Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 24, 1992 TAG: 9202240135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
ROANOKE SENIOR SCORES POINTS WITH HARD WORK
Mike Murphy no longer thinks about the pain he experienced when he tore up his left knee three years ago, before the start of his freshman season at Roanoke College.Gone is the bulky knee brace - a physical and then a psychological support that Murphy no longer needs or wants. He runs, cuts and jumps without thought of reinjuring his reconstructed knee.
About the only things remaining from Murphy's ordeal are scar tissue from surgery and the resolve gained from 11 months of rehabilitation.
"No one wants to be injured, but in a sense it may have been a blessing in disguise," said Murphy, a 6-foot-6 senior forward. "I had to work hard to play again, and that work ethic has stayed with me. That's helped me become a better player."
Fifth-seeded Roanoke College (15-10 overall, 12-6 conference) travels to fourth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan (17-8, 13-5) for the opening round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Maroons again will need Murphy's hard play if they are are to move to this weekend's championship round at the Salem Civic Center.
In other first-round games Tuesday, Randolph-Macon (9-16, 5-13) plays at top-seeded Hampden-Sydney (20-5, 14-4). Lynchburg (9-15, 6-12) is at Emory & Henry (18-7, 13-5), and Guilford (12-12, 8-10) goes to Bridgewater (20-5, 13-5).
It's been a long journey for Murphy since the summer day in 1988 when he injured his knee during a pick-up basketball game.
After missing his entire freshman season, Murphy, from Vienna, has gone from little-used reserve to valuable contributor to senior starter and tri-captain.
While he doesn't show up at the top of many statistical charts, the 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds Murphy contributes are important statistics. Murphy's numbers aren't the results of up and down performances, but rather a flat line graph of consistency.
"Every good team needs a guy like that," said Roanoke coach Page Moir, who is in his third season at Roanoke. "Murphy's numbers you know you can count on every night. He's such a smart player. He knows how to play the game, and he's a winner."
In 1988, Murphy's thoughts of playing basketball at Roanoke were almost ended.
"I was playing in a pick-up game," Murphy said. "I went up for a rebound or something, and when I came down, [the knee] hyperextended back. I thought I had just twisted it at first."
Murphy was wrong. He had torn his anterior cruciate ligament and partially torn the posterior one. It's one of the more severe injuries in athletics.
Murphy's freshman season was over before it started. He had surgery at the National OrthopedicHospital in Washington, D.C., to replace his anterior cruciate ligament.
His cast came off after four weeks. The rest was up to him.
"It was a month before I could walk," said Murphy, whose rehabilitation began with isometric exercises and gradually progressed to exercise machines. "During the school year, I would drive to Washington on weekends to work out at the hospital. Over the summer, I'd go to rehabilitation four times a week after I got off work."
Division III schools like Roanoke College don't give athletic scholarships, so that was no motivation for Murphy. He wasn't a star player whose playing time was guaranteed.
"They told me these were the things I needed to do if I wanted to play basketball again," said Murphy, who came to Roanoke from James Madison High. "One of the reasons all of us came to a smaller school was to be able to play basketball at a collegiate level."
Murphy received clearance to play again in September 1989. The year off had taken its toll.
"I was very rusty and was overweight," Murphy said.
As a sophomore, Murphy played in seven games, scored six points and had nine rebounds.
"Murph didn't play much his sophomore year, and after the season, he came to me and said `Coach, what do I have to do to play here?' " Moir said.
Moir told him he needed to get into playing shape. Murphy responded by losing 15 pounds and improving his conditioning.
Last year, Murphy played in all 26 games and started eight. He averaged 3.4 points while shooting 57.6 percent from the field. He averaged 4.1 rebounds. This season, he's not only a starter but has emerged as the team leader.
"Murphy wasn't given anything here," Moir said. "He worked hard and earned his time. We've brought in some talented kids who you think might take some of his time, but he beat them out.
"It's like that with all of our seniors [Murphy, Derek Otten and Chris Faulkner]. They're players who have worked for everything they've got. The younger players see how hard they work, and they've earned their respect."
Murphy's on-court leadership doesn't show up in high-scoring outbursts.
"I don't have the athletic ability to take over a game," said Murphy, a physics major, "but [sophomore wing Hillary] Scott and [junior forward Rick] Becker can take anybody in this league.
"There have been times in games when I've told them we need to keep playing together as a team, but it's also time for you to step up and take control."
A year ago, Murphy played with a bulky knee brace. He stopped wearing it after the Maroons were eliminated by Hampden-Sydney in the opening round of the ODAC Tournament.
"Last year didn't turn out as well as we expected," he said. "This year I wanted to make a conscious commitment to make sure this season would be better. Part of that was taking off the psychological crutch. What happens on the court has to be natural. You can't be thinking about things and worrying about them. I packed the brace away after the Hampden-Sydney game and haven't taken it out since."