Murphy to start vs. FSU
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 | Men's Basketball, Football, Chris Harry
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- It didn't take long for Alex Murphy's eligibility to impact the Florida first unit.
Murphy, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound transfer forward from Duke who made his UF debut 10 days ago, will be in the starting lineup Tuesday night when the Gators (7-4) take on rival Florida State (7-5) at the Tucker Center.
A midseason transfer last season, Murphy had to wait for the fall semester to end and his grades to be cleared before seeing the the court. Once that happened, the younger brother of former Florida star Erik Murphy scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked a pair of shots and came up with two steals in UF's last outing, a 63-50 defeat of Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise, Fla.
Now with all UF players available for the first time this season, Gators coach Billy Donovan has opted to insert Murphy -- with his size, athleticism, ability to run the floor and high basketball IQ -- into the starting unit alongside forward Dorian Finney-Smith, center Jon Horford and guards Kasey Hill and Michael Frazier.
Make that 10 different players figuring into eight different starting lineups through Florida's first 12 games.
Here's a look at UF's starting lineups to date and how each fared:
Starting Five Record (opponents)
Hill, Eli Carter, Frazier, Finney-Smith, Horford 1-0 (William & Mary)
Hill, Carter, Frazier, Jacob Kurtz, Horford 0-1 (Miami)
Hill, Frazier, Devin Robinson, Kurtz, Horford 1-0 (Louisiana-Monroe)
Hill, Frazier, Robinson, Horford, Walker 0-1 (Georgetown)
Hill, Frazier, Kurtz, Finney-Smith, Horford 1-1 (UAB, North Carolina)
Hill, Frazier, Robinson, Finney-Smith, Horford 3-1 (Kansas, Yale, Texas Southern, Wake Forest)
Chris Chiozza, Frazier, Robinson, Finney-Smith, Horford 1-0 (Jacksonville)
Hill, Frazier, Murphy, Finney-Smith, Horford ? (Florida State)
