Keegan Murray The New Face of Iowa Basketball

When you bring up Iowa basketball players getting NBA Draft attention, your mind goes right to Luka Garza. The All-American who won every award possible during his senior season at Iowa. But you'd be wrong. Perhaps you'd think of Joe Wieskamp. The sharp shooter is testing the NBA waters for a second straight year. Many believe this time he won't come back to Iowa for one final season. But actually, the Iowa player getting the most NBA love right now is Keegan Murray.

Hawk Central reports that ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathon Givony surprised many when his 'too early' 2022 NBA Draft list featured Murray going at #23 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers. But that's just one, way too early projection, right? Days after that list was published, Jeremy Woo from Sport's Illustrated ranked Murray as one of the 10 best NBA Draft prospects returning to school. I don't know about you, but while I loved what Murray was able to do during his freshman year, it didn't exactly scream out first round draft pick.

Hawk Central reports that Murray had averages last year of 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. But, when he played at least 22 minutes, those averages went up to 9.9 points and over 7 boards per game. If Murray gets 30 or more minutes per game next season he could easily be a 15 point, 10 rebound per game player.

NBA scouts love Murray's mobility, defense, and instincts. But he must get better at shooting from the outside. Hawk Central points out that Murray shot just 29% from beyond the arc last season. If he can improve that number, he may just be a first round NBA Draft pick in waiting!