There is no doubt that the star of the South Carolina men's basketball team is young sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles. Murray-Boyles is currently leading the team in scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocks, averaging 16.2 points per game, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks.
The Columbia, South Carolina native is already garnering attention from the NBA and is being viewed as a potential first-round draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Murray-Boyles is certainly going to be a special player this year, even in a very competitive SEC season, and those with the SEC are taking notice.
For the first time this season, Murray-Boyles earned Co-SEC Player of the Week, winning it alongside Texas guard Jordan Pope, who also had a career week.
CMB 👉 ball player 🚂😤#Gamecocks🐔🏀 // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/qV3g6GdkRd
— Gamecock Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) December 23, 2024
Murray-Boyles earned the honors for his incredible play in two wins for the Gamecocks, one of them being against a ranked Clemson team. Even dealing with foul trouble, Muray-Boyles was able to play clean enough to get his team to overtime with the Tigers and still walked away with a team-high 22 points.
Against Clemson and South Carolina's second opponent, Radford, Murray-Boyes averaged 18.5 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 assists, and three blocks. He also shot 70% from the floor and went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
The SEC is emerging as the toughest conference in men's basketball this season with 10 teams ranked in the Top 25 and Tennessee leading the way at No. 1. While the Gamecocks aren't ranked right now, getting into SEC play and getting some big wins could land them in the rankings.
Even with a stacked SEC, Murray-Boyles is still leading the way in field goal percentage, shooting 65% from the floor, and is ranked second in rebounds per game with 9.3. The young forward will play in one last non-conference game before he leads the Gamecocks in what will be one of the hardest SEC slates.