Houben's Rookie Report: Is this Cavalier the sharpshooter the Bullets need?

• University of Virginia talent Taine Murray was the first signing in NBL Free Agency for the Brisbane Bullets
• Murray is known as a sharpshooter having shot the three at 39% in his college career
• He is joined by fellow college product Jacob Holt on the Bullets roster

Those who recalled the dark days of the covid affected 2020 NZNBL bubble season, may recall an electric backcourt duo that led the Auckland Huskies in their final season before the Tuatara rebrand — it was led by NBL veteran Izayah Le’Afa, but foiled by a teenager by the name of Taine Murray.

Murray, seventeen years old across the covid affected 2020 season, finished the season a top ten scorer league wide, outsourcing other NBL regulars such as Tohi Smith-Milner, Reuben Te Rangi and Hyrum Harris in the process. Shooting a blistering 44.9% from the three point line on just under seven three point attempts per game, it was a final crescendo in the promising wing’s outstanding junior career in New Zealand; a junior career that brought with it immense college interest, including that of the Virginia Cavaliers.

Eventually committing to Virginia, Murray spent the last four season’s with the program. Competing in the elite Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Murray has played with and against an elite level of competition, including future NBA teammates Ryan Dunn and Reece Beekman, now with the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets respectively. Such a program provided Murray with an elite environment, but a situation which meant hot competition for minutes, and his senior season saw a college career-high of only 18 minutes per game.

For the same reason, we haven’t heard much of Murray since his departure from New Zealand, primarily due to opportunity, but as his professional career is now set to commence under the Brisbane Bullets, and we’ll be able to see just how much Murray has been able to quietly refine his skillset over the past half-decade.

The Bullets are putting a lot of faith in Murray with a two year, fully rostered contract — seemingly sliding in as immediate depth at both wing positions. At 6’6", with a 6’10" wingspan, Murray possesses fantastic size on the wing for the NBL. Much like his junior career, Murray was incredibly reliable from behind the arc across his college career, shooting 39% (46/118) across all four seasons. An active cutter off the ball, Murray is able to find shots with minimal on-ball usage, running off screens to find jump-shots and easy baskets at the hoop, making him an efficient role player that will fit in equally well in the pro’s as he did at the high major level.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen a player, of a similar mould no less, go to Virginia and struggle for opportunity, as is the natural trade-off in going to a big name program. Australian Kody Stattman, also highly recruited after an impressive junior career, spent four seasons at the program between 2018 and 2022, to similar opportunity.

Both players were recruited as big, shooting wings and funnelled heavily into that role, and while both assumed limited opportunity as a result, it appears Stattman’s game was more miscast in such a specialist, whilst Murray thrived in a similarly focused capacity.

So we can see that Murray’s size, off-ball ability and shooting prowess provide him a high offensive floor, but what about the ceiling? We’re left somewhat in the dark about how far Murray can truly spread his wings as a result of just how defined his role was with the Cavaliers, limited essentially to spot up threes and straight line drives in the halfcourt.

With the heavy caveat that the difference in levels allows for an offensive freedom that may not be entirely convertible, we saw different wrinkles to Murray’s game during the aforementioned season with the Huskies. Murray’s athleticism featured more prominently in space, not just in a run-jump capacity, but also as an acrobatic finisher around the rim.

His finishing actually appears quite skilled, with a variety of different footwork and a comfort with his left hand at the rim. While not a high level creator or distributor for others, teenage Taine also showed flashes of successfully isolating or driving out of pick and roll action, utilising a package of hesitations and crossovers to beat his defender off the dribble.

It remains unclear if Murray has continued to explore these elements of his game at Virginia, and in fact whether any translate to a higher level of play, but backtracking to his days as a younger prospect inspired hope that there was a versatile scoring talent to tap into over time.

It should be noted that from what we’ve seen of Murray, his scoring appears exclusively at the rim or from the three point line, with no evidence of shooting off the dribble, in the mid-range, or indeed a floater or other in-between tools, nor is he a prolific foul drawer at the rim. These are not necessarily knocks, but rather indicate a shot profile that is best suited to a more ancillary role offensively.

Defensively, the numbers tell of a player that doesn’t provide a high level of disruption, with per 40 numbers of 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. From the footage, he appears to deliver on the scout, and to be a broadly engaged and intelligent team defender, but it appears unlikely that Murray will physically compete with high level matchups in one on one situations — in short, he appears serviceable. It is worth noting that Murray played time at the four for Virginia; I would expect Murray to see less time in that role and more on the wing, a position he feels more naturally suited to guard.

The Brisbane Bullets are currently locked into seven of a total of eleven roster spots this season, and with two import spots to burn, expect an American guard and forward to join Sam McDaniel, Tyrell Harrison and Casey Prather in the starting lineup, save for their hopeful pursuit of Will McDowell-White at the point guard position.

With the remaining two spots, it would be fair to assume at least one more will be a wing, but that still leaves Murray with a likely rotational role in year one. Managing balanced lineups will be key for the Bullets, and Murray’s shooting should make him an effortless fit in most offensive groups. Pairing Murray and Prather on the wing together may result in a dearth of stops, and a McDaniel/Murray combination may require heavy leaning on a point guard for creation, but the combinations are a broad fit.

Murray’s numbers, highlighted by a career high four points per game as a senior, may not inspire, or provide much evidence one way or the other, to his professional translation. However, his ability to successfully fill a specific role at an elite program, coupled with his excellent reputation as a junior talent should inspire a conservative confidence that Murray should step into a successful rotation role in his first professional season. Long term, the 23-year-old still has plenty of time to expand his game, and it’ll be fascinating to see if he can revisit some previous glimpses of volume scoring upside, and continue to develop on the defensive end.

MICHAEL HOUBEN'S ROOKIE REPORTS

• College big man Jacob Holt's fit with the Brisbane Bullets
• What Cameron Huefner brings to the Perth Wildcats

About the Author

Michael Houben is an Australian basketball writer and scout based in Melbourne, Victoria. As well as covering the game as a journalist, Michael supports US colleges to identify and recruit Australian talent as the owner of Airtime Scouting, and supports grassroots athletes through Airtime Basketball.