Iowa star, potential Pacers pick Keegan Murray unbothered by criticism of upside, age

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CHICAGO — Keegan Murray wants to set the record straight. The Iowa sophomore has heard all of the knocks about his game as the 2022 NBA Draft creeps closer, particularly his lack of upside.

But have people forgotten where he came from?

A few years years ago, before his budding career was thrust under a microscope, Murray was relatively unknown. According to 247Sports, he was a three-star recruit ranked as the No. 334 high school player in the country. His lone scholarship offers were from Iowa and Western Illinois.

Now, Murray is a surefire lottery pick and a prospect the Pacers will consider drafting sixth overall on June 23.

"I've always bet on myself," Murray said Thursday at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. "I know that the work will take care of itself, so for me I just put my head down and worked when the cameras weren't on and just really believed in myself.

"(I) knew that I could be the best player in the country."

Iowa sophomore Keegan Murray speaks to the media during the NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on May 19, 2022.
Iowa sophomore Keegan Murray speaks to the media during the NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on May 19, 2022.

Murray took a backseat during his freshman season to National Player of the Year Luka Garza, who now plays for the Pistons. But his sophomore campaign was a completely different story. The 6-8 forward went from being a self-proclaimed glue guy to a consensus first team All-American.

Murray averaged 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while leading the Hawkeyes to their first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2006. He shot 55.4%, 39.8% on 3s and 74.7% at the free-throw line.

However, even after his meteoric rise, Murray's still drawn criticism for something else: his age. He'll turn 22 before the start of his first NBA season and is older than most other lottery prospects.

"I'd say I'm a 21-year-old in an 18-year-old's body," Murray said. "In high school, I was a 5-foot-10 sophomore and ended up growing to 6-foot-8 my senior year of high school. So I'm a late bloomer in that sense, so for me, I'm young. I feel young. ... If you're comparing me on age and not what I do on the court, then maybe that's another conversation.

"I feel like my ceiling is as high as anyone else in the draft."

Murray said he interviewed with the Pacers, along with several other teams, and wants to prove that he's a two-way player. He notched five 30-point games during his sophomore season but also had eight outings with at least two steals and two blocks.

"I feel like I can switch onto to guards, onto bigs," Murray said. "Obviously the athleticism, the size is a little bit different than in college, but every level you go up is another challenge. So for me, I'm willing to take the challenge. I don't really care who's matched up across from me. I'm going to take that challenge and do what I can to stop them."

Murray has been training in Chicago as the draft approaches. He said he's more focused on how he fits with a team rather than which team drafts him.

The Pacers will take a hard look at the talented forward, who once flew under the radar with one high-major scholarship offer.

"It doesn't matter what critics say," Murray said. " ... Just keep that same hardnosed mentality that I've had in college and translate that to the NBA."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers: Potential lottery pick Keegan Murray unbothered by criticism