Mississippi State Basketball Loses Forward to Transfer Portal
UPDATE
KeShawn Murphy has decided to withdraw from the transfer portal and will return to Mississippi State for the 2024-2025 season.
Source has told me that Keshawn
— Justin Frommer (@JustinbFrommer) April 21, 2024
Murphy haa withdrawn his name from the transfer portal
He’s coming back
Original story
Mississippi State basketball continues to see the overhaul of its roster following the end of the 2023-2024 season. On Wednesday, news broke that sophomore forward KeShawn Murphy was entering the transfer portal.
NEWS: Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy is entering the transfer portal, per source.
— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) April 10, 2024
Murphy is a native of Birmingham, Alabama and has spent the last two seasons in Starkville. Former 3⭐️ recruit.
He averaged 4.7PPG, 3.1RPG and 1.0APG this season. pic.twitter.com/jA5sAu4jle
KeShawn Murphy spent the last two seasons coming off the bench for Mississippi State. This past season, he averaged 4.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and one assist per game.
Murphy was an important piece to the Bulldogs' rotation. He missed the first five games of the season with injury but quickly showed the type of impact he could make in State's December victory over North Texas when he posted 18 points on 8-14 shooting.
He stepped away from the team for personal reasons after the beginning of conference play, missing eight SEC games. During that time, his absence was notable, as Mississippi State quickly saw they didn't have a good option to play the four when Cameron Matthews was off the court.
Murphy would return to the lineup in February and soon began playing significant minutes for the Bulldogs as a key player during State's five-game SEC win streak. In the closing weeks of the season, however, his minutes fell off, and he didn't make much of an impact for MSU down the stretch.
KeShawn Murphy showed flashes of brilliance during the season. At 6'10", he was a true stretch-four with a skillset unlike anyone else on the roster. He possesses a very high ceiling that, if tapped-in to, could legitimately lead to a dominant collegiate player.
Unfortunately, MSU never fully got that out of him, and now he'll be heading elsewhere. Murphy is the fourth Bulldog to enter the portal alongside guards Shakeel Moore and Trey Fort and forward Jaquan Scott.
Murphy's departure opens a sixth scholarship for Chris Jans to work with ahead of his third season in Starkville. State has reportedly already been very active at laying the ground work to bring in a strong portal class. They've already added one scorer in Penn State-transfer Kanye Clary, and it seems several more names should be added to the roster in the coming weeks.