SPORTS

Murray's dad: UK signee 'is about winning'

Steve Jones
@stevejones_cj

The Kentucky basketball team officially announced the addition of five-star Canadian guard Jamal Murray on Thursday afternoon, a day after he committed to the Wildcats over Oregon.

Murray's father, Roger, talked about his son's decision with The Courier-Journal Thursday afternoon.

Why did Jamal think Kentucky was the best choice for him?

We went over the pluses and minuses and everything, and the distance came into play again. We tried our best not to let that play into the decision, but it came down to two schools, and through the trips we got a feel for the distance, and it came into play. The history came into play a little bit, and it came down to Jamal's decision and whatever he wanted.

What did Calipari say on your visit there as to why he thought Jamal would be a good fit there or why Kentucky was the best fit for him?

He can play multiple positions, and Jamal is a team player and a hard worker. He's about winning. Anybody that knows and studies Jamal, he's about winning games. Sometimes a player is probably thinking about other, future games. Jamal is about winning the game he's playing. … Coach Cal recognized that. When you make a choice like this, it doesn't come down just to one thing. It's just a feel.

What was the feel you got at UK when you visited there?

The atmosphere there, they're basketball-savvy. They know good basketball. They have a big fan base in terms of watching them every night. Everything is nice. A lot of schools have similar things. You just pick the one that works for you.

How will Jamal fit with Tyler Ulis and Isaiah Briscoe, who also play lead guard, point guard? Does he want to play point guard? How do you expect that dynamic to go?

Again, Jamal is a basketball player. Really, he's a point guard, but I trained him to be a basketball player, and he can play any position. He wants to play. He wants to win. I'm sure that there are other players who want to play and want to win, and it will work, and Coach Cal will make it work. We aren't too concerned about anything like that. He can't wait to meet his teammates. He can't wait to talk to his teammates and see what happens. He wants to win, and he can multitask on the floor. He's a great rebounder, a great passer, a great shooter. He wants to win. … I'm sure the other players are going to work together, too, to win games.

When does Jamal plan to enroll at UK?

We're going to be working that out the next few days and see what he's going to do and when he's coming down. We don't have any plan on that right now.

Is Jamal's goal to be a one-and-done guy next year?

That's a great, lofty goal to have, but his goal is to go to the university, play this year, play hard and see what happens from that. That's about it. A player of his stature, of course, he's thinking he's going to play one or two years or whatever, but that depends on Jamal and how things work out.

What do you think of that UK roster Jamal is now joining?

It's a great roster. Hopefully everyone will figure it out and work together, and everything will do fine.