
Collin Murray-Boyles
Frame: 6’7″, 245 lbs
Position: Forward/Center
Team: South Carolina Gamecocks
2025 Draft Age: 19
Stats via: Sports-Reference
Offense
Murray-Boyles functions as a downhill-first connector whose power, footwork, and feel let him live in the lane: he converted just under 59 percent of his field-goal attempts and 74 percent at the rim, top-ten nationally among high-usage forwards. South Carolina treated him as a quasi-hub—he set ghost screens, slipped into space, then picked out cutters or kick-outs, logging 2.4 assists per game and ranking second on the team in potential assists.
His playmaking, plus a willingness to set bone-rattling picks, sketches Murray-Boyle’s NBA role as a short-roll facilitator and secondary hand-off initiator who punishes switches and rewards movement shooters. The flaw in his game is that defenders already sag several feet under his actions. Murray-Boyles attempted barely more than one triple a game and made just over 26 percent, with a middling 71 at the stripe, suggesting only incremental growth. Until the touch translates from 15 feet out, he must keep the ball hopping, avoiding the turnovers that crept in whenever he over-dribbled or forced cross-court lasers.
Expect coaches to deploy him as a screen-and-dive big who can catch at the nail, make the next read, and finish through contact; think a mini-Draymond Green or Paul Millsap-lite offensively. If the jumper climbs into the low-thirties on moderate volume, the toolbox expands to pick-and-pop actions and inverted initiations that fully weaponize his passing vision.
Defense
Defense is where Murray-Boyles’ ticket will be punched at the next level. When he played, South Carolina was 12 points per 100 possessions stingier, the best on-off mark in the SEC. His seven-foot-plus wingspan, twitchy hands, and ballet-quick feet let him switch across five positions, jump passing lanes (1.5 steals), and still rotate back for weak-side rim contests (1.3 blocks).
Murray-Boyles mirrors guards in space by sinking into a low stance to wall off drives without fouling, yet he also stonewalls bigger rollers with a low center of gravity and violent hand slaps at the gather. NBA personnel will view him as a scheme-flexible “Swiss Army Knife” who can blitz pick-and-rolls, peel-switch, or anchor small-ball line-ups as the five while corralling rebounds (18.2 rebound rate). The lone tactical worry is vertical size: true seven-footers can shoot over his six-seven frame if rotations force him into prolonged drop coverage. His early minutes will therefore come in switch-heavy or aggressive hedge systems that accentuate anticipation rather than length.
Looking Ahead
Teams hunting for high-end connective tissue between stars should have Murray-Boyles circled in the lottery. If his three-pointer settles into even average territory and trims the live-ball turnovers, Murray-Boyles profiles as a culture-driver whose playmaking and multi-positional defense unlock five-out groups on both ends. Without that shooting bump, he is still a valuable energy big who tilts possessions with screens, cuts, and defensive havoc; an outcome closer to Chuck Hayes than Draymond Green, but worthwhile in today’s switch-everything playoffs.
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