The unlikely turnaround success story of Florida's Erik Murphy

[InstiGATOR1]

You know most of this, but there are some details that at least I did not know. This story begins:

The unlikely turnaround success story of Florida's Erik Murphy
By Jeff Goodman | College Basketball Insider

November 15, 2012 12:46 am ET

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Erik Murphy was all but gone. His father -- and just about everyone else close to him -- wanted him to leave Gainesville and he was on the verge of telling Billy Donovan that it was best he play elsewhere. There was even a list for the Rhode Island native: the local school, URI, along with Boston College, Providence, Notre Dame and Harvard. However, Murphy walked into Donovan's office in a haze, broke down in tears and departed still a member of the Gators team.

Then just hours later, on April 10, 2011, Murphy's life forever changed. It's when he, ex-Gators manager Josh Adel and former teammate Cody Larson were arrested in nearby St. Augustine for, well, making a poor decision. He found himself in a white jumpsuit with shackles, locked up in jail in the middle of the night, after the police arrested the trio for allegedly breaking into a vehicle.

"It was scary," Murphy said. "I had cuffs on from my hands to my feet. It was really scary."

Murphy isn't a knucklehead. In the effort of full disclosure, I've known him since he was a freshman at St. Mark's (Mass.). He's one of the few college athletes I'd trust to babysit my 9-year-old daughter and wouldn't worry for a second. He made a bonehead move, but we've all made them somewhere along the way. Murphy's blunder, though, drew public scrutiny because he's a college athlete.

Read the rest here:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...s-erik-murphy-

[NorthCaptivaGator]

From Murphy's dad, who at one point had wanted Eric to transfer, a lesson for all sports parents:


"I came in with the expectation that he was going to play as a freshman," Jay said. "But what parents don't realize is that there are other kids who are juniors and seniors, who have waited their time."

[jcp]

People would drive by Erik on Florida's campus and yell things at him.

Huh? WTF. That plus calling the cops on players who were practicing... Sometimes people at UF can really piss me off.

[themistocles]

Patience and Perspicacity can bring rewards.

Of course, much of the turnaround relates to his considerably stronger body today. It is really amazing how much the strength coaches can do for NCAA athletes.

[Jupgator]

Last night, Murphy looked like a completely different player than the last two years. Not only great shooting but strong and aggressive. Plus some great post moves.

[gatorfansrule]

You can tell from his play that he is more focused on basketball now.

[bullish]

Proud of him for his improvement and maturity. This is your year to bring it home for the Gators. The pros I am sure are waiting. Great job Eric!

Wisconsin was collapsing on Patrick Y. This opened the door for Eric and boy, how did he respond! I think they wish they had a better game plan.

[jareduf]

Murphy nor only looked like our best player, but might just be our top NBA prospect on this roster. Everything just seemed to click for him and might just be a star player the rest of the year. What an offensive arsenal.

[StrangeGator]

Used to think he'd be a role player in the NBA, a skinnier, more athletic version of Bonner. Now, he might be a prototype. Instead of comparing him to Bonner, we might start comparing him to Horford.

[ThePlayer]

I'm so glad Erik Murphy is in Gainesville playing for Billy Donovan.
He brings court awareness and intelligence to this team almost without effort.
He could have easily been a Boston College, Notre Dame or Michigan State kind of player.

[Osiris_DPM]

Originally Posted by fostersheldon

Really? His dad has never post anything on this board.where do you get your information ?

If I recall correctly, this is Erik's mom (or another relative) right?

[irish2u2]

A great story for all fans who forget what knuckleheads we all were as college students. It's amazing how self-righteous some folks get when an athlete makes a mistake and then you find out they were 10 times worse at that age. This is an object lesson in patience, tolerance and humility and I'm not talking about Erik Murphy.

I have met the knucklehead and all too often it's in the mirror.

I support ALL Gators and not just the ones who score 24 points and grab 8 rebounds against a ranked Big 10 foe. I don't think I'm alone when I say as a diehard Gator fan these kids are like our own. They will make mistakes. They may not be as good as recruiting pundits (ironically all adults) say they are so maybe some of them won't have an impact on their respective sports. I don't care. If you wear the Orange and Blue and you try to be a good athlete, student and person you are a success.

Aside from his progression as an athlete, student and person it should be noted that Erik was sick enough yesterday to be a question mark if he could play at all and then he does play and turns in an All-American performance.

Nice. Very, very nice.

[G8rNkoko]

Just when you think Goodman is a total douche with his dogging of Kenny, he goes and writes a story like this.

[Osiris_DPM]

From the comments: lol

Dude must be a hell of an athlete to outrun 6 bouncers for a mile while being hammered. Most guys get only a block or so in those episodes of "America's Wildest Car Chases".