Collin Murray-Boyles will have a front-and-center view for the NBA Draft later this month.
The South Carolina Gamecock forward has been invited to intend the NBA Draft on June 25-26 in New York, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported Monday.
According to Givony, 19 players have been invited so far with five more expected to receive invitations.
The NBA will announce the complete list of players invited to New York in the coming days. Each year, the league invites several of the draft’s top prospects to attend the event in person.
Murray-Boyles, a Columbia native, announced in April he would be entering the NBA Draft after two seasons with the Gamecocks. He took part in the NBA Combine last month with other draft hopefuls.
ESPN ranks Murray-Boyles as the 14th-best player in this year’s draft, according to its latest rankings. If Murray-Boyles goes early as expected, he will be the eighth former Gamecock to be taken in the first round of the NBA Draft. Renaldo Balkman was the last USC player to go in the first round when the New York Knicks took him 20th in 2006. Tom Riker was the highest USC player taken in the draft when he went No. 8 overall to the Knicks in 1972.
Murray-Boyles averaged 16.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game this season and was a second-team All-SEC selection. The 6-7 forward was the only Power 5 (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and SEC) player this season to average at least 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal per game while shooting above 50% from the floor.
Murray-Boyles played his first three years of high school at AC Flora before finishing up at Wasatch Academy in Utah. He averaged 15 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 blocks and a steal per game. He also saw his stock rise and finished as a top-100 recruit by ESPN and 247Sports.