Ole Miss adds St. Peter’s transfer point guard Jaylen Murray
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard has turned things up a notch… yet again. The NCAA dead period came and went, and since it ended the Rebels have been very active. Wednesday marked the latest (and potentially final) addition to the 2023-2024 roster as Saint Peter’s transfer guard Jaylen Murray has committed to play for Coach Beard.
Murray posted the news on his Instagram account.
This marks the second portal commitment in as many days for the Rebels following the long-awaited commitment Tuesday of Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan. As we know, Allen’s father Wes is an assistant coach for the current Ole Miss staff.
In Murray, the Rebels get a guard that Chris Beard has been looking for. He marks the sixth addition to Ole Miss via the transfer portal including: the aforementioned Flanigan, Brandon Murray, Moussa Cisse, Jamarion Sharp, and Austin Nunez.
The Rebels currently have a top-10 transfer class per the 247Sports rankings.
After spending two seasons at Saint Peter’s, Murray decided to enter the transfer portal on May 3rd and visited Oxford this past weekend. The 5-foot-11 guard was a freshman rotation piece on the miraculous Saint Peter’s team that went on a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Murray added 8 points in the first round upset over Kentucky.
This past year, Murray became the center point of the Peacock offense under new head coach Bashir Mason. On the year, he started 11 of 29 contests and was second on the team in points per game (12.5). He also averaged 2.9 REB and 2.3 AST per game as well. Murray ended the year strongly, scoring in double digits in the team’s final six games and scoring 20+ in three of the final five.
Murray earned All-MAAC tournament honors after leading the 10th-seeded Saint Peter’s team to the semifinals. He led the way for the Peacocks while averaging 19.5 PPG for the tournament, twice scoring over 20. On the year he averaged only 24.5 minutes per game and still was third in the MAAC conference in usage percentage at 30.8%.
Breaking Down Jaylen Murray
Murray now joins fellow transfer Austin Nunez as the lone two true point guards on the Ole Miss roster. After watching some film from this past year, it is easy to see why Murray gained SEC interest this past season. At 5-11, 175lbs, Murray will be a primary handler in the Ole Miss offense. However, while at Saint Peter’s, Murray had plenty of moments where he would play off the ball initially while complementing senior guard Jayden Saddler.
Overall, Murray fits the archetype of a primary scoring guard. The first thing to notice with Murray is the quick burst he displays on the court. It was common to see the Peacocks look to push in transition and get out ahead on any loose-ball turnovers.
In the half court, Saint Peter’s relied heavily on Murray to break down defenses (reinforcing that usage percentage) and put him in situations for him to take advantage primarily out of isolation or the pick-and-roll. Per Synergy Sports Technologies, Murray totaled 144 PNR possessions (34.4) and 54 isolation possessions (12.9%).
(* – Note these figures are for all of Murray FG attempts. Doesn’t include any assists or plays where he passed the ball off.)
Saint Peter’s really wanted Murray to get downhill on defenses. With his size, finishing at the rim is tough — despite Murray having a knack for finding a way to hang in the air. On the year, he was 39.8% at the rim. Murray’s big splash comes from the outer two levels, the mid-range and the perimeter.
Murray utilizes his body and athleticism to create opportunities inside the three-point line. He can use his quick feet and handle to get to a mid-range spot and quickly decelerate or use a dribble move to set up a pull-up or use a floater/runner — some moves Ole Miss fans should get used to seeing.
Shooting 35.7% from deep, Murray has a very clean three that bumps up to 38.6% on C&S opportunities while sitting at a respectable 32.8% off the dribble.
Mentioning his possessions and frequency being involved in the PNR, it’s fair to mention Murray’s ability and cognitive recognition as a passer. While Murray sometimes adds a bit of flare to his passes, his reads are pleasing. He knows when to hit a cut or roll as well as finding a secondary on the weak side.
While further looking into the numbers, we can see some similarities between Murray and fellow SEC transfer and 2022-2023 MAAC player of the year Walter Clayton, Jr. The variance for the percentage of 2PM and 3PM for each category was less than .3%. Clayton narrowly edged Murray in points-per-assist with his 2.357 beating out Murray’s 2.333. Murray shows great ability to make live passes with either hand.
An area of strength for Murray is his handles which are pretty tight. Sometimes, and this can be in part due to the high usage he had for Saint Peter’s, Murray can over-dribble a bit. A point of emphasis on his turnovers, something he showed improvement on from his freshman to sophomore year. He had 46 turnovers this past season compared to 45 a year ago despite being on the court for nearly 200 more minutes this season. Per 40 minutes his TOs dropped from 3.5 to 2.6.
Lastly, and one of the biggest things I noticed when watching film, is how Murray plays the game. He has poise and composure on the court. Despite athletic ability and constant pressure to create, he never tries to do too much. He’s calm and doesn’t have a twitchy style about him; everything is easygoing despite the blur that he can be. He knows where he wants to go and the moves he wants to make. For a sophomore, it was impressive to see.
What a Week for Ole Miss Basketball
We mentioned earlier how things have turned up a notch since the dead period ended — but that doesn’t quite do justice to what is happening. Things are on high heat as Chris Beard and his staff have been in an all-out press on the recruiting trail.
First things first, the Rebels got good news as the team’s leading scorer in Matthew Murrell announced his decision to return to Ole Miss. Murrell was collecting feedback as he went through the draft process and displayed his athleticism and shooting ability. With his return, it marks a big sign for the immediate future of the Ole Miss basketball program.
Secondly, the team welcomed a walk-on for 2023 in Gavin Murphy from Calabasas High School in California. A 6-foot-1 sharpshooter, Murphy had offers from other D1 programs including NJIT and East Carolina.
The Rebels also added the above-mentioned Flanigan via the transfer portal. Allen brings a plentiful amount of starting SEC experience to Ole Miss. The 6-foot-6 wing started three straight seasons for Auburn, averaging in double figures for two of them. He recently withdrew his name from the NBA Draft process as well.
Less than a couple of weeks after de-committing from Texas Tech, Jason Jackson also pledged to the Rebels. A combo guard from Florida, Jackson has incredible bounce and has re-classified from the class of 2023 to 2024. Assistant coach Al Pinkins heavily recruited Jackson in his stops at both Florida and Texas Tech. Jackson will be taking another year to participate in the Overtime Elite program before joining Ole Miss.
The Rebels also recently locked in an official visit with Peyton Marshall. A 7-foot, 300-lb center, Marshall was a former Auburn commit who was recruited heavily by Wes Flanigan and is widely recognized as a top-50 recruit in the class of 2024 and one of the top centers. His visit will begin on June 1st.
Finally, Ole Miss is listed in the top-8 teams for Del Jones. A class of 2024 guard ranked in the top-75, Jones released his list on 5/30. Other teams included in the eight are: Tennessee, Arizona State, Clemson, Oregon, Providence, Texas A&M and West Virginia.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all your Ole Miss basketball info.
TJ Oxley
TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.
