQ’s barbeque where he raves about his favorite wings, and of course is beyond excited about being able to compete in front of his hometown.
“Never in my basketball career have I been back to play in my hometown. I am looking forward to everyone coming out to watch me put on a show,” Murphy said.
Murphy and the Hurricanes open tournament play on March 8 at noon against eighth-seeded Syracuse.
