South Carolina signee Collin-Murray Boyles has big game in upset of No. 1
South Carolina signee Collin Murray-Boyles ventured his way to Wasatch Academy to continue his development and play on a bigger, more national, stage.
He is, and Thursday played a major role in Wasatch’s upset over No. 1 prep school AZ Compass.
His team–which is ranked in the top 20–upset a studded Compass team 61-48 behind Murray-Boyles’s double-double.
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The future South Carolina forward finished with 18 points and 14 boards in the 13-point win, taking on three assists and three blocks for good measure.
He’s at the start of a really good senior season in Utah, and had a performance last week where he scored 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting with nine boards.
The Gamecocks got Murray-Boyles in the boat before he went out west and really began to tick up, something South Carolina’s staff prioritized in the early stages of the Lamont Paris tenure.
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Since he committed, Murray-Boyles has surged up the rankings. On3 ranks him as the No. 117 player in the 2023 class and a top-25 small forward. He checks in at No. 192 in the On3 consensus rankings also.
He’s part of a two-man signing class that includes another Columbia native, Westwood’s Arden Conyers.
“Man, I talked to both of those guys yesterday. Great kids. In my experience, the want to be somewhere is the determining factor, by in large, in how successful your tenure is there. It’s the number one factor. Those guys both really want to be here,” Paris said after signing day. “We’re really excited about them. I made sure to reach out to both of them and tell them that.”
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South Carolina’s staff likes the versatility both Murray-Boyles and Conyers bring to the floor, and it looks like Murray-Boyles is showing that and some early at Wasatch.
“In-state guys, taller than average guys, who can do multiple things and have multiple skills inside and multiple skills on the perimeter. They’re great kids, they’re my kind of guys. They’re interested in school. They take that seriously,” Paris said.
“They have perspectives and views in life, they have their own opinions. They’re serious about basketball. They respect and fear, to some degree, the people that brought them into this world.”
South Carolina (3-4) plays at Georgetown Saturday (noon, FS1).
