Draft Profile: Dejounte Murray

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Dejounte Murray represented one half of the University of Washington’s dynamic freshman duo this past season, along with projected first-round pick Marquese Chriss. The guard was one of the top all-around players in the Pac-12, leading all conference freshmen in points, assists and steals per game, while establishing himself as one of the most decorated freshmen in program history.

Possessions Scouted from 2015-16 Season:
OFFENSE: 18.3 percent of possessions
DEFENSE: 19.5 percent of possessions

Dejounte Murray is a downhill 2-guard who will be able to eat some minutes at point guard. He is a smooth slasher who relentlessly attacks the rim. He’s elusive and possesses good body control. He reminds me a bit of Jamal Crawford in his ability to create his own shot in one-on-one situations. However, he is a much worse shooter than Crawford. Murray very rarely makes a shot outside of the paint, and his release must be cleaned up. He must always square his shoulders, must elongate his follow through and must eliminate his tendency to drop the ball to his knees at the start of his shooting motion. Murray is a good ball handler and is patient in his attack. He is an accurate passer and is very quick. He’s not yet a great finisher, although he will improve in this area. The floater is his best shot. Murray usually puts forth effort at the defensive end. He displays good feet, good reactions and is quick laterally. He needs to learn to finish plays. He must add strength. Washington switched often on pick-and-rolls; I’d like to see how he fights through screens and recovers during a workout. Murray has the potential to be a very good on-ball defender in the league.

Dejounte Murray was born on Sept. 19, 1996 in Seattle, Wash. He attended prep school at Rainier Beach High, where a number of current and former NBA players – such as Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson – also played. During his senior season at Rainier Beach, Murray averaged 25.0 points, 12.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He also contributed 24 double-doubles and 14 triple-doubles. He led the Vikings to a state title while being named a 2015 Parade All-American, Washington Gatorade Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and WIAA Mr. Basketball. Murray was ranked as the No. 49 recruit in the country on the ESPN 100 and owned the No. 46 ranking on the Rivals 150. He played one season at the University of Washington and led Pac-12 freshmen in scoring (16.1 PPG), assists (4.4 APG), steals (1.8 SPG) and was second in rebounding (6.0 RPG). Murray dished out the most assists by a freshman in program history with 151. He also finished second on the school’s freshman list in points (548) and steals (62), and was third in rebounds (203). He recorded the second-most steals in the Pac-12 the fifth-most points, the sixth-most assists and led the conference with 110 turnovers. Murray started all 34 games for the Huskies and scored in double figures 26 times. He had a career-best effort on Feb. 10 when he notched 34 points (10-of-14 from the field), 11 rebounds and six assists against Arizona State. Murray recorded 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists during Washington’s NIT first-round win over Long Beach State. During the Huskies’ two-game run, he averaged 25.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 5.0 APG and 2.5 SPG. He earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Conference Second-Team and the pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Murray and Washington teammate Marquese Chriss both declared for the NBA Draft on March 23.