University of Arizona Athletics

Murphy, who has extensive ties to the Arizona basketball program dating back to legendary former coach Lute Olson, was named Associate Head Coach prior to the 2019-20 season after serving as the head coach at Northern Arizona.
 
Murphy brings valuable head coaching experience after spending seven seasons as the leader of the Lumberjack program. He's also a dynamic recruiter that helped Arizona sign a top five recruiting class in 2020 and the No. 2 class in the country in 2025 after he helped Memphis land a top-five recruiting class in 2010 as an assistant. Murphy also spent time in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets as an advance scout for three seasons, following an eight-year stint in Tucson on Coach Lute Olson's staff as a team manager, recruiting coordinator, administrative assistant, video coordinator and director of operations.

In addition to his recruiting acumen, Murphy has continued to connect with Wildcats on the court and help them develop for the next level. Since joining the staff in 2019-20, he has helped eight Wildcats go on to be selected in the NBA Draft, including Carter Bryant in 2025. He helped the Wildcats claim four overall Pac-12 Championships in coach Lloyd's first three years in Tucson and lead the country in assists per game during Lloyd's tenure. 

A key component in the recruitment of Azuolas Tubelis, Murphy saw the Lithuanian develop into one of the best big men in the country at running the floor. He led the Pac-12 in scoring and rebounding during his junior year (2022-23) to become one of seven players in Pac-12 history to accomplish that in a single season. As a team in 2022-23, Arizona finished 28-7 and won the Pac-12 Tournament title for the second straight season and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

Development is also a strength of Murphy and the Wildcats staff, having developed Bennedict Mathurin (6th), Dalen Terry (18th) and Christian Koloko (33rd) into NBA Draft picks in 2022. The Wildcats won the 2022 Pac-12 regular season title by going 18-2 in conference play and captured the Pac-12 Tournament title in Las Vegas on their way to No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

Jordan Brown was named the Pac-12's Most Improved Player following the 2020-21 season and James Akinjo garnered first team all-conference accolades while ranking near the top of the conference in assists. 
 
The 2019-20 season saw Murphy help the Wildcats to 21 wins and Zeke Nnaji claim Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Honors. Another freshman, Nico Mannion, earned second team all-conference accolades and those two along with Josh Green were the highest scoring freshman trio in the country and the best by a Pac-12 trio since 2012-13.
  
Murphy began his basketball career with some of Olson's most successful teams in Tucson. In his eight years with the program, the Wildcats went 199-66 (a .751 winning percentage), won three Pac-10 Championships, one conference tournament, made eight NCAA tournament appearances, while making two Elite Eight appearances and a Final Four appearance.
 
In Tucson, Murphy has worked with future NBA players Luke Walton, Richard Jefferson, Andre Iguodala, Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Michael Dickerson, Jason Terry, Gilbert Arenas, Michael Wright, Channing Frye and Hassan Adams. He left a memorable impact on the players he worked with, many of who still remain close with him today.
 
Following his first stint in Tucson, Murphy spent three years with the Denver Nuggets, working for coach George Karl, who is one of nine NBA coaches with at least 1,000 career wins. Murphy worked with NBA All-Stars Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony, while with Denver and had a strong influence on the Nuggets success. Denver averaged nearly 50 wins a season during Murphy's time with the organization and made the postseason in each of his three seasons.
  
While at Memphis, Murphy was known as a relentless recruiter, who helped the Tigers secure four players ranked in the nation's Top 100 and two McDonald's All-Americans in the 2010 recruiting class alone. The class was ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com and Scout.com. He then went on to land three more Top 100 players and two more McDonald's All-Americans. The Tigers went 75-29 in Murphy's three seasons with three 20-win seasons.
  
Murphy, who earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Arizona, along with his wife, Michelle, have twin daughters, Emma and Isabella, and a son, Dylan.