Purdue Newcomers Scouting Reports

Scouting Reports on Oscar Cluff, Omer Mayer, Antione West Jr, and Liam Murphy

After a Sweet Sixteen run, Purdue returned all of their core pieces. They were already set up for a potential Final Four run, but with the addition of 4 new players, Purdue has vaulted themselves into legitimate national title contenders. Below is a very in depth breakdown of all of their games, including stats, film breakdown, and also analysis of their games and fit.

Liam Murphy

Background Info

• Height - 6’7

• Weight - 220 lbs

• Position - Power Forward

• Year - Redshirt Senior

• Previous Team - North Florida

• High School - St. Peter’s (NY)

Stats

Junior Season (North Florida)

• 23.9 minutes, 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 turnovers, 0.8 steals

• 1.2/2.3 2s (51.4%), 3.3/7.7 3s (42.3%), 0.9/1.2 FTs (76.3%)

• 59.9 eFG%, 61.0 TS%, 10.4 DRB%, 11.4 AST%, 9.3 TO%, 1.6 STL%

• 6.1 OBPM, -2.1 DBPM, 4.0 BPM

Sophomore Season (Columbia)

• 21.3 minutes, 7.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.3 turnovers, 0.4 steals

• 1.1/2.7 2s (41.9%), 1.4/4.6 3s (31.5%), 0.8/1.2 FTs (63.2%)

• 45.3 eFG%, 46.8 TS%, 11.6 DRB%, 8.5 AST%, 16.4 TO%, 1.2 STL%

• -1.8 OBPM, -2.8 DBPM. -4.6 BPM

Freshman Season (Columbia)

• 32.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.7 turnovers, 0.8 steals

• 1.6/3.7 2s (43.8%), 2.4/6.6 3s (35.9%), 1.7/2.2 FTs (77.3%)

• 47.9 eFG%, 50.7 TS%, 13.1 DRB%, 8.7 AST%, 16.2 TO%, 1.5 STL%

• 0.1 OBPM, -2.6 DBPM, -2.5 BPM

Notes

The scouting report for Liam Murphy could be described in one word - SHOOTER. I wouldn’t be shocked when teams scout him if that is the only word that they tell their players. Murphy is a stretch 4 that is going to get the ball up.

The redshirt senior provides spacing in the front court, and the option to potentially go smaller if Purdue wants to play TKR at the 5. The shooting speaks for itself, and below are the splits.

• All 3s - 103/248 (41.5%)

• All catch and shoot 3s - 98/234 (41.9%)

  • Open catch and shoot 3s - 30/56 (53.6%)

  • Contested catch and shoot 3s - 68/178 (38.2%)

• Pull up 3s - 5/14 (35.7%)

A 6’7 forward that shoots over 50% on open 3s and nearly 40% on contested 3s? That’s the entire draw of Murphy right there. He’s an elite shooter that could make Purdue lineups have tons of spacing in an instant. Defenses will have to pick who they want to leave open, and if it is Murphy, he’ll make them pay.

He isn’t purely just a stand still shooter. He has a quick and compact shooting motion with good balance that allows him to run off of screens. North Florida loved running flare screens for him to be able to get open looks. He gets set quickly and there is no wasted movement at all in his shooting motion. He also is a legitimate pick and pop threat, mixing in both ghost screens and regular screens before floating out to the three point line.

If Liam Murphy gets consistent minutes, it’s because he either is shooting over 40% from 3, or defenses respect him enough that it opens up the floor for everyone else. In a pinch Murphy can drive and get all the way to the rim, but it isn’t something teams really want to rely on. I wouldn’t be shocked if Murphy attempts less than 10 2s in the half court next season.

The biggest reason he needs to shoot well to get minutes is that he is going to be targeted on the defensive end. North Florida was one of the worst defenses in the country last season which doesn’t help him, but he got attacked on the perimeter a lot. He struggles to move well laterally and often had to open up his hips into more of a run in order to try and stay in front. He projects to guard opposing 4s, but he’ll have to fight hard to battle the physicality that comes with a lot of Big Ten 4s.

At the end of the day, Painter went out and got a proven shooter to add to his front court that could provide a spark off the bench in a pinch. The ability to go small with him and light it up from 3 is something Painter values and will at least have in his back pocket, or he could be paired with one of the bigs and provide spacing for Cluff and Jacobsen to do their thing.

Film Breakdown

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