Collin Murray-Boyles Scouting Report: How Gamecocks' prospect shredded Arkansas defense with his crafty scoring
Few 2025 NBA Draft prospects spark more discourse than South Carolina sophomore big Collin Murray-Boyles. He’s incredibly divisive, as some scouts view him as a top-three prospect and others don’t regard him as a top-10 player. His profile will inherently lead to variance as a 6-foot-7, non-shooting big with extremely strong production and some outlier traits.
Skeptics will question the offensive viability of a shorter big who doesn’t space the floor. Oftentimes, smaller, interior-centric college bigs, even dominant ones, struggle to translate their production to the NBA level. But Murray-Boyles is doing his best to buck those worries, recently having a career day against Arkansas.
Murray-Boyles’s Gamecocks haven’t had much success this season, but they throttled Arkansas behind their star’s career-best game. He tallied 35 points (12-16), seven rebounds, two assists, two turnovers, and four steals, and he was unstoppable on the offensive end throughout the day. What can we learn about Murray-Boyles’s NBA projection from this game?
Collin Murray-Boyles Scouting Report vs Arkansas
The Razorbacks couldn’t stop Murray-Boyles from pressuring and scoring at the rim. He went an incredible 11 of 13 at the rim and sank 11 of 12 free-throw attempts, evidence of his interior scoring dominance. He thrives as a play finisher, showcasing his excellent strength, balance and touch, converting this layup:
Finishing excellence is nothing new for Murray-Boyles. He’s one of the most efficient finishers in the class, converting a phenomenal 67.5% of his shots at the hoop. Unlike most players, Murray-Boyles’s efficiency slightly increases in the half-court, finishing 67.6% of his half-court rim attempts.
South Carolina’s poor guard play doesn’t always lead to easy scoring chances in the paint for Murray-Boyles. When he receives the ball with open court in front of him, he’s as reliable a finisher as they come:
But for his offensive ceiling, Murray-Boyles’ creation will be paramount. If Murray-Boyles can generate efficient looks at the basket for himself, that’s a path for him to develop into an offensive star. Though Murray-Boyles’ height causes some problems, most traditional centers cannot hang with his speed. He burns Zvonimir Ivisic off of the dribble despite him backing off and providing a cushion here:
Murray-Boyles has the handling control to initiate from the perimeter, even running occasional pick and rolls. He doesn’t do it often given his lack of a spacing threat, but we can see how Murray-Boyles can drive himself into positions to score in the paint:
Even Murray-Boyles’s misses showcase this drive creation ability. He can’t muster the ball in over Ivisic’s contest but still carves out a paint touch off of a baseline drive. It’s somewhat concerning that most of Murray-Boyles’s self-created drives are contested, but he’s a phenomenal contested finisher. Still, it’s a difficult way to live:
Without a closeout-worthy jumper, Murray-Boyles often drives from the interior via post-ups or face-ups. He’s elite in these spots, spending most of his possessions (21.5%) as a post-up scorer on 84th-percentile efficiency (1.062 points per possession). He makes interior creation look effortless against many college defenders:
He’s a dominant faceup player, too quick and strong for most college bigs to handle on their own. Once again, Ivisic has very little chance against Murray-Boyles driving to his right and hanging back to his left:
Murray-Boyles can over-rely on his left hand at times, barging towards his strong side into waiting defenses. He’ll often counter with a spin back to the right side to beat over-aggressive defenses as he does here, still finishing with his left hand in heavy traffic:
As strong as he is scoring on the interior, jump shooting is incredibly important for modern NBA players. Shorter bigs who can’t space the floor rarely thrive in today’s league and that’s a notable concern for Murray-Boyles. He’s made 7 of his 32 career 3-point attempts and missed his only one against Arkansas:
Despite his lack of shooting volume, optimists point to his excellent touch and intermediate scoring for his shooting projection. The volume here is still extremely low — Murray-Boyles has attempted four pull-up mid-range jumpers this season, making three of them. Shots like these, pulling up over retreating defenders, will be key for his NBA translation:
Even if Murray-Boyles can’t develop into a reliable shooter, his excellent playmaking will boost his offensive ceiling. His turnovers are way up this season, leading to a 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio, but that doesn’t represent his true passing skill.
Murray-Boyles is a risk taker, often trying difficult, tight window passes that result in high-value shots. That combined with his lack of roster talent depresses his passing numbers. His passing flair still pops on tape, though. Murray-Boyles sees a double team, as he often does, and lobs it up to his teammate who can’t make the catch. The pass is a bit off, but this was a catchable ball, especially for most NBA bigs:
Teams with elite guards will benefit from Murray-Boyles’s passing and advantage-extending chops. He’s excellent operating from a short roll, lasering a pass to an open teammate under the rim here:
Great timing, touch, and accuracy help Murray-Boyles function as a passer from all areas of the court. He’s an excellent high-low passer, feathering this ball into his fellow big for an easy finish from the top of the key:
Even Murray-Boyles’s greatest detractors will admit his defense is stellar and the foundation of his prospect case. This Arkansas game centered around Murray-Boyles’s offensive projection, but he made defensive plays as always. His size, instincts, length and mobility make Murray-Boyles an incredibly versatile defensive piece.
Watch everything Murray-Boyles does on the first defensive possession of the game. He defends the ball on an island, digs down to disrupt a drive and guards two players in pick and roll, nabbing an incredible steal:
He’s quick and fluid enough to switch onto the perimeter, successfully checking guards and quicker wings. Murray-Boyles defends the speedy DJ Wagner here, shutting down his drive and forcing another turnover:
Murray-Boyles has a chance to develop into an All-NBA caliber defender on the back of his on and off-ball chops. But for him to become a true star, he must carve his path on the offensive end. Whatever that path may look like, games like this against Arkansas help provide optimism that he can develop into the best version of himself on the offensive end.