NO JOKING AROUND: Move Helping Rogers High

SENIOR GUARD MURPHY THRIVING IN LADY MOUNTAINEERS SYSTEM

By Paul Nielsen

Posted: November 25, 2009 at 5:30 a.m.

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ROGERS — Taylor Murphy and Morgan Hook used to joke about someday playing on the same basketball team. At the time, Murphy was in a Springdale Har-Ber uniform while Hook was a Rogers Lady Mounties player.

Well, that joking around has turned into reality and Lady Mounties coach Preston Early couldn’t be happier.

Instead of playing against Hook, Murphy now compliments the Oklahoma signee and she is even more in awe of Hook now that the two are teammates.

Murphy moved into the Rogers School District the final week of her junior year last spring and quickly worked her way into the Lady Mounties starting lineup.

Murphy spent all summer with Rogers and is averaging 14.5 points a game in the Lady Mounties’ wins against West Fork and Pea Ridge.

“Morgan is such a rare player and there is no one else like her,” Murphy said. “When she scores I will be like, ‘Hey, can I have your autograph.’ I will whisper that in her ear if we are winning and I am happy on the court.”

“I never thought I would ever get to play with her but this is great.”

Murphy, however, is a solid player in her own right. She can knock down the 3-pointer and run the fl oor in transition.

Her defensive skills have also improved, which is a must in Early’s system.

Murphy scored 14 points in the Lady Mounties’ season opener against West Fork and had 15 points in a win at Pea Ridge Saturday.

Both wins were mercy-rule decisions which meant Murphy didn’t play much in the second half of either game.

“Once she learned our system, she has really thrived,” Early said. “She is a complete player.”

Early said he never doubted that the Rogers players would welcome Murphy with open arms and called the senior another piece to the Lady Mounties puzzle.

Rogers fell in the semifinals at the Class 7A State Tournament last season but Early feels the team can take the next step this season.

Adding Murphy has been a bonus, he said.

“One of the things that I told her parents when they registered for school is that in some places it might be diffcult on a kid moving in as a senior,” Early said. “But not with this senior class. These guys are a different breed of people and they accepted Taylor right away.”

Murphy agreed that the transition was nearly perfect.

“I really feel this is the right place for me,” Murphy said. “I never felt like I was the new girl. I played against a lot of them so it wasn’t like they were strangers to me.”

Despite earning a starting spot with the Lady Mounties and fitting in at school, Murphy said the move from Springdale was still a little diff cult.

“It was hard leaving my friends that I had grown up with my whole life,” Murphy said. “That was the hardest thing.”

Murphy will meet up with her old Har-Ber teammates on Jan. 26 but she said she is going to treat that game no difterent than any other 7A-West Conference game.

“I’m not going to worry about who I am playing against, I’m just going to do my thing,” Murphy said. “I will just be focused on my role.”

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