With Auburn’s season in turmoil – four straight losses, the saga concerning leading scorer Keyshawn Hall and the Tigers growing ever-so-close to the NCAA Tournament – KeShawn Murphy returns to a place on Wednesday he’s extremely familiar with: Starkville and Humphrey Coliseum.
After spending his first three seasons playing for Mississippi State, the Birmingham native will take the floor wearing another pair of colors, and while his focus will be on the task at hand, there’s no way there won’t be a little emotion flooding back in the brain of the 6-foot-10 forward.
But before that, Murphy and the Tigers will be hitting up one of his old haunts.
“Well, we're going to his favorite hibachi restaurant tonight, so I know he is really excited about that,” Pearl said.
KeShawn Murphy fulfilled his mother and grandmother's wish by graduating from MSU
Murphy has been a key piece in Auburn’s roster overhaul after last year’s run to the Final Four, averaging 11 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 assists for Pearl’s squad so far this season. He’s also been consistent the last three games, scoring double digits in each of them, including 22 points on Saturday in Auburn’s loss at Arkansas.
But now, he must perform in a much-needed win for Auburn against his former teammates, coaches and fans who will surely be looking to get the best of Murphy for bragging rights. Deep down, though, he will always be a Mississippi State Bulldog, according to Pearl, and that is how Murphy wanted it.
“I mean one of the things that was really important to Murph before he came here was that he graduated from Mississippi State and he wanted to have that degree because he put a lot of time and effort into that program and it was important to get his diploma from there because he has a lot of love for that place and I credited him for that,” Pearl said. “He could have come here and taken a few extra courses to get his degree at Auburn, but it meant a lot to his mom and his grandma that he got his degree from there.”
With that promise fulfilled, he will try to break the hearts of those who cheered for him for three years.