Murphy Returns to Starting Lineup, Wastes Little Time Asserting Himself
Sunday, December 18, 2011 | Men's Basketball
By Chris Harry
GatorZone.com Contributing Writer
SUNRISE, Fla. – Welcome back to the starting lineup, Erik Murphy.
“Feels good to be back.”
Murphy, the 6-foot-10 forward who missed three games with a bruised right knee then came off the bench for two more, returned to Florida's first five Saturday and wasted little time asserting himself as the 13th-ranked Gators waxed No. 22 Texas A&M 84-64 in the Orange Bowl Classic at BankAtlantic Center.
He opened the game with a layup on a feed from freshman Brad Beal. Ninety seconds later, Murphy nailed a 3-pointer from the wing. Just over three minutes into the game, he drove baseline, spun and banked in a shot to give him seven of Florida's first nine points.
Murphy, the junior from South Kingstown, R.I., finished with 13 points, on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor and 2-for-4 from the arc, to go with five rebounds and a steal in 28 minutes.
“We do need Erik's ability to shoot the ball, stretch the defense, [his] size and rebounding,” Gators coach Billy Donovan said. “He can do some good things offensively and we needed to get him back in there.”
That's not a slight at 6-6 sophomore Will Yeguete, who started in Murphy's place the last five games to rave reviews from his coaches. Yeguete may be limited offensively, but his value to the Gators on defense, under the boards and hustle plays is off the charts.
Against the Aggies, Yeguete came off the bench to hit both his field-goal attempts and grab a team-best six rebounds in 15 minutes.
“It was nothing Will did wrong. Actually, Will did a great job in [Murphy's] absence,” Donovan said. “But we have to get the front court going collectively as a group and I thought Erik really played very, very well in the first half and good a good job defensively.”
The Gators had not played since defeating Rider eight days ago, so Murphy used the extra practice time to work toward gaining his stroke, strength and conditioning back.
“I feel great,” he said. “It makes a difference when you're coming off the bench and trying to get ready. The last couple games, I was just trying to get my legs back. I feel good right now.”
With Saturday's game, Murphy is now hitting 50 percent from the floor for the season, 52 percent from 3-point range and averaging nine points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
