Anthony Murphy enters his first season with the USC Upstate men's basketball program in 2024-25.
Murphy returns to coaching following a two-season stint playing professionally overseas, competing in Austria—for UBSC Raiffeisen Graz—and in Luxembourg. Following his collegiate playing days, he spent the 2020-21 season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Drake. The Bulldogs earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, earning their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1971 with a 53-52 win in the First Four over Wichita State.
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Before embarking on his coaching career, Murphy closed his collegiate playing career at Drake, helping the Bulldogs to consecutive 20-win seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the first consecutive 20-win campaigns for the program since 1969-70 and 1970-71. His first season in a Bulldog uniform saw Drake make an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament after capturing a share of the Missouri Valley regular season championship.
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Murphy joined the Bulldogs following a two-season stint at Florida Southwestern State, helping the Buccaneers to 56 victories and a pair of National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament appearances. During the 2017-18 campaign, Florida Southwestern finished 30-3, earning the No. 6 overall seed in that season’s NJCAA Tournament.
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A native of Griffith, Ind., Murphy graduated from Drake in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric & Social Change.
