On Tuesday afternoon, Luke Murray officially took the helm of the Boston College Men’s Basketball program, addressing the media at his introductory press conference.
With Boston College entering a new era, here are three of my takeaways from the conference:
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This program is going to look different, on and off the court
Murray made that very clear. Off the court, Murray talked extensively about turning the perception of the program around. Winning cures all, of course, and Murray acknowledged that — “just give us a chance” he asked of the students and fans — but above all, the team will be “prepared.”
One of the reasons Murray was such an attractive candidate to BC is his reputation as an offensive savant. His presser made clear that the brand of basketball he is bringing to Chestnut Hill will be “aesthetically pleasing;” one that fans will want to watch and players will want to play in. More importantly, however, Murray articulated that “we are going to dive into an analytical model, in terms of the way we play and the way we roster construct. We’re going to have a very healthy shot diet; it’s going to be one that mathematically makes sense.” Expect a much different style of play than what BC fans have been used to recently.
Winning is the goal
On the surface level, this is obvious — why would winning not be the goal? Yet perhaps the biggest storyline leading up to Murray’s hire was whether or not BC was going to pony up the resources Murray felt were necessary to win. Literally hours before the news about Murray’s hiring broke, Dan Hurley discussed how he felt his assistants were ready for jobs of their own — provided that the program was completely invested in competing and winning at the highest level.
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When asked today about whether he’s bee given assurances of enough financial and administrative support to win, Murray answered that he has — and that there “are plans in place to become more and more competitive.” And I’m inclined to believe him. Murray was making almost a million dollars at UConn, working with perhaps the best coach in the country. He had no shortage of interested programs in the past few years. The fact that he picked BC tells me that the university is at least making an attempt to be competitive.
The work starts now
Murray will be staying with UConn through their postseason run. He described the past few weeks as “wild;” he signed his BC contract in D.C. preparing for the Huskies’ Sweet 16 matchup.
He’ll fly with UConn to Indianapolis tomorrow, and will be back in Boston no later than next Monday. He knows the enormity of the task ahead; the transfer portal officially opens on Monday. Most of his staff seems to be falling into place, but there’s a lot to be done to get this program off the ground.
