Murphy learns about more than basketball in Hawaii
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
It takes more than the average Joe to blow by All-American basketball player Troy Murphy.
Somebody like the 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year Vince Carter, for instance.
"I ended up covering him [Carter] in one of the scrimmages," Murphy said. "I've never felt so vulnerable in my life. It was kind of like pick your poison with him — he'll either pull up and shoot over you or go around you and dunk. Unfortunately he dunked on me a couple of times."
Murphy was one of 12 collegiate players picked to play on a U.S. Men's Select team that competed in Hawaii Saturday against the U.S. Olympic team.
The Olympic Dream Team III defeated the collegians squarely 111-74, leaving a big impression on its opponents.
Murphy, who scored four points and pulled down three rebounds in the exhibition game, found himself in awe of Carter's athleticism and Alonzo Mourning's size.
What impressed him even more was the NBA players' work ethic.
"These guys are making 14, 15 million dollars a year, and then at the end of practice they run sprints," Murphy said. "Ray Allen is making 8 million dollars a year and shooting jump shots at the end of practice. Alonzo Mourning is running sprints long after everybody else has gone home."
The constant dedication to improve and stay on top of their game struck Murphy as the biggest lesson of the trip.
"Those guys have made it," the junior power forward said. "Yet they continually want to get better. They're not satisfied. That sticks with me."
Dream Team III ran the gamut in its response to the NCAA players.
While some took time out of their schedule to pass on a few pointers to the collegians, others looked on it as their duty to put their younger counterparts in their places.
"Some of them kind of saw it as a rite of passage, to show us that they were still the guys that had to be beaten," Murphy said. "There were a couple guys, though, Ray Allen and Vin Baker, who went out of their way to get to know me and help me out."
Although guys like Murphy, Duke's Shane Battier and Jason Williams, Maryland's Terence Morris and Iowa State's Jamal Tinsley, all members of the Select team, are the elite among college players, they came in at a disadvantage.
Not only did they have less experience, they lacked time playing together to form a team and learn plays.
On the hardwood, the Select team couldn't compete with the NBA players yet. Off the court, the guys got to know each other and enjoy Hawaii at the same time.
"We went snorkeling one day," Murphy said. "But they gave us fish food to attract the fish, and we ended up throwing the fish food on each other instead of in the water. So that attracted the fish real close, and we didn't last too long."
Back on campus, Murphy values the chance to meet his childhood heroes face to face.
"It was great. I've got pictures up on my wall in my dorm room of those guys," Murphy said. "It's an experience that I'll cherish for a long, long time."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, September 5, 2000
