March was truly madness for the Murray State Racers basketball program.
Not only did they complete an unbeaten conference season, but they won their conference tournament and an NCAA Tournament game, finishing with an impressive 31-3 record. Impressive, right? That’s exactly what LSU’s athletic department thought as well.
The program was completely gutted as Matt McMahon left to be the head coach in Baton Rouge and the Racers were stranded with only 6.7 points per game returning.
With this, they made a call to an old friend in former head coach Steve Prohm. Heading into Murray State’s first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, he will take charge of a transfer-laden roster.
Murray State Transfer Additions:
Rob Perry, Stetson
15.9 Points/5.7 Rebounds/2.6 Assists/40.3% FG%/35.4% 3-pt%
Quincy Anderson, Minnesota State Mankato
17.8 Points/6.4 Rebounds/1.5 Assists/47.2% FG%/37% 3-pt%
Jamari Smith, Queens
17.6 Points/7.1 Rebounds/51.3% FG%/40% 3-pt%
Brian Moore, NE Oklahoma A&M
18.4 Points/3.6 Rebounds/2.8 Assists/59.1% FG%/36.5% 3-pt%
Jacobi Wood, Belmont
6.3 Points/2.1 Rebounds/2.2 Assists/40.7% FG%/33% 3-pt%
Kenny White Jr., Tennessee Tech
10.2 Points/3.9 Rebounds/1.4 Assists/46.6% FG%/39.8% 3-pt%
Marlon Lestin, ECU
7 Total Rebounds/47 Minutes Played
Every single player that Steve Brohm brought in can score! Rather it is at the D1 level or in other places, they’ve shown it. Expect this team to put up some points.
It starts in the backcourt where Rob Perry comes over from Stetson. The former Hatter ran one of the best backcourts in the country last season and was effective almost every night. Take out games against FIU and Georgia Tech and he shot nearly 2.5% higher from the field. Pairing with him, Jacobi Wood had a stellar freshman season at Belmont before taking a little step back last season. In that freshman season, he scored 20+ points ten times including 21 against Howard in his collegiate debut.
The two other D1 transfers come in the front court. Kenny White Jr. was one of the best big men in the OVC a season ago and is only going into his sophomore season! He committed less than two fouls per game under the basket and scored double digits 14 times in conference play, starting all but one game a season ago. Along with him, Marlon Lestin comes over from ECU where he had limited playing time. He was recruited by some big-time programs out of high school though, earning scholarships from Providence and UMass.
Along with them, Prohm brings in two D2 transfers in Minnesota State Mankato’s Quincy Anderson and Queens University Charlotte’s Jamari Smith. Both players averaged over 17 points per game last season but bring in different skill sets. Anderson is a guard, who squeezes his way inside. He’s an insane three-point shooter, leading the team with 50 made last season. Anderson also led the way with 31 steals. Smith on the other hand makes over half the shots he attempts but is a forward. He scored double digits in his final 21 games, scoring a career-high 33 in an NCAA Tournament loss to Augusta.
Then lastly to round out the class, Prohm added Brian Moore from JUCO powerhouse NE Oklahoma A&M. Moore led the region in both field goal percentage (59.1%) and points made (424). Only twice last season did he score single digits.
I would also like to mention that Prohm signed four-star forward, Sam Murray II. Murray chose Murray over the likes of Baylor, LSU, Texas, and other Power 5 schools.
TPR’s Projected Starting Lineup for Murray State:
PG: Jacobi Wood
SG: Rob Perry
SF: Kenny White Jr.
PF: DJ Burns
C: Sam Murray II
