HOUSTON, Texas -- Aaric Murray is a classic archetype. "Talented but troubled." So named because the alliteration is usually too much for our sportswriting brethren to resist, but also because it deftly sums up the situation. Murray, like so many before him, is a very good basketball player. When he's interested and engaged -- and sometimes even when he's not -- he's an excellent interior scorer and rebounder, an obvious asset.
The only problem is, well, everything else. In 2011, in search of more exposure and in the doghouse of the coaching staff, Murray left La Salle. His departure was greeted with dismay by some, because it seemed to rob a rebuilt La Salle team of its interior anchor just as the Explorers were cresting. But the response also included a few "good riddance" rumblings from around the team. In December 2011, Murray was sitting out his transfer year en route to West Virginia when he was arrested and charged with marijuana possession. When he became eligible, he was supposed to play a large role in Bob Huggins' transfer-heavy Mountaineers reconfiguration. Instead, Huggins suspended him for a violation of team rules in 2012, and when the season rolled around, his minutes, points and rebounds all dropped. WVU limped to a truly ugly 13-19 campaign. In July, Huggins announced he and Murray had arrived at a "mutual decision" -- the polite way to say, "I kicked him off the team" -- and that Murray would finish his final year of eligibility elsewhere.
