UNC Basketball: Can UNC solve 3-point shooting woes with this transfer?

Could this top transfer help the UNC basketball program solve its three-point shooting woes?

It’s no secret that the North Carolina Tar Heels have struggled to hit shots from beyond the arc the past two years. They’ve connected on just 30.9 percent of their three-point attempts this season, and an even more meager 30.4 percent last season. Compare those numbers to the three seasons prior — 36.5, 36.4 and 36.6, respectively — and the disparity is clear.

Their deficiencies from long-distance don’t reflect the effort that head coach Roy Williams has put in on the recruiting trail, however, as his tireless attempts at signing an elite shooter have simply come up short. But that certainly doesn’t mean that he and his coaching staff won’t keep trying, and it doesn’t mean that they won’t go after proven sharpshooters on the transfer market in the upcoming offseason.

One of the players they should be targeting is Storm Murphy, a senior guard at Wofford that will be taking advantage of the NCAA extending an extra year of eligibility to winter sport student-athletes due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020-21 season.

Murphy has been sensational this season, scoring a team-high 17.8 points per game and shooting 40 percent from three-point range. He notched double-digit scoring performances in 21-of-24 appearances this season, along with 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. Murphy also shot better than 84 percent at the free throw line, and logged a team-high 34.4 minutes per game.

He averaged 10.4 points, 3.7 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game over four seasons with the Terriers. He logged nearly 30 minutes per game during that time, while shooting 41.7 percent from long-range and 84.9 percent at the foul line. He never shot worse than 38.3 percent from long-range, or 84.2 percent at the charity stripe. Those numbers demonstrate a tremendous amount of consistency from Murphy over an extended time period, something that the Tar Heels could benefit greatly from.

Murphy started 119 of his 126 games at Wofford, including 33 as a sophomore when the Terriers made it to the NCAA Tournament as a 7-seed where they beat Seton Hall in the first round before narrowly losing to the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats. Murphy was also a big contributor in the Terriers’ 68-64 upset victory over the Tar Heels in December of 2019 — he had 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and five made three-pointers.

Not only should the Tar Heels have their sights set firmly on Murphy in the coming weeks, but they should have him on speed dial. With a handful of current UNC stars set to return next season, a shooter like Murphy could get North Carolina over the hump. We’ve had no indication to this point if they’ve got any intention of going after Murphy, but they certainly should be.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for any developments regarding Storm Murphy, and all the latest on the UNC basketball program.