September 29, 2015
After a breakout junior season with Sioux City East, and a summer gaining exposure with All Iowa Attack Nike’s 17U program, sharpshooting 2016 Connor Murrell is no longer a hidden gem.
He recently was extended his first two scholarship offers from NAIA schools Morningside and Briar Cliff, and has a number of Division II programs hot on his trail — a couple of Division I schools too.
“Some more D2s picked up interest; Northwest Missouri State, Montana State-Billings, Minot State, Wayne State, and then a little bit from South Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha,” said Murrell.
“I would probably say Minot State and Northwest Missouri State are the two schools recruiting me most.”
He’s visited Morningside, Briar Cliff, and Northwest Missouri State, and says he’d like to visit Montana State and Minot State sometime before his senior season starts.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard credits playing with All Iowa Attack as helping his game improve and his recruitment take off.
“I definitely got a lot of exposure, we played in a lot of tournaments and I played against a lot of kids that made me a lot better,” said Murrell.
“I feel like I shot the ball really well this summer for All Iowa Attack, and then for school ball I think I really improved in getting to the basket and I got a little bit stronger so I can finish at the time better.”
Murrell says it’s how much weight he can add and strong he can get that will determine what level of college ball he’ll be most successful playing.
“I think my strength is definitely going to be a focus of mine, that will dictate what level I play at, is how strong I can get here over the next six months,” said Murrell, who is gearing up to be option A at with the Black Raiders this season.
“My role is going to be a little different, last year I wasn’t the primary option, but I was the second guy, and this year I’ll have the ball a lot more, and my scoring should go up. Some personal goals would be to win the conference and then definitely get to state.”
February 18, 2015
Last year at this time Sioux City East guard Connor Murrell was well under 6-foot, not on the varsity roster and subsequently not on the radar of the state’s elite 2016s.
In 12 months, the junior sharpshooter has grown six inches to 6-foot-3, and has blossomed into one on the state’s best shooters and one of 2016s best scorers.
“I was a really late bloomer, I was just small. I was a 3-point shooter and that’s all I was really known for,” said Murrell. “I wasn’t physically able to get to the bucket or anything like that, as I’ve grown it’s enabled me to get my shot off and my effectiveness to get into the paint has increased tremendously.”
Murrell is averaging 16.2 points and has made 52 3-pointers at a 50 percent clip for the 14-6 Black Raiders this season — he has come on particularly strong during the second half of the season.
“At the beginning of the year I wasn’t as aggressive, and I was kind of passive,” he said. “And about halfway through the year I really gained some confidence in myself and that’s meant a great deal to me, and I’ve been able to do some pretty good things.”
He credits his attention to detail and game-simulated practice techniques for his elite shooting.
“I didn’t expect to shoot it this well. Obviously I spent a lot of hours in the gym everyday, but there’s a difference between shooting the ball by yourself in the gym and shooting in games,” said Murrell.
“So at the gym I won’t just work on wide-open shots, I’ll work to get open and shoot off the dribble and practice with a high intensity. That way, when I’m in the game I’m a lot better at coming off screens and getting myself open away from the ball, rather than try and do it with the ball.”
Some college interest has come Murrell’s way, he mentioned area schools Dordt and Morningside as two who have reached out.
“I’ve gotten a lot of mail, that’s it,” said Murrell — whose recruitment is sure to ramp-up soon.
He currently has no AAU team to play with this spring and summer, but was adamant that he’d like to get on a roster before the circuit starts.
“I used to play for Kingdom Hoops, but I was way too small to play and then I really hit a growth spurt. I didn’t feel physically able, but I’m definitely looking to play this summer again,” said Murrell.
“I just want to play with like Martin Brothers, or (All Iowa) Attack — it really doesn't matter, I just need to get on a team”
As for the recent growth spurt, according to Murrell, it’s likely not done.
“Ya, I’m probably going to grow a little bit,” he said. “Probably quite a bit.”
