Dejounte Murray, Gonzaga Prospect, Commits to Washington
By Josh Horton
Mar 23, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few reacts in the first half of a men
One of Gonzaga’s top targets for the 2015 class, Dejounte Murray, made his college decision today at five p.m.
Much to the dismay of Mark Few and the Gonzaga coaching staff, Murray has decided to commit to the University of Washington, over Gonzaga and a host of high-major schools.
Murray, who is a four-star shooting guard from Rainer Beach High School in Seattle, Wash., is a wiry but explosive with a nice jumper. With his 6-foot-5 frame and long arms, Murray has tremendous upside.
As the top ranked prospect in the state, both Washington and Gonzaga were showing a ton of interest with Murray, along with California, Arizona and Oregon. GU, UW and U of O were constantly mentioned in Murray’s recruitment, showing the Northwest’s commitment to landing the highly touted prospect.
Murray is also ranked as high as the 46th ranked player in the class according to scout.com.
While playing at Rainier Beach last season, Murray, along with an assortment of other Division I level players, played in the Dick’s High School National Tournament in New York City. The Vikings were knocked out in the quarterfinals, losing to Findlay Prep, led by Kansas commit Kelly Oubre.
For Gonzaga, this is a huge loss on the recruiting front. Murray is a top prospect and the Zags were on him for quite a while. However, Gonzaga was at a disadvantage recruiting against Murray’s hometown school, Washington.
Another complication could be that Murray wanted to play point guard at the next level, and the coaching staff would not make that promise to him. He projects to be more of wing in Gonzaga’s system
It would follow that Gonzaga would now pursue 2015 combo-guard Stephen Thompson even harder now with Murray of the board. The 6-foot-4 Thompson from Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, Calif. is a four-star prospect, one that the Bulldogs have reportedly been recruiting fairly hard.