Wake Forest Athletics
Point Guard Enjoys The Leadership Role
3/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2000
By Jay Reddick
Ervin Murray's first experience in his chosen profession of coaching came this summer in his hometown of Teachey. The sophomore taught at a basketball camp at his old high school, and soon found himself in charge of a team of youngsters.
"That was a lot of fun," Murray said. "It's fun having my own little team, giving them some plays to do, seeing them execute and win."
Murray brought that experience back to Wake Forest with him this fall, and in a sense, that's what he's doing with the basketball team now - as the starting point guard.
Murray joined the Deacons' starting lineup on Feb. 15 against N.C. State and immediately piloted the team to a 71-53 victory over the Wolfpack. Murray's presence at the point gives the team a different look, but there's certainly no dropoff in confidence.
"I've been playing the point all my life, so I'm comfortable," Murray said. "It's no extra pressure for me. I like working the team. I like having the responsibility. I find it fun. I just try to win, that's all."
Murray was something of a jack-of-all-trades at Wallace Rose Hill High School, where he played the point, shooting guard and small forward at different times during his career. As a senior, he led his team to a 31-0 record and a state championship. He propelled his AAU team, the Carolina Warriors, to an outstanding record as well, with the help of teammates Craig Dawson and Antwan Scott.
Those high school successes have made Ervin Murray hungrier for victories now. The word "win" peppers his vocabulary as often as "compassionate conservative" appears in the speeches of George W. Bush.
And he finds it easier to control the team's won-lost record from his current position as the starter at the point. Murray wasn't surprised when he was named the starter, in fact, he said he expected it.
"You'll know when you're going to start by how much you work," Murray said. "When you prove yourself, it's nothing to even think about, because you know you're going to be in there."
Murray faced much the same situation as a freshman, when he began the season on the bench but was named the starter at shooting guard early in the ACC schedule.
He said the key to that surge came when he realized that going all-out was the only way to go.
"Being a freshman was pretty hard," Murray said. "School-wise, I was pretty comfortable, but on the basketball court I was playing not to make a mistake. When you do that, you're not going to be successful. You'll play too conservative.
"Now, I just let my hair down, head down, whatever, and I'm going to play. If I make a mistake, so be it. I'm just going to play and play hard."
This season, his play in the month of February made him an indispensable part of the Deacon attack. Beginning with the Clemson game on Feb. 8, Murray averaged 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game for the rest of the month.
Those are solid numbers, even if they're not the statistics of a star. But Murray's OK with that, the bigger number for him over those three games is 3-3, the team's record.
"I'm just a basketball player, I'm no star," Murray said. "That comes with hard work and with you deserving it. I don't necessarily need to be a star, I just need to win."
Murray's role, besides running the offense, is to make sure the team is communicating. Murray does more than his share of talking, sometimes to help, sometimes to inform, and sometimes just to bother.
"I think communication is a big key to being successful," Murray said. "I like to talk out there and get the guys talking back to me. I think it confuses the other team sometimes."
The victories haven't come this season the way Murray wanted them to, but his confidence is growing along with that of the rest of the team.
"It's been hard," Murray said. "I think for the most part, we've played well, but the ball hasn't bounced our way. We'll get our just due in time if we keep working hard and keep fighting."
And what, exactly, would be the Deacons' just due?
"I want to win a national championship," Murray said. "That's my goal, I hope it's everybody else's, too. Everything I've played, I've won the biggest I could. It may look hard right now, but we're going to work it out and win a national championship before I leave."
