Ryan Murphy to enter transfer portal

Pitt basketball junior guard Ryan Murphy is entering the NCAA transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of remaining eligibility.

The news came from the @VerbalCommits Twitter page Sunday afternoon, and Murphy confirmed the news by retweeting it from his personal account.

Murphy came to Pitt this season after already transfering once before, from the University of Charlotte to New Mexico Junior College for his sophomore season. Upon joining the Panthers, Murphy was billed as a high-level outside shooter.

Murphy’s Pitt career started with promise after scoring double-digit points in each of his first four games — a period during which he made nine of 21 3-point attempts and averaged a blistering 15.5 points per game. He started 12 games for Pitt on the season.

His season started to take a turn for the worse after suffering a concussion during team practice on Jan. 30. Murphy missed Pitt’s next three games, and upon returning to game action Feb. 12, never saw more than 16 minutes of action in any contest.

The missed games, coupled with a shooting slump, saw a period lasting over a calendar month — from Jan. 25 to Feb. 26 — in which Murphy did not make a single 3-pointer. 

After scoring 11 points in a win over Boston College Jan. 22, Murphy didn’t score in double digits for the reason of the season.

He finished the year shooting 33.1% clip from deep — an underwhelming mark for someone expected to flirt with 40%. As he found himself phased out of head coach Jeff Capel’s rotation, Murphy’s scoring average trickled down to 7.6 points per game.

As a graduate transfer, Murphy will be immediately eligible to play for another team next year. His departure will also open up a new scholarship for Capel to use for the upcoming 2020-21 season.