Luke Murray's blunt advice led Jacob Furphy to leave UConn: 'Probably not going to happen'
· Yahoo Sports
Jacob Furphy made the extra-long journey from Australia's remote island state of Tasmania to Storrs last summer for his freshman season with the UConn men's basketball program.
Furphy committed to Dan Hurley in October 2024 over interest from famed international poachers Illinois, praising the program's "work ethic" and believing himself to be the "perfect fit" for UConn. The small forward's intercontinental gamble didn't work out the way he'd imagined, playing just 36 total minutes under Hurley last season, and Furphy opted to enter the transfer portal after some much-appreciated blunt advice from former Huskies assistant Luke Murray.
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"[Murray] kept it very real with me," Furphy told Sleepers Media at ACC Media Day Tuesday. "Coming into UConn last year, he's like, 'You have the opportunity to play,' but during the season, obviously, I didn't really get that opportunity. He told me straight to my face, 'It's probably not going to happen.'"
Next up is Jacob Furphy of @BCMBB talking to @Riley_Davis3 about why he followed @CoachLukeMurray to Chestnut Hill⬇️ https://t.co/ciLsJYqOhd
- Sleepers Media 💤🏀 (@SleepersMedia) October 6, 2026
Murray left the UConn program this offseason, earning his first-career head coaching opportunity at Boston College. Furphy was the only UConn player who followed Murray to Chestnut Hill this offseason, likely to find more playing time as the Eagles look to snap a 17-year NCAA Tournament drought.
"He just keeps it very real with me, and I think that's the biggest thing for me: having trust from the coach, and I have trust in him that we're going to do something very cool," Furphy said.
Furphy arrived in Storrs as the No. 100 overall recruit in the 2025 class, per 247Sports, with plenty of experience playing against mature, quality competition as a regular in Australia's NLB1 league and during brief cameos for his nation's senior national team in the 2024 Asia Cup Qualifiers. The freshman played 12 total minutes in lopsided non-conference matchups with Bryant and East Texas A&M, but his playing time dwindled toward the start of Big East play, and he made just one appearance against UCLA during the team's NCAA Tournament run.
Early reporting suggests that Furphy figures to play a much greater role during Murray's debut season with Boston College. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein predicted over the summer that Furphy will feature in the team's starting lineup, stating that the player lost 15 pounds to get in "incredible shape" and that he will make an "immediate impact" for the Eagles.
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