Keegan and Kris Murray may make double trouble for Iowa foes next season

IOWA CITY — The more Murrays, the merrier.

Iowa men’s basketball fans quickly swooned last season for freshman forward Keegan Murray of Cedar Rapids Prairie. He didn’t play like a freshman, the cliché goes. He was sound and smooth, a rebounder, defender and shot blocker.

He was a steady presence on a veteran-laden team, someone who averaged seven points and five rebounds and was second on the Hawkeyes in blocks and steals despite playing only 18 minutes per game.

That’s a nice player to have returning on a team that is losing three starters. What could be nicer? How about a twin brother whom Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery insists will be a cog for the 2021-22 Hawkeyes.

That’s Kris Murray, who sat and watched last season as Keegan quickly built a reputation good enough to place him 23rd in the first round of an April NBA mock draft on ESPN.com.

McCaffery said Kris could have helped last season had he been needed. Kris said Tuesday that he fully understood, saying “You can’t play 12 guys.” So he spent a season as a scout-teamer and learned how to play the college game in practice against potential 2021 NBA players in Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp.

“He’ll bring a lot of athleticism. He’ll bring shooting. He’s a really good scorer.”

That was Keegan talking about Kris on Tuesday.

“Kris, in practice last year, was a really good scorer. He’ll be able to put the ball in the basket, he’ll be able to drive and penetrate the lane. I think he’ll bring a lot of athleticism and variety to our team.”

The twins — both in the 6-foot-8, 6-9, 220-pound range — are what you would call identical physically. Their games are similar, but not carbon copies.

“I think at Prairie I was more of a stand-still shooter and he was more a slasher,” said Keegan, “but now we’re both able to put the ball in the basket in different ways. We’re not just one-dimensional. I feel I can play a little bit bigger than Kris, but Kris can guard shorter, smaller players.”

Kris suggests their main basketball similarity is their versatility.

“We play multiple positions,” he said. “This year I’m going to learn the 2, 3, 4 and 5, and he is, too.

“We’re going to be versatile in that way just so we can be on the court together, because we do play different positions and we have in the past as well.”

At Prairie, Keegan also was ahead of Kris developmentally as a player. Keegan started as a sophomore, Kris didn’t. Kris caught up, and the brothers helped make Prairie a formidable team.

“I do play better with him,” Kris said, “just because it’s like having the same person on the court with you. We think alike and both think about the game the same way. So I think it’s definitely a positive.”

“I’d say we really play off each other a lot,” said Keegan. “We really feed each other, look for each other in different ways.

“Obviously, playing with my brother next year is a really big thing that I want to do. I want to be able to play in Carver with my brother. That’s a huge milestone in my life.”

As for that mock draft, it’s like every mock draft in history that was published 14 months out. In other words, it’s just words on a website. Although, Keegan admitted. “It’s a good feeling to be in a mock draft.

“But at the end of the day it’s just a mock draft. Next year’s a huge point for me, just to continue to build my confidence, build my skill set. I just think next year’s going to be a really big year for me.”

That could be true in duplicate, Murray-wise. Which would be a double-feature that would get two thumbs up from Hawkeye fans.

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