Dejounte Murray: A High Scoring Guard In The Pacific Northwest

Dejounte Murray is a popular player out on the West Coast right now and one who saw his stock soar during a junior season at Rainier Beach (WA).  Now the 6’4” shooting guard looks to continue his rise during the spring and summer.

Last week in the first EYBL tournament of the year, Murray averaged 17 points per game on the Northwest Xpress AAU team which is comprised of the top players in the Pacific Northwest. The team opened with a loss, but Murray scored 21 points albeit on 8-19 shooting. With one game under their belt, the Xpress bounced back on Day 2 winning both of their games. 

“I think it was a whole bunch of jitters,” said Murray. “Our team didn’t know anything about the EYBL, we had never played, I had never played, but I’m used to playing in big games. As we start growing, we don’t want to lose so we were able to take care of business today.”

Murray played his best game late on day two of the live evaluation period. With only two courts of action going on, coaches were soon drawn to the high scoring exploits of the athletic guard. In a 66-53 win Murray scored 25 points on 9-14 shooting, including 4-5 from the three point line. Murray came down and drained three’s off the dribble and also utilized the pick and roll for open looks. Along with his outside shooting, Murray got to the basket off the dribble and finished at the rim for several and-one’s. All in all, it was one of the most impressive performances in Sacramento in front of a handful of college coaches. 

Who are those college coaches?

“The whole PAC-12 is after me, but only several have offered,” said Murray. “Oregon, Washington, Cal, Wazzou, USC are the ones that have offered. Gonzaga has offered me and been in touch. I’ve talked to Kansas and Kentucky a couple times. They didn’t offer yet, but they said I was on their watch list.

This past season, a senior laden Rainier Beach team led by Louisville commit Shaqquan Aaron went 29-1 and finished No. 5 in the country per Max Preps. While the team featured big names such as Aaron, Djuan Piper, and 2015 point guard David Crisp, Murray was still the main attraction for coaches such as Lorenzo Romar of the local Washington Huskies. Rainier Beach will lose a lot going into next year, but this shouldn’t stop them from winning a fourth straight title.   

First off, we are going to be a talented team next year,” noted Murray. “Khalil Shabazz (2017) and Keith Smith (2016). All we need is a big man, but I’m sure we can find someone to transfer in. I think we are going to be better than we were this year. We’ve won 3 in a row and going for 4 next year.”

Scouting Report:

Murray is a long and wiry guard that shoots well from the outside and can break down a defender off the dribble similar to 2014 five-star shooting guard Rashad Vaughn. In his first EYBL experience Murray averaged 4 rpg and 2 apg, to go along with his 17 points. He shot 47% from behind the arc and had a true shooting percentage of 53.3%. He is a high usage player and often has the ball in his hands. When he is on, he is on and there isn’t much any defender can do, but this also can lead to some forced shots at times. While quick and athletic, Murray will also need to continue to hit the weight room. During his junior season, Scout.com bumped Murray up from No. 80 to No. 46 in the class of 2015. The high scoring guard is one of the most exciting players in his class and with a few more impressive performances in the EYBL; Murray will start to increase his popularity across the country.