Report: Preston Murphy Leaving URI for Boston College
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Preston Murphy will leave his post as URI Associate Head Coach and join Jim Christian's staff at Boston College, according to multiple media reports.
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URI associate head coach Preston Murphy in talks with BC about asst job. URI in process of attempting to keep him.
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) April 17, 2014
It also sounds like Rhode Island assistant Preston Murphy is heading to Boston College to round out Jim Christian's staff.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 17, 2014
#URI associate head basketball coach Preston Murphy will accept position at Boston College, source confirms to @IndependentRI. #Rams #Eagles
— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) April 17, 2014
So, if you are keeping track, Jim Christian's staff at BC is: Billy Wuczynski, Scott Spinelli and Preston Murphy. I'd give that a B.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 17, 2014
Murphy was a key player at URI from 1995-1999. He was an assistant at Boston College for 4 seasons under Al Skinner (2006-2010) before returning to Kingston as an assistant to Jim Baron.
Murphy proved to be a valuable member of the URI staff, especially in recruiting players from the Midwest and Detroit area. He was elevated to Associate Head Coach by Dan Hurley on April 2nd.
Boston College is putting an increased emphasis on recruiting with the brand new staff in Chestnut Hill, and Murphy's ties to the Eagles' program and his proven track record at URI made him an attractive candidate.
Murphy's biggest recruiting coup at URI came last year when E.C. Matthews committed to URI out of Romulus High School in Michigan. Matthews was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Year in 2014, averaging 15.3 points per game.
While neither URI nor BC has formally announced anything yet, a tweet from recent URI signee Jarvis Garrett appears to be in relation to the news of Murphy's departure. Garrett openly praised Murphy as one of the biggest reasons he chose URI.
Smh man I really can't believe this honestly
— Jarvis Garrett (@COOLKID_GARRETT) April 17, 2014
URI did not immediately respond when reached for confirmation and comment.