Toure’ Murry felt ‘forever indebted’ to Wichita State basketball watching Shockers again

When Toure’ Murry committed to Wichita State in the fall of 2007, he had no idea where his career in basketball would take him.

He was just a skinny kid from Houston, unaware he would help launch WSU’s rise to national prominence and someday play in the NBA in the world’s most famous arena and win multiple championships in his 10-year run as a pro.

Recently retired as a player, Murry has returned to the NBA level in his first year as a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.

A fortuitous break in the NBA schedule allowed Murry to attend Sunday’s Wichita State basketball game in Philadelphia against Temple with his wife and children, who were all clad in black-and-yellow Shocker gear. It also gave him the chance to reflect on his journey 17 years in the making.

“When I first put a basketball in my hands, I always loved the beauty of the sport, the teamwork, the camaraderie and just being a part of a team,” Murry told The Eagle. “Wichita State has always been my team and I’m forever indebted to them and thankful for the opportunity that they gave me as an adolescent. Those experiences shaped me into who I am today.”

More than a decade after helping lead the Shockers to an NIT championship, a Missouri Valley Conference title and a return to the NCAA tournament, Murry said he still keeps in contact with many of his former teammates like JT Durley, Clevin Hannah, Joe Ragland and Tekele Cotton.

When Murry graduated from WSU in 2012, his four-year career could arguably be considered the greatest in the program from a guard in decades. But his place at the top didn’t last long, as Fred VanVleet came after him and took the foundation Murry had built and elevated WSU even higher.

There has always been mutual admiration between the two, which came to a head two weeks ago when VanVleet’s Houston Rockets played Murry’s 76ers. After the game, VanVleet scribbled a personal message and autographed his game jersey to give to the WSU guard who helped pave the way.

“I always had the dream of creating my own legacy at Wichita State and being someone that others could look up to,” Murry said. “When Fred got to WSU and was doing his thing as a freshman, he kind of reminded me of myself and we just have always stayed in contact. He went on to become a great player and broke all of my records and that’s what it’s all about. So that meant a lot getting that from Fred.”

There’s also a WSU connection for Murry working with the 76ers, as he is currently helping train Ricky Council IV, who spent two years playing for WSU, in his rookie season trying to break through in the NBA.

Council has been dominant at the G League level, averaging 24.3 points, so Murry has taken a keen interest in helping the former Shocker develop his game for the NBA level.

“The first thing that jumps out at you is that his body definitely fits the NBA mold,” Murry said. “He’s been great to work with. He has a lot of attributes that are really good for the NBA. I’ve been working with him with his ball handling and his shooting. Something the NBA really does a fantastic job at is developing players and I’m happy to be a part of that process.”

When Murry retired this past year as a player, a former coach of his, Nick Nurse, had just been hired as the 76ers head coach. Ten years after Murry and Nurse won a D-League championship together with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the two reunited with Nurse extending an offer for Murry to join his staff.

The bulk of Murry’s work comes before games when he’s out on the court two hours before tipoff helping individual players go through dribbling and shooting drills to prepare them for the game. The 76ers have the sixth-best record in the league and feature reigning MVP Joel Embiid, but more importantly, Murry is just satisfied being back in the Association, where he last played in 2015.

One day he hopes to become a head coach himself.

“These are the best players in the world, so having the opportunity to rub shoulders with them and be surrounded by like-minded people is really a dream come true,” Murry said. “I have a great opportunity to learn from coach Nurse and the rest of the staff and right now I’m being a sponge. I just want to be able to share my battles and experiences, my trials and tribulations that I went through as a player and do anything I can to help coach these guys up the best I can. ”