COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES, A UNORTHODOX OFFENSIVE PROSPECT
Written by Jaspaire
Every year, one or two prospects are drafted as "projects". This year, Collin Murray-Boyles could well be a one-and-one who gets drafted high by surprise.
A leading scorer in his final year of HS with Wasatch Academy Tigers, the young player (born in January 2005) decided to commit to South Carolina on 7th August 2022.
The player is starting to exceed 20 minutes playing time in 2024.
As you can see from this tweet from Barlowe, the player is starting to make a name for himself. South Carolina are having a good season and, on top of that, the player is showing that he is the best player on the court.
As well as being a young and promising player, South Carolina's 4-star recruit has some rather intriguing statistics. Let's take a look at the player. So, what make him a special offensive weapon ?
AN INTRIGUING OFFENSIVE WEAPON
As a 6'7 (2m) forward, he excels on PnR as a Roller.
The player is very interesting on various types of actions with Pick and Roll, in particular on short roll where he easily finds his teammates.
A good screener with a wide body, he often has the right timing to roll and fill up space to create havoc in the opposing defense. His good touch near the rim, allows Murray Boyles to force the defense to defend him high on PnR.
Even when he's not rolling, his face-up game is interesting. Still thin, but some very interesting drive sequences with a pretty decent handle for a forward.
The player is also used as a top of the key facilitator, on hand-off for example, with lots of off-ball movements so that he can deliver passes to his team-mates.
His post-up game is an important part of his offensive baggage, without being his biggest asset. The player excels at managing missmatches thanks to his broad shoulders and good touch + footwork close to the rim.
To continue with his offensive positioning, the player is very good at grabbing offensive rebounds (2 offensive rebounds per game).
The forward freshman is used like a center except that he is versatile in all types of defensive coverage on PnR.
Even though he's not a shooter or a true pivot, Murray Boyles has no negative impact on the Gamecocks' spacing, thanks to his good usage and the number of scheme in which he has a positive impact. (22.7% USG rate, a good offensive contribution)
Here are CMB stats on Barttorvik
CMB is perfect in the South Carolina system. The forward is perfect for using short rolls, handoffs and exploiting missmatches in the post.
His broad shoulders make it easy for him to create space under the rim or position himself for offensive rebounds.
Whether it's a short roll, a hard roll or a hand-off, the player is capable of making a positive contribution to South Carolina's attack.
62% from the free-throw line is still a little low for a player who lives so much in the paint.
It's still a little early to say that the player has a chance in the NBA draft. Leading his team in stats such as BPM, OBPM and DBPM while playing South Carolina's 7th most playing time. Despite his lack of shooting, his statistical production remains very intriguing (2nd on his team with 1.087 PPP and the highest PER on his team 26.1 per Synergy).
