Pitt makes final four of Rice transfer Trey Murphy

Pitt coach Jeff Capel and his staff have been hard at work in the transfer market over the past few weeks, and on Tuesday, their efforts paid off to an extent, as Rice transfer Trey Murphy placed Pitt among the final four schools he is considering. The other three finalists are Houston, Villanova and Virginia.

More than 30 programs reached out to Murphy after he entered the transfer portal in March, and some of the most notable schools in contact with him included Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Cincinnati, Creighton, Marquette, Memphis, Texas, UConn, and Xavier.

The 6’8”, 200-pound shooting guard averaged 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game with the Owls last season. In addition, Murphy is a solid shooter, as he has shot 39.0 percent from three-point range in his two-year career, exceeding the 40.0 percent mark as a freshman and shooting at a 36.8 percent clip as a sophomore. He also made 82.4 percent of his free throws last season.

Murphy completed a virtual visit with Pitt over the weekend, according to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, and at the time, he planned to virtually visit Villanova as well.

The transfer is a native of Durham, North Carolina, where he attended Cary Academy. During his senior high school season, Murphy averaged 24.7 points and 7.4 rebounds and converted on 43.6 percent of his three-point shots and 85.8 percent of his free throws. That performance earned him all-metro honors from the Raleigh News and Observer in 2018.

At Pitt, Murphy’s reliable shooting and size would be a welcome addition to a team that was largely bereft of both last season. Pitt has two open scholarships at the moment, and the goal as things stand would be to come out of the offseason with a commitment from blue-chip recruit William Jeffress and a transfer who can fill Trey McGowens’ old role.

Murphy appears capable of filling that role, but it is unclear how long Pitt will have to wait to find out if he will. Corey Evans of Rivals noted that a commitment could come before the end of April, but no official decision date has been set. Murphy has two years of eligibility left and will have to sit out one year at his next school.