Here’s what Montavious Murphy’s transfer out means for K-State basketball next season
Months of roster stability came to an end for the Kansas State men’s basketball team on Tuesday when Montavious Murphy announced that he plans to transfer away from the Wildcats and finish his college career at a new school.
Murphy, a 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore forward, leaves Manhattan after two injury plagued seasons under coach Bruce Weber.
That makes it difficult to project the impact of his departure ahead of the 2021-22 season.
When he was healthy, Murphy looked like a future star for the Wildcats. He averaged 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds while making 16 starts as a freshman, but he was only able to play 19 games that season while dealing with leg injuries. His injury situation lingered into his sophomore campaign, when he played in just four games before undergoing surgery.
K-State coaches were hopeful that a surgical procedure would allow Murphy to return to full strength and contribute for the Wildcats next season. But Weber has not mentioned Murphy as a standout in summer practices. It’s unclear how he is recovering from his past injuries. Now it appears he will look to reboot his college career elsewhere.
“After much consideration, I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal,” Murphy wrote on social media. “I would like to thank coach Brad Korn and Coach Weber for recruiting me and also like to thank the rest of the coaching staff for their help along the way. I am thankful for all the great experiences I hae had here at Kansas State and I appreciate all the love and support from the fans.
“I feel that it is time for a new chapter in my basketball career and I can’t wait to get started.”
One factor that likely made Murphy consider a transfer was the offseason addition of Ismael Massoud.
Massoud, a 6-foot-8 sophomore transfer from Wake Forest, has turned heads since he arrived on campus last month and figures to start for the Wildcats as a stretch forward next season.
“He is really talented,” Weber said of Massoud during a recent interview with the Eagle. “He can shoot the basketball and he’s got length. He has been better than I even thought. He can do a lot more things, even post up a little bit. He has been a real nice addition to our group.”
Massoud averaged 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds while playing much of his last season out of position at center at Wake Forest.
If Massoud truly is in line to play big minutes at the four next season, and appears to be a long-term starter inside, it’s possible Murphy was getting lost in the front court shuffle, especially when you consider that K-State used a four-guard lineup down the stretch last season.
The Wildcats won four of their final final six games last year thanks in large part to a small lineup of guards surrounding center Davion Bradford.
At full strength, Murphy would have definitely helped the Wildcats as a solid bench contributor next season. Coming off an injury, it’s uncertain what kind of role he would have had after Weber added versatility, shooting and size to the roster via the transfer portal.
In that sense, his departure might not have much of an impact on the Wildcats as they look to bounce back from consecutive losing seasons.
K-State has 13 scholarship players on its roster even without him. Reserve forwards Carlton Linguard and Seryee Lewis may now be in line for extra playing time, as well as freshman. Logan Landers.
But Murphy’s transfer does further limit the amount of veteran talent on K-State’s roster.
Murphy was part of the program’s 2019 recruiting class, which also featured Antonio Gordon, DaJuan Gordon and David Sloan. All four players have already transferred to other teams.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Here’s what Montavious Murphy’s transfer out means for K-State basketball next season."