To infinity and beyond: Murr putting up dizzying display of points

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Tommy Murr’s numbers are there in black and white — 44.1, 1,236, 4,004. Fans of not just Lindsay Lane Christian Academy, but of high school basketball, check the statistics of each Lions game to see what he’s done this time.

They are rarely disappointed, as the junior consistently puts up a points display never before seen in the history of high school basketball in Limestone County, and barely seen in the entire state of Alabama.

Murr has scored an astounding 1,236 points this season — an average of 44.1 points per game — and eclipsed the 4,000-point barrier for his career after scoring 41 in an 81-61 win over Phillips on Friday. Murr has scored more than 50 points in a game nine times this season, with a high of 61 in an 84-77 win over Sheffield Dec. 21.

His 4,004 career points is now the fourth-highest in Alabama High School Athletic Association history, and he is 551 points away from the state record, which is 4,555 by Parkway Christian’s Jeremy Monceaux. He is on pace to not only shatter the state record, but to also break the 5,000-point mark, which few players in high school history nation-wide have done.

So how does the soft-spoken Murr feel about his point binge? It’s “pretty cool.”

“Sometimes it’s cool to sit down and clear your mind of everything and say, ‘Wow, I’m so blessed to be in this position,’” Murr said. “It’s not something that when you start playing, you think ‘I want 5,000 points,’ but now that it’s here, it came really fast and kind of snuck up on me. I’m excited about it, but don’t think about it too much.”

Murr averaged approximately 38 points per game last season, and has improved his game in every way this season, being able to score off the dribble, with deep 3-pointers, and from the free-throw line. Murr has a knack for drawing fouls and getting to the line, and his 319 successful free throws are the third-most in a single season in state history.

“A lot of it was getting stronger and getting faster,” Murr said. “I’m continuing to work on ball-handling, shooting and court vision. I’ve also got to continue to get stronger from this year to the next, going into AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ball this summer and then the jump to college.”

Murr plays for the Alabama Fusion AAU team out of Birmingham. The team’s season begins after high school ends and goes through the summer. He also has scholarship offers from Samford and Tennessee Tech, but said other schools are close to offering and may do so this summer.

Anytime there is a player scoring three-fourths of his team’s points and taking most of the shots, some criticism may be lobbed his way about emphasis on individual goals over the team. But Murr’s Lindsay Lane teammates don’t feel that way. They say Murr’s points are necessary for the team to be successful.

“I love playing with Tommy,” junior guard Charlie Morrison said. “He’s really unselfish. Sometimes people might criticize him for taking too many shots or whatever, but he’s doing stuff we need for the team.”

Morrison said he and his teammates would be quick to correct anyone who might call Murr a ball hog.

“We’d shoot that down pretty quick, because it’s not true,” Morrison said. “He’s doing what he needs for the team. Everybody on the team has his own role. Most of our roles aren’t scoring, but there are a lot of guys who will get rebounds and assists. It’s a different system, but it’s been successful.”

It has been successful for the Lions this year, as the tiny Class 1A school finished the regular season with a 15-13 overall record and a 6-2 record in Class 1A, Area 15, good enough for second place. Lindsay Lane will face Oakwood Adventist Academy in the semifinals of the area tournament Thursday at R.A. Hubbard.

Lindsay Lane head coach Steve Murr — Tommy’s father — said while Tommy might score most of the points, everyone on the team has accepted their role and knows what they need to do to be successful.

“As a coach, I can’t be any more proud of the other guys on the team that work their tails off every single game, and probably won’t get a lot of recognition outside of the team,” Steve Murr said. “But our team realizes how important each one of those guys are doing things like rebounding, setting screens and doing the little things that make us successful.”

But much of that success comes from Tommy Murr constantly scoring more than 40 points per game. So does he ever get tired of that pressure?

“Sometimes that will cross my mind, but I do trust my teammates and I feel that we have all bought into our roles and continue to be successful at that,” he said. “I know what I have to do to be able to help the team. If that means score 50 tonight, 40 tomorrow, score 20 and have 10 assists the next day or 10 rebounds another day, it’s what I have to do. I’m just doing whatever I can to help the team win.”