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DES MOINES, IA - February 19: The Drake Bulldogs play against the Valparaiso Crusaders during a Missouri Valley Conference men basketball game at Knapp Center on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Dylan Heuer)

Men's Basketball Drake Athletic Communications

Friday Feature - Anthony Murphy's Strong Bonds Strengthened At Drake

Senior teams with long-time friends and competitors to lead Drake to back-to-back 20-win seasons.

A series of strong bonds helped land Anthony Murphy at Drake.

A native of Griffith, Ind., Murphy committed to play basketball at Florida Southwestern, a junior college in Fort Myers, Fla. The Buccaneers were beginning their first-ever season and were led by current Drake assistant coach Marty Richter.

"It was a brand new school with no background or history," Murphy said. "I wanted to make history and make something new. My brother and I went there and made that happen."

With the Murphy brothers starring on the court under Richter's guidance, Florida Southwestern posted a 26-7 record in its inaugural season. In the 2017-18 campaign, the Buccaneers finished 30-3 and reached the NJCAA National Tournament quarterfinals.

Anthony Murphy was named all-conference first-team for the second-straight year while Tremell Murphy earned Suncoast Conference Player of the Year and junior college All-American honors. D.J. Wilkins, the Murphy brothers' childhood friend, had joined Florida Southwestern that season. All three had their sights set on playing Division I basketball.

"In Florida, Coach DeVries came in, watched all of us work out, and he wanted my brother, DJ and me," Murphy said. "Then DJ went on a visit, and my brother and I went the next day. DJ told us he was going to commit here, and I told myself I'd take a couple of days to decide."
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In those days, Murphy was heavily influenced by the strong relationship he had with Richter, who later accepted an assistant coach position at Drake after being named the Suncoast Conference Coach of the Year.

"Coach Marty had come to Drake, and that's the main reason why I came here," Murphy said. "He always has that positive attitude and a positive impact on people, so I always trusted coach Marty from the start."

Much like when he joined Florida Southwestern, Murphy committed to a Drake program that was starting a new beginning. Two seasons prior, the Bulldogs had finished 7-24, and they were coming off a year in which coach and player turnover left only a handful of holdovers from a team that finished 17-17.

"I trusted Coach Marty and Coach DeVries and what he had going on here," Murphy said. "I wanted to be a part of what he was going to build here, and I thank God that I am."

With DeVries, Richter, Wilkins and the Murphy brothers in the fold, Drake has experienced a radical improvement. The Bulldogs won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship in their first year under DeVries.

That was followed by another 20-win season in 2019-20, making Murphy one of the first Drake players in nearly 50 years to experience back-to-back 20-win seasons. 

"That championship means a lot," Murphy said. "When we came here, we didn't have much. Coming from that to winning an MVC championship, that's a great turnaround."

Despite the success, the transition was difficult.

"At first, it was hard going from playing a lot of minutes in junior college to not as many at the Division I level," Murphy said. "It hit me hard, but I couldn't turn away from it. I had to embrace it and get in the gym. I just accepted that I'm going against tougher competition, especially in the MVC, where there's a lot of great players and great teams, so I knew I had to keep building on the process that I had."

In addition to clinching the MVC championship, Murphy was named to the MVC All-Bench team for his valuable contributions as a reserve in his first season with the Bulldogs. He wasn't satisfied, however, and immediately set his sights on playing a bigger role to defend the title.

"I worked on my offensive game all summer and all fall," Murphy said. "I was working out with coach Marty, DJ and a lot of the players just getting in the gym and shooting and working on the little things I need to get better at. I'm just trying to earn the scholarship I was given."
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Murphy's work paid off. As a senior, his averages were up across the board – in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage and three-point percentage.

To make things even better, the Bulldogs called in a few familiar reinforcements for his final season.

Roman Penn, who had competed against Murphy on the AAU circuit in Indiana, became eligible after sitting out the 2018-19 season due to transfer rules. Jonah Jackson, who Murphy knew in high school, transferred in from junior college.
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All of a sudden, Drake's roster was composed of five student-athletes from Indiana. When DeVries hired Richter as an assistant coach, he created a pipeline to tap into the immense talent in the Hoosier State.

It started with the Murphy brothers and Wilkins – key players in winning the MVC title – and spread to Penn and Jackson – key players in the 2019-20 season.

"We all had a nice bond and relationship before we came to Drake," Murphy said. "But now we're brothers for life."
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Players Mentioned

Anthony Murphy

#4 Anthony Murphy

G
6' 5"
Senior
Tremell Murphy

#2 Tremell Murphy

F
6' 6"
Senior
Roman Penn

#12 Roman Penn

G
5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
D.J. Wilkins

#0 D.J. Wilkins

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Jonah Jackson

#20 Jonah Jackson

G
6' 3"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Anthony Murphy

#4 Anthony Murphy

6' 5"
Senior
G
Tremell Murphy

#2 Tremell Murphy

6' 6"
Senior
F
Roman Penn

#12 Roman Penn

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
D.J. Wilkins

#0 D.J. Wilkins

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Jonah Jackson

#20 Jonah Jackson

6' 3"
Junior
G