Jamal Murray is a 5-star combo guard that can play anywhere from point guard to small forward. His talent and versatility is needed on a shortened Kentucky roster.
Murray was a 2016 prospect until mid-June when he was eligible to become a 2015 recruit. Oregon and Kentucky fell heavy on his trail after that.
Murray is a talent that any team would have wanted on their roster. A versatile player who can shoot the ball and handle well enough to run the team can be hard to get. Murray may give Kentucky the push they need to allow them to be the title favorites or have the top recruiting class in the nation; or both.
Kentucky already had a deep backcourt with Tyler Ulis and Isaiah Briscoe running the show. Adding Jamal Murray to the mix will only make the Wildcats more dangerous at the guard positions.
Kentucky will be able to change their guard line-up to suit their limited bigs better. They will be able to put Alex Poythress at power forward and keep Murray at small forward to give other players such as Marcus Lee and Derek Willis a rest.
Or put Murray at shooting guard and give Briscoe the ability to rest or allow him to run point guard while Ulis sits on the bench. Whatever option Kentucky goes with it has made the Wildcats a much deeper team.
Murray stated that he wanted to go #1 in the 2016 NBA Draft. This could have been his main reason he picked Kentucky. Kentucky is the place to get noticed by scouts and get high on the board.
With the addition of Murray, Kentucky now stands at 10 players with scholarships and a total of 12 players on the team. Kentucky has been deep the last couple of years but it will have to get back to old antics with this roster.
You can tell how lucky Kentucky fans are when they consider this year a down year in the recruiting department.