“Jamal Murray is the Best Player in the Country” Leads Kentucky Past Albany In Home Opener

LEXINGTON, KY–Jamal Murray’s name will be remembered with the likes of John Wall, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and a long list that have left their mark on the Big Blue faithful at the University of Kentucky.

The general consensus from reporters, alumni and even Coaches in the NCAA has been that Jamal Murray is the best player in the country, and he makes it tough to argue against that.

Albany Head Coach Will Brown said those very words in a post-game press conference.

“Jamal Murray is the best player in the country… He was on cruise control, picking his spots; he plays at a great pace, great feel, great size.”

Great is what Murray expects from himself and last night was just an intro to what the NCAA will see from him.

Murray’s performance in Kentucky’s home opener against Albany last night was sub-par, by his standards. He registered 19 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals against a tough Albany Great Danes squad that kept the game tight for a majority of the 40 minutes.

With eight assists, Murray set an all-time Kentucky record for the most dimes from a freshman in his debut.

It was a strong second half for the Wildcats freshman, helping his team extend to as far as a 21 point lead on Albany, but not one that he was satisfied with.

“I got to be much better taking care of the ball, those turn overs are unacceptable.”

Coach Cal shared these same sentiments on his starting guard Murray turning over the ball.

“And they were all of the, ‘Why did he do that?’ They were casual. This game isn’t casual. Like, every game we play is a fist fight.”

Coach Calipari has mentioned on multiple occasions that he wants to see more of a sense of urgency and more “grit” out of his team, he didn’t feel like they had that last night against the Great Danes.

The Wildcats committed 20 turnovers, most of which were out of ball handlers wanting to do too much or hanging on to the rock a second or two too long.

On Tuesday, they’ll meet with the Duke Blue Devils which will be either a rude awakening or getting into the right gear for the rest of the season.

This game will be played in Chicago as part of the Champions Classic series.

Primetime, box office, big stage…these are the levels Murray has had the biggest impact on. As great as I believe Murray to be, this is Duke we’re talking about.

The Blue Devils coaching staff will have a full scouting report done to ensure that Murray isn’t as potent and he will have to make adjustments and limit turnovers.

Regardless of environment or competition level in the past, Murray has proven to be the best player on the floor in every situation. Patterns will trend this year as Murray works to establish himself as the top player in the country and continues to boost his NBA stock to the very top.

Possibly to the #1 spot.