Post by Portland on Dec 6, 2016 1:53:49 GMT
Name: Calvin Murphy
Position: SG/PG
Height: 5'9
Weight: 165 lbs
Number: 23
DOB: May 9th, 1948
Age when drafted: 22
College: Niagara University
Hometown: Norwalk, Connecticut
Calvin entered the NBA following a stellar collegiate career at tiny Niagara University who he led into the NCAA tournament in 1970. He was a prolific scorer at that level (33.1 ppg over four seasons) and once scored 68 points versus Syracuse. In the pros, Murphy spent his entire career with the Rockets for whom he average 17.9 points per game; his high was 25.6 in the 1977-78 season. He is known for being the shortest player in the NBA Hall of Fame and for his deadly eye at the free throw line, but remembering him for only those attributes does a disservice to his overall talent, athleticism, and his pretty nice statistical body of work.
Strengths:
- Adept at driving to the hoop then pulling up for a trademark quick-lease (and often off-balance) jumper. He was highly creative in finding ways to get a shot off against the taller guards he faced every night. His efficient lifetime .482 shooting percentage was very good for his era – better than contemporaries like Jerry West and Earl Monroe (whose game was very similar.)
- A great ball-handler and steady passer but he didn’t accumulate a large number of assists. Like a lot of his contemporaries he was more of a combo guard comfortable with looking for his own shot first.
- Strong for his size and extremely physical. Calvin compensated for his lack of height by being one of the aggressive guards in the league and he backed down to no one. He was durable too, never having a significant injury in his career.
The free throw shooting. At the time of his retirement Calvin was the NBA career free-throw percentage leader at 89.2%.
A high-energy, disruptive defender
Weakness:
-Despite his bravery on the court he wasn’t one to mix it up inside for a rebound. Virtually no presence on the glass.
Not a long-range shooter; hard to tell if he would have developed this skill if he’d played all of his career in the three-point era but he seemed much more comfortable being a stop-and-pop shooter working on the elbows.
Current Attributes
INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QCK STR JMP STA
B- B- A- D+ B C+ D- D- D- B- B- F- A- B+ A- A+
Potential Attributes
INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK
A - A A+ C A B+ D D D+ A B+ F-
