Boston Herald: "Murphy a perfect fit"

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/basketball/celts06202001.htm
Murphy a perfect fit: Notre Dame forward can see future with C's
by Steve Bulpett
Wednesday, June 20, 2001
Start with his name - Troy Murphy - then move on to the fact he played 
collegiately for the Fighting Irish. Could there be any better cosmic fit 
than for him to be drafted by the Celtics? And play for Jim O'Brien?
``I don't think so,'' the 6-foot-11 forward out of Notre Dame said after 
going through his paces for the Celtics staff yesterday at The Sports 
Authority Center at HealthPoint in Waltham. ``I think that fits. You can't 
get much better than that. Going from Notre Dame to playing for the Celtics 
would be great. That would fit perfectly.
``I mean,'' he added, glancing around the gym, ``I'm used to seeing all 
these shamrocks all over the place out at Notre Dame. So coming in here, 
it's no different. I think it would be great to play here, and it'd be a 
dream come true.''
Celts general manager Chris Wallace knows a good connection when he sees 
one, as well. Getting a good player is one thing, but bringing Troy Murphy 
to Boston might get Wallace premium seating for the St. Patrick's Day 
parade in Southie. He'd at least be in line for a Guinness on the house at 
J.J. Foley's.
``Obviously he's Irish, the Celtics are the Celtics and he's quite a 
shooter,'' said Wallace, summing the pro side of the ledger. ``He would be 
very well-received here. I don't think there's any question about that.''
But name alone won't get Murphy drafted here with either the 10th or 11th 
overall pick (he'll be gone before the C's go again at 21). That's where 
his shooting comes in. He averaged 21.4 points on .496 shooting in three 
years at Notre Dame, and he didn't stain those numbers yesterday.
``Troy did an outstanding job,'' said Wallace. ``That was quite a workout 
he put on. He shot the ball extremely well.
``Probably the most impressive thing about Troy - even more than his 
outside shooting - is that he has really worked hard since the end of his 
college season. He's a lighter, more fleet athlete than he was at Notre 
Dame, and I've really got to tip my hat to him because he's done quite a 
bit of work and changed his body a little bit.
``Not everybody gets that. That's the difference between many players 
making it and others not having a career in the NBA. . . . He went out to 
Los Angeles and had a track coach. He had some NBA coaches doing work with 
him - Kiki Vandeweghe did some things with him. So he's been very 
well-prepped. He's going to contribute right away because of, if nothing 
else, his ability to shoot the basketball. And he knows the game, and he's 
a hard-working kid.''
Murphy is currently on a tour of the teams in his draft range. He said 
yesterday he'll visit all the clubs between seven (New Jersey) and 13 
(Houston), which also puts Cleveland, the Celts, Detroit and Seattle on his 
itinerary.
``He'll be gone way before 20,'' said Wallace. ``New Jersey's dabbling 
around with him at the seventh pick. . . . Obviously we're seriously 
looking at him, and the teams right behind us - Seattle and Houston - are, 
as well. I'd say he'll be off the board very early in this draft.''
Appearing a bit worn yesterday, Murphy was looking forward to the end of 
this process (the draft is a week from tonight) - and getting some of his 
regular clothes. His luggage was lost on a trip into New Jersey.
``That's kind of tough when you've got all your stuff in a suitcase,'' he 
said. ``I didn't have anything to wear for three days.''
Next Wednesday, he may find himself wearing Celtic green.