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It’s been a weird year. The start of Hawkeye basketball is imminent amidst a delayed football season. We’ll continue our postponed countdown over the next 24 hours. Next up: Kris Murray.
Previously:
55: Luka Garza
30: Connor McCaffery
24: Nico Hobbs
23: Josh Ogundele
22: Patrick McCaffery
Kris Murray
Forward, 6’8”, 215 lbs
Freshman, Cedar Rapids, IA (Prairie/DME Academy)
After a good senior season for Cedar Rapids Prairie in which he averaged 20 points and 6 rebounds, Kris and his twin brother, Keegan, still didn’t stand where they would have liked from a college standpoint. They headed to DME Academy in Daytona Beach, FL to heighten the profile of their games.
Not only did their games heighten but the boys did as well, growing from 6’5” to 6’8”. Iowa offered quickly, well ahead of any high major program, in their post-graduate year and the twins quickly accepted.
Kris has a little more notoriety as a defender and slasher on offense, as he posted just a 35% shooting percentage from behind the arc. It’s in this way he takes after his father, Kenyon, a former Hawk who was known for his defensive prowess.
If there’s a path towards playing time, it’s following in his father’s footsteps for Kris. With a logjam ahead of him on the wing - he’s a little lighter and less of a shooter than his brother - differentiating in effort, playing defense on a team which needs help there is a potential path.
Otherwise, it’s very likely Kris won’t see much time his freshman year. There’s just a lot of high-caliber players ahead of him and only 200 minutes to dole out. Whatever playing time he may come by does not prohibit him from taking a redshirt, as the 2020-21 season is a “free” one for winter student-athletes.