South Carolina are languishing at the bottom of the SEC standings, but it isn’t due to Collin Murray-Boyles. The sophomore has continued to dominate and recently posted a new career high in a dominant victory over Arkansas. Partly due to the Gamecocks’ horrific 2-14 record in conference, Murray-Boyles is one of the nation’s best-kept secrets, but he won’t be for much longer as the NBA Draft approaches.
Collin Murray-Boyles Has All the Impressive Traits of a Defensive Destroyer in the NBA
Murray-Boyles is a prototypical NBA prospect. Watching the 6-foot-7 wing move around the court on both offense and defense, it is clear that he has some stuff to his game that few college players do. His 7-foot-2 wingspan certainly helps, allowing him to score over most defenders and be an absolute menace on defense.
Murray-Boyles hangs his hat on defense and has unique skills that NBA teams are highly interested in. Firstly, he is an explosive athlete who has tremendous lateral quickness. Combined with his length, he is an extremely versatile defender and, paired with his strength, can guard 1-5 and switch onto practically anyone. He has a knack for steals, averaging 1.5 per game, as well as blocks, swatting 1.4 shots per contest.
Being a switch-able defender in the NBA has never been more important, and Murray-Boyles projects as someone who is going to be able to harass guards or bigs in pick-and-roll actions, be a high-level help defender, and a strong one-on-one isolation defender against other wings.
Collin Murray-Boyles Does Not Lack Offensive Skill
Offensively, Murray-Boyles is not yet a deadly three-point shooter. His freshman mark of 22% from deep has risen to 26%, but still on under one attempt per game. Even if he does not project as a floor-spacer, Murray-Boyles has plenty of tools on offense that can make him far from a liability on that end.
His size and length allow him to penetrate deep into the paint and find himself plenty of easy looks. His strength is fully on display when near the rim, powering through even centers to convert high-percentage shots. His handle is the showstopper, and his grace, array of dribble moves, and craftiness at his size is very rare. Although he lacks a particularly strong jump shot, he is still a deadly face-up scorer and can attack from the wing, baseline, or navigate the defense from the middle of the floor in addition to being a handful when backing down his defender.
Collin Murray Boyles Scoring/Passing Tape against Missouri 🎥
The vision, explosiveness and strength make him such a real unique player at his build pic.twitter.com/GS0OjKQxTi
— Stan (@notsstann) February 27, 2025
The young man from Columbia, South Carolina has been an absolute star for his hometown team. This season, he has averaged 16.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in addition to his impressive steal and block numbers. On Saturday against Arkansas, Murray-Boyles scored a career-high 35 points on 12-16 from the floor. He missed his only three-pointer, but made 11-12 free throws and also had 4 steals on a truly monstrous night.
What Does the Future Hold for Collin Murray-Boyles in the NBA?
Collin Murray-Boyles has been the lone bright spot on a bad South Carolina Gamecocks team, and while that may give some people pause, most NBA scouts are undeterred. Murray-Boyles figures to be a late lottery pick or mid first-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft.
Bleacher Report’s latest NBA mock draft had Murray-Boyles being selected 13th overall, writing that his standout “frame, length, hands, instincts and improvisation” are all traits that NBA teams would love to add to their roster.
After a promising freshman season that could have seen Murray-Boyles leave South Carolina as a one-and-done, he returned to school and has definitely bolstered his NBA outlook.
For More Great Basketball Content
Follow @HardwoodHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in the NBA and college basketball, click here!
