NBA Draft: 5 prospects to keep an eye on in the first round of March Madness
By Zach Wolpin
Keegan Murray, F, Iowa Hawkeyes
Keegan Murray is a Big Ten tournament champion as the Hawkeyes took down the Purdue Boilermakers. Last year, Murray was in the shadow of others like Joe Wisekamp and the 2020-2021 National Player of the Year, Luka Garza.
This has been a breakout year for him and nobody really saw this coming after he only averaged seven points and five rebounds last year. His play has been elevated to an incredibly high level and he now averages 23.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. He earned 2021-2022 All-Big Ten honors.
The 21-year-old sensation has been able to score at a high level, while also doing it proficiently. His field goal percentage is up from 50, to 55 percent. Murray also brought his 3-point percentage from 30 to 41 percent, and it’s definitely a reason why he is scoring at a higher rate this season. An NBA comparison for Murray is Andrew Wiggins.
Iowa earned a five-seed in the tournament and will face the 12-seed Richmond Spiders. The game will air on Thursday, March 17th, at 3:10 pm.