Duke lands commitment from former Texas QB Maalik Murphy
Duke Football Head Coach Manny Diaz has landed a commitment from former Texas QB Maalik Murphy, per 247Sports.com’s Tom Loy.
Murphy, who transferred from Texas after two seasons, will have three seasons of eligibility remaining on the college level and was one of the hottest QB targets in the transfer portal after entering just before the dead period.
He visited Duke on Friday (Dec. 15), then headed off to South Carolina on Saturday (Dec. 16) followed by a visit to Oregon State on Sunday (Dec. 17).
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Murphy was rated the No. 4 quarterback in the transfer portal after entering earlier this month and the No. 16 player available regardless of position. He played a backup role to Texas starter Quinn Ewers but flashed his big time tools when given a shot to play.
He opened a lot of eyes at the Longhorns Spring Game and then started and led Texas to wins over BYU and Kansas State when Ewers was out injured. He finished the season completing 40-71 passes for 477 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions.
Dereck Lively continuing to thrive in Dallas
Former Blue Devil standout Dereck Lively has continued his strong start to his rookie campaign with the Dallas Mavericks, and following the team’s most recent victory he earned serious praise from one of the best players in the world.
On Christmas Day with the Mavericks facing the Phoenix Suns, the 7-foot-1 rookie poured in 20 points while grabbing 10 rebounds as Dallas won 128-114. It was just the 12th time in history a first year player scored at least 20 points with 10 rebounds which didn’t go unnoticed by the team’s star, Luca Doncic nor head coach Jason Kidd.
“The way he has performed since the first game has been amazing,” said Doncic. “I didn’t expect this impact of him. He has been playing like he has been in the league for 10 years already, so I’m really proud of this guy. He works on his game. He listens to me, so it is a great combo.”
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Kidd was just as direct with his praise of his center who the team traded for on draft night. Lively was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder and then sent to the Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights to Cason Wallace and Dāvis Bertāns.
“We can’t forget about what Dereck Lively means to us, just being able to make plays but to be able to finish,” Kidd said. “This kid is only 19. He was big for us tonight.”
After ascending to the top overall spot in the class of 2022 high school rankings, Lively entered Duke’s program under then first year head coach Jon Scheyer with tremendous hype but battled injury throughout the summer before eventually earning his way into the team’s starting lineup midway through his freshman season. Despite not posting the huge numbers of his frontcourt teammate, Kyle Filipowski, Lively was tremendously impactful for the Blue Devils, especially on the defensive end. He eventually finished the season averaging 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
The former five star prospect was named to both ACC All-Freshman and Defensive teams before declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft on April 4, 2023.
