The comedic timing confirmed he\u2019s Bill Murray\u2019s son. Time will tell if he\u2019s the right leading man to resuscitate BC and revive college basketball interest in these parts. The hope at The Heights is that Murray is the next iconic college hoops coach to cut his teeth in the state that birthed basketball. <\/p>\n
Remember, Rick Pitino coached at Boston University, his first full-time head coaching gig. Braintree\u2019s Jim Calhoun built up Northeastern before becoming a legend at UConn. John Calipari put UMass on the national map and in the Final Four in his first stop. <\/p>\n
These are some of the biggest names in college basketball coaching circles, and all of them stalked the sidelines in similar shoes to Murray \u2014 first-time coaches facing humble hoops beginnings at local schools that required a vitamin B-12-like boost. Retaining that caliber of coach is a high-class problem BC dreams of having soon.<\/p>\n
Those Massachusetts-molded members of coaching royalty took local programs to the NCAA Tournament, a destination BC hasn\u2019t ventured to since the 2008-09 season with Al Skinner<\/a>. That was eons and five head coaches ago, counting interim coach Scott Spinelli.<\/p>\n \u201cOur vision is to make the NCAA Tournament. I\u2019ve said that from the very beginning. That\u2019s the goal. That\u2019s the expectation for our group internally,\u201d said Murray. \u201cWe\u2019re working towards it every single day in the way that we prepare, the way that we practice, the commitment level that we show to each other as a team.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, that really hasn\u2019t changed. \u2026 That\u2019s what I said to the guys, that \u2026 [Tuesday] wasn\u2019t indicative of our expectations and our standards. And, so, we have to rectify that in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed. The Eagles face UMass, led by coach Frank Martin<\/a>, who guided South Carolina to a Final Four, Friday at TD Garden<\/a> in the opener of the TNT Sports Hall of Fame Series Boston. It marks the first time since 2014 that BC and UMass hold court at the Garden.<\/p>\n In the hoops headliner, his old boss, Dan Hurley, and UConn take on defending national champion Michigan in a rematch<\/a> of the 2026 Final Four finale. <\/p>\n That was the final game of a distinguished five-year tenure for Murray as Hurley\u2019s aide-de-camp, during which the Huskies captured back-to-back national titles (2023 and 2024) and advanced to three Final Fours with Murray as the offensive ace up their sleeve. Hurley, the archetype of the ultracompetitive, occasionally bumptious, successful college basketball coach, employed Murray thrice as an assistant \u2014 first at Wagner in 2010, then Rhode Island (2013), and UConn.<\/p>\n The Eagles aim to rebrand under Murray, but the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll pegged BC to finish 17th out of 18 schools. One thing is certain, Murray won\u2019t be running Skinner\u2019s old-school flex offense with a new-look team that features 13 new players and 11 transfers.<\/p>\n Murray\u2019s offense is the antithesis<\/a> of that. It\u2019s Newton\u2019s third law of motion in sneakers. In Murray\u2019s offense, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It\u2019s loaded with back cuts, curl cuts, flash cuts, flares, slips, screens, etc. Fittingly, BC\u2019s first basket under Murray came on a sharp back cut by Slovenian freshman Zak Smrekar, aided by a screen from Luke Hunger. <\/p>\n UConn sophomore star Braylon Mullins hailed Murray\u2019s offensive acumen.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think the knowledge that he has of the game, and he puts you in different situations,\u201d said Mullins. \u201cI think a lot of it is just coming off the screens and the pin downs, you just got these different reads, and I think that\u2019s just what he does well. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd then, he sees something on the court, and there\u2019ll be a little twist of the action. Then you\u2019re running a whole completely different thing, and it\u2019s so hard to scout. I think the knowledge that he has and [understanding] where to put you at, I think it\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n Mullins added that the fourth-ranked Huskies are still primarily running Murray\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t pigeon-hole Murray as just a strategic wizard. His ability to attract players to Chestnut Hill will be paramount in any turnaround. All great college coaches are salesmen. <\/p>\n At UConn, he served as the lead recruiter on NBA lottery pick Donovan Clingan and McDonald\u2019s All-Americans Mullins and Liam McNeeley, a 2025 NBA first-round pick.<\/p>\n Murray is hoping to end the \u201cGroundhog Day\u201d-like feel to BC basketball \u2014 three winning seasons in the last 17 \u2014 to reference one of his famous father\u2019s beloved roles. <\/p>\n Bill Murray was there to witness BC\u2019s new beginning with his son. <\/p>\n About 59 minutes before tipoff, he bounded into Conte Forum with other family members and was escorted to his seat behind the BC bench. He later donned one of the white BC T-shirts that were handed out and wore his BC-colored cap backward. <\/p>\n Still, he was predictably recognizable. <\/p>\n BC is banking its basketball program under his precocious progeny won\u2019t be.<\/p>\n Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at christopher.gasper@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @cgasper<\/a> and on Instagram @cgaspersports<\/a>.<\/p>\n