Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Atlanta-area standout becomes third XU Gold Rush signee

NEW ORLEANS — Kevin Murph, a 6-foot-6 forward from Austell, Ga., and Pebblebrook High School, is Xavier University of Louisiana's third men's basketball signee for the 2015-16 season.

Murph averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds per game this past season for a Pebblebrook team which finished second in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs. Murph was a four-year varsity starter, set a school record with more than 900 career rebounds and helped Pebblebrook reach the state semifinals his junior year.



"We're very excited to have Kevin join Team Gold," XU head coach Dannton Jackson said. "We feel like his athleticism and his skill set will help us right away. We are excited about him coming from a winning program. He has played against some of the best competition in the Georgia area. We feel like he's ready to come in and make a contribution.

"Like all freshmen, he will have a learning curve. But we believe he will make that adjustment quickly. It will be fun to watch him grow the next four years."

Pebblebrook's Falcons were 27-6 in 2014-15 and 24-6 in 2013-14. The school is in Cobb County in the Atlanta suburb of Mableton.

"Kevin is a really tough kid. He displays toughness on the court," Pebblebrook coach George Washington said. "He has a high, high basketball IQ and has played at a high level in high school and AAU with the Southern Stampeders. We were ranked as high as 19th in the country his senior year, and Kevin was a big part of our success."

"He's a funny kid with a great personality. You'll laugh a lot around him."

Murph will major in business at Xavier. He is a cousin of Stacey Augmon, a former UNLV standout and 15-year NBA player who spent two seasons with the New Orleans Hornets.

Previously announced XU signees were Louisiana guards Leland Alexander of Houma and Seth Jackson of Baton Rouge.

Xavier was 24-10 in 2014-15, finished second in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament, qualified for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship for a school-record fifth consecutive year and ranked 21st in the postseason poll. The Gold Rush have the NAIA's longest active streak of top-25 appearances, 50.

2015-16 Xavier men's basketball signees

NamePos.Ht.Wt.Yr.*HometownHigh School (College)
Leland AlexanderG6-5180Fr.Houma, La.Ellender
Seth JacksonG6-1176Jr.Baton Rouge, La.Redemptorist (Baton Rouge CC)
Kevin MurphF6-6220Fr.Austell, Ga.Pebblebrook

* athletic classification at Xavier in 2015-16


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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