ARLINGTON, Texas — Following the worst shooting performance of his career Sunday, Erik Murphy sat hunched over in his locker, staring at the ground and gripping his towel with both hands.
The senior forward’s eyes watered as he answered reporters’ questions with short, subdued responses.
“It seemed like you guys got position inside and couldn’t finish,” one reporter said to Murphy. “What were some of the issues?”
“Just us missing shots,” Murphy replied.
“Have you ever had a game like this?” another reporter asked.
“No,” Murphy said.
Sunday was an unceremonious conclusion to Murphy’s collegiate career. During the No. 3 seed Gators’ 79-59 loss to the fourth-seeded Wolverines in Cowboys Stadium, he went scoreless, missing all 11 of his field-goal attempts — including two threes — in 22 minutes of action.
Murphy grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and committed three of Florida’s 15 turnovers.
“Obviously it’s not what we wanted,” Murphy said. “They just wanted it more, and they got it done. We didn’t.”
Forward Glenn Robinson III and Michigan’s frontcourt bullied Murphy throughout the contest.
During Florida’s first two offensive possessions, Murphy tried to get good position in the paint but had one of his two attempts blocked by Robinson. At the 4:19 mark in the first half, the 6-foot-6 Robinson rejected the 6-foot-10 Murphy’s layup attempt off the backboard.
“Obviously, Erik had a very, very difficult game,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We went to him early there, to start the game against Robinson. We felt like there was a size advantage and we could get some stuff there. And he just never could really get it going.”
Said senior guard Kenny Boynton. “It was the game plan coming in. We thought they didn’t have great shot blockers. … So the main focus was to go inside.”
Donovan subbed Murphy out of the game with 9:14 remaining. The senior did not return until the 3:14 mark when Michigan led by 22 points.
Murphy’s Elite Eight performance was a sour end to his best season as a Gator. This year, he averaged career-best marks with 12.2 points and 5.5 boards per game. He shot 45.3 percent from behind the arc, ranking second on the team.
The South Kingstown, R.I., native saw little playing time during his freshman and sophomore seasons, sitting behind Florida’s established frontcourt of Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin. During his first two years at UF, Murphy started once and averaged 9.9 minutes per game.
“He never really wanted to inject himself into the team like we needed him to,” Donovan said. “He was worried about chemistry, stepping on toes more his freshman year.”
But after Murphy completed his sophomore season, his future with the Gators was in question.
Murphy and former Gators forward Cody Larson were arrested in April 2011 for third-degree felony burglary after allegedly trying to break into a car outside of a bar in St. Augustine.
Donovan suspended Murphy indefinitely, but the forward rejoined the team before the 2011-12 season started.
He bounced back from the incident with a solid junior year, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game.
“He saw an opportunity to step into the role and felt comfortable with it,” Donovan said.
“The last two years, I don’t know if there’s been many frontcourt players that can stretch the defense the way he can, that’s more (of) a team guy than he is. From his freshman year to where he is now, I’ve seen incredible growth, both on and off the court.”
Murphy will have plenty of time to reflect on his four-year legacy at Florida, during which he played in four NCAA Tournaments and made three trips to the Elite Eight.
But after a college career filled with highs and lows ended on a bitter note, he was unable to reflect after Sunday’s game.
“Yeah, man, I don’t know,” Murphy said. “I’ll think about that after this sets in.”
Forward Erik Murphy has his shot blocked by Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III on Sunday at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Wolverines defeated the Gators 79-59.
