City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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WILLOW GROVE — Sean Murphy stands out on a basketball court.
At 6-foot-10, the Upper Moreland senior is by far the tallest player on his team and most nights probably the tallest person on the floor. His height naturally draws eyes, but this season Murphy wants his play to be the reason those eyes stay on him.

UM’s big man made an impression in Thursday’s 77-59 Suburban One League Freedom Division win over visiting William Tennent and hopes more like it can take him to the next level.

“Confidence was the biggest thing for me,” Murphy said. “I think I have all the skill, I just gotta be confident when I shoot and I obviously did that tonight.”

Murphy finished with a team-high 23 points, showing the increased versatility he put a lot of work into this summer. The big shot 10-of-14, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, and added nine rebounds, an assist and a block.

After spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Archbishop Wood, Murphy transferred to Upper Moreland looking for a chance to play and develop. While he started all last year, Murphy knew there was a lot more he could bring to the table other than just being taller than most people he played with or against.

“I needed to develop it these last two years,” Murphy said. “I put the 3(-pointer) into my game, last year I started doing it and I’ve been practicing that every day. I’m trying to spread the floor a little bit, trying to be a three-level scorer.”

In his time coaching the Golden Bears, Dan Heiland never had anyone quite like Murphy. Last season the Bears had two bigs with Murphy and 6-6 Nigel Adamson. but Adamson transferred to Cristo Rey, meaning it was Murphy’s show in the post.

With two other starters back in senior Alex Best and junior Colson Campbell, Murphy also molded his game to accentuate theirs. He wanted to space things out with Best looking to use his quickness to attack the rim and Campbell capable of scoring at any level.

“He put the work in all offseason to get to this point,” Heiland said. “Last year, coming in from a different school and trying to feel out where he fits in, a kid like that with his size and stature, I’ve never coached before. 

“It’s different for us, with what he can do, and he just keeps coming in and working hard every day. So the more he plays like that, the more our guys are going to trust him.”

Murphy, who played with the Penn Warriors over the summer, said he’s also added close to 20 pounds the last two years. He’s not a high-flying athlete, although he did get up for a big two-handed dunk off a lob by Nate Best in the fourth quarter, instead using the good touch he has on his shot to finish possessions.

Tennent didn’t have anyone to match his height, so Murphy did a nice job of getting position on the block, waiting for a teammate to find him then hitting a hook shot that no defender could block several times.

Murphy had nine of his 23 in the first quarter, then didn’t score again until the second half. That was because Campbell went on a heater in the period, scoring 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting as part of a 22-point effort in the win.

Campbell also played a nice defensive game while Alex Best tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, the senior ending the half by hitting a tough midrange shot then diving and sprawling across the floor for a steal to deny the Panthers a last look.

It’s that infectious energy that’s also helped Murphy be a more confident player after coming into UM last season.

“We’re family, those are my brothers right there,” Murphy said. “I’m happy here, the coaches have put me in a great spot to show what I can do. With the guys leaving from last year, it’s given me more of an opportunity to show my skills.”

Murphy’s still close with his old Wood teammates, too, with a handful of Vikings including Jalil Bethea and Milan Dean making the trip to watch him play Thursday. The senior also got to congratulate Tennent’s Kirby Mooney, a teammate with the Penn Warriors, for his milestone scoring moment after the game.

His efforts Thursday got Murphy a postgame chat with a coach from Misericordia who was in the building. Playing in college is the center’s goal.

“I have interest from some D-IIIs,” Murphy said. “I’m hoping to get some D-IIs, maybe D-I. I think anyone wants to try and move up, but D-III is cool, too. I just want to play in college.”

Murphy knew the ball was coming to him once the Bears got out on the run near the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Having earlier said he views Tennent as a rival in the league, it was a moment that called for the senior to show something else his height allows him to do by soaring above the rim for a slam.

“Once I saw it was Nate with the ball, I knew it was going to be a dunk,” Murphy said. “He’s always giving it up, no matter what, anytime it’s a two-on-one he wants to give me the ball, so I had to finish the play.

“I save my dunks for big games.”

William Tennent senior Kirby Mooney, center with ball, celebrated after the game with family after scoring his 1,000th point Thursday night against Lower Moreland. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

Milestone for Mooney

It was a moment a long time coming for Kirby Mooney.

The Tennent senior put his name on the scene last year when he led the SOL in scoring at 23.1 points per game and helped the Panthers win the Freedom Division title. It was good, but Mooney wanted more and put in more work this summer to make sure he crossed another goal off his list early this season.

Mooney finally reached his 1,000th point Thursday when he sank a 3 with 3:16 left in the game.

“Honestly, it means everything, this had been my goal,” Mooney said, clutching the 1,000 point ball after the game. “Going into high school, I set a bunch of goals for myself like be four years on varsity and score 1,000 points, so accomplishing both of those means a lot.”

It was a big week for the 6-3 senior. On Tuesday, Mooney went for 40 points, setting a Tennent single-game scoring record as the Panthers defeated Springfield Township.

“I had a great year last year; I averaged 23, but the main thing I took was that I didn’t shoot the ball as well as I would have liked,” Mooney said. “Over the offseason that was my main focus, and I think I did a great job of getting up a ton of shots. Last game, I made a bunch of 3s, and tonight I made a couple but I know I’ve improved a lot from last year.”

Mooney is a talented player — he finished with 24 Thursday — and he had other schools vying for him to come join their programs. However, staying at Tennent, playing for the Panthers and proving he could reach his goals there held plenty of significance for him.

There was a good-sized student section that made the short road trip and gave Mooney a nice ovation after the milestone bucket.

“Tennent’s really everything for me,” Mooney said. “Staying at home, staying with my classmates who I grew up with, my family wanted me to stay here and to get it done in front of my community was amazing.”

Mooney is still looking for his next stop. The senior said Bucknell is planning to come see him in the coming weeks, and ultimately he’s looking for a place where he knows he’s wanted and that he can have a role.

It’s an inexperienced Tennent team, although Chris D’Ambra’s given the Panthers a nice boost, including 25 points Thursday. So all Mooney wants to do is keep working hard, keep leading his guys and let everything else work itself out.

“It’s important not to stay satisfied,” Mooney said. “You want to move on to the next goal.”

By Quarter

Upper Moreland 22 | 21 | 16 | 18 || 77

William Tennent 14 | 18 | 16 | 11 || 59

Scoring

UM: Sean Murphy 23, Colson Campbell 22, Alex Best 14, Brayden Martin 10, Anthony Carson 4, Javier Velez 2, Nate Best 2

WT: Chris D’Ambra 25, Kirby Mooney 24, Imad Abunima 8, Sean Devine 2