Dec. 11, 2015

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — One of two players in the 110-year history of the University of Notre Dame men’s basketball program to score more than 2,000 points and grab 900 rebounds, Troy Murphy cemented his mark as one of the most prolific all-around players to don a Fighting Irish uniform during his three-year playing career. He is credited with helping put Notre Dame back on the college basketball map.

A two-time consensus first team All-American and two-time recipient of BIG EAST Player of the Year honors, Murphy will become the eighth inductee into the Notre Dame Basketball Ring of Honor on Saturday Jan. 23, 2015, at halftime of the Notre Dame-Boston College men’s basketball game at noon (ET). He will follow six former players — Austin Carr (2011), Adrian Dantley (2012), Skylar Diggins (2013), Luke Harangody (2010), Tom Hawkins (2015) and Ruth Riley (2010) — and former men’s head coach Richard “Digger” Phelps (2014) into the school’s Ring of Honor.

Murphy ranks among the greatest players in BIG EAST Conference history as a two-time winner of the BIG EAST Player of the Year award (2000 and 2001). He also copped the league’s Rookie of the Year honor in 1999.

“It will be an honor to welcome Troy Murphy back to campus for induction into our Ring of Honor,” head coach Mike Brey says. “His accomplishments and accolades during his career in a Notre Dame uniform speak for themselves and I am thrilled that we will have the opportunity to thank him for his contributions to our basketball program.

“I always will be grateful for the one season I had coaching Troy. He was a unique college basketball talent with prolific scoring and rebounding talents. Troy helped my transition when I first got the job at Notre Dame. The leadership he showed during the 2000-01 season helped us win the BIG EAST regular-season title and helped the program return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years. Troy is so deserving of his place in our Ring of Honor.”

Murphy played three seasons for the Irish (1998-2001) and scored 2,011 points (21.2 ppg.) and grabbed 924 rebounds (9.8) while playing in 94 outings (93 of them starts). At the time, he was the first Irish basketball player with 2,000 points and 900 rebounds. Murphy’s career numbers currently rank him seventh all-time in both scoring and rebounding. In 47 career BIG EAST outings, he averaged 21.3 points and 9.9 rebounds.

He led Notre Dame in scoring and rebounds in each of his three seasons. Murphy averaged 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds as a junior, 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in his junior year and 19.2 points and 9.9 boards as a freshman.

The Morristown, New Jersey native, shared BIG EAST Player of the Year honors with Troy Bell of Boston College in 2001 after earning the conference’s top honor in 2000. He joined an elite group of four players — Chris Mullin (St. John’s), Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) and Richard Hamilton (Connecticut) — as the only two-time winners of the award. He was named to the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team for the second consecutive year as a junior and finished fifth in the balloting for the Wooden Award in 2001. Murphy also was among the top three finalists for the Naismith player-of-the-year honor that same year. He is the only player in conference history to win player-of-the-year and rookie-of-the-year accolades in consecutive seasons. Murphy became just the fifth player in Notre Dame history to score more than 2,000 career points when he reached that milestone in his junior season. He also became the second player in BIG EAST history to lead the conference in scoring in back-to-back campaigns (1999-2000 and 2000-01) and the first to average a double-double — 21.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in conference play — when he recorded that feat during his sophomore season in 1999-2000.

Murphy declared for the 2001 National Basketball Association draft following his junior season and was the 14th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors. He played 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring in November 2012. Murphy saw action in 729 contests during his career and averaged 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.

In March 2015, Murphy was part of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Legends Class.

Fans can purchase tickets for Notre Dame’s matchup with Boston College and to all Fighting Irish basketball contests online at UND.com/BuyTickets or by calling the Notre Dame Ticket Office at 574-631-7356.

–ND–

By Bernadette Cafarelli, assistant athletics director for athletics communications at the University of Notre Dame