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Alex Murphy will transfer from Duke to Florida, the redshirt sophomore forward announced on Twitter late Wednesday morning.
It's official, I'm a Florida Gator! I'm more than excited and can't wait to get down to Gainesville soon!!!
— Alex Murphy (@AlexMurphy5) December 18, 2013
ESPN reporter Jeff Goodman, a longtime friend of the Murphy family, reported the news about a half-hour prior to Murphy's announcement.
Murphy is the younger brother of former Florida star Erik Murphy, and Florida was rumored as his destination since news of his interest in transferring from Duke — where he had fallen to the back of Mike Krzyzewski's rotation, stuck behind Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, and Amile Jefferson — broke earlier this month.
And I was told by multiple sources that Murphy's transfer was all but a done deal shortly after that news broke, with Florida and Murphy holding off on the announcement out of respect for Duke.
Murphy is transferring in for the Spring 2014 semester, which will allow him to be eligible to play in December 2014 — and should, I believe, allow him to practice with the Gators this spring. Murphy, who stands 6'9" and weighs 230 pounds, according to ESPN's player page for him, and will have two years to play two seasons of hoops, brings some bulk and athleticism to the frontcourt, which will be much-needed in 2014-15 and beyond, as Florida adjusts to life without Will Yeguete and Patric Young.
Beyond that, it's hard to get a great grip on the properties of Murphy's game, simply because he hasn't played much since high school. Murphy played 6.6 minutes per game early this season, averaging 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds per game, and got just 6.3 minutes per game in 2012-13, averaging 2.1 points.
But Alex was routinely touted as a better player as a high school senior than Erik had been — something Erik routinely and humorously hinted at, especially in comparing their relative athletic skills — and if he can develop a shot like Erik did, he can be a very productive player in Billy Donovan's system.
Furthermore, every story on the Murphy family is obligated to mention the third Murphy brother, Tomas, a high school freshman. He might be the best of the brothers, already holds an offer from Florida, and wore a Gators hoodie to Florida's game against Connecticut earlier this season. Many high-profile programs will pursue Tomas Murphy as he develops, but Erik and Alex making their collegiate homes at Florida sure would seem to pave the way for Tomas to follow suit.
