“Beat Them When I Was There”: Jamal Murray Engages in ‘College Rivalry’ With a Reporter, Recalls Highlight Play

In a few hours, the Iowa Hawkeyes will lock horns with the South Carolina Gamecocks for the NCAA Championship. Caitlin Clark has taken the college basketball world by storm and fans are eager to find out if the Iowa star will get to lift the trophy tonight. As the anticipation continues to rise for the main event, it’s making some NBA stars miss their college days. After yesterday’s Nuggets-Hawks game, Jamal Murray reminisced about his time in Kentucky.

The Nuggets star spotted Ryan Blackburn of Mile High Sports wearing a South Carolina sweatshirt. On X, Blackburn detailed his interaction with Murray. He wrote that the 27-year-old asked about the sweatshirt and then recalled beating the South Carolina team. Murray said, “We beat them when I was there.” Blackburn told Murray he was in attendance and watched his dunk over Justin McKie.

Jamal Murray, seeing my South Carolina sweatshirt.

Murray: “Wearing a Carolina shirt?”

Blackburn: “Yep.”

Murray: “We beat them when I was there.”

Blackburn: “I remember the dunk that you had.”

Murray: “ooooo”

Blackburn: “That shit was nice.”

Murray: “It was a broken play.…

— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) April 7, 2024

Even though the dunk looked visually stunning, Murray wasn’t happy with the play that they tried to execute. He came up dribbling with his left hand and finished it with a poster dunk, sending McKie to the floor. Regardless, looking back at it, he doesn’t feel very good about how things played out. The Nuggets star said, “It was a broken play. We ran the play wrong. But it worked out.”

Even though the guard accepted that it was a “broken play”, the dunk looked vicious.

Jamal Murray’s Kentucky Wildcats career

According to Sports Reference, Murray represented the Wildcats in 36 games, averaging 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and 40.8% from three-point range. The team roster included Marcus Lee, Skal Labissière, Tyler Ulis, Charles Matthews, Tai Wynyard, and more. When we look at how their careers unfolded after that season, Murray is easily the most successful athlete on that list.

The 2023 NBA Champion was in incredible form that year as he constantly churned out game-winning performances. Murray’s 35-point game against the Gators in February is tied for the most points by a freshman in the Wildcat’s history. In March, when the two teams faced each other once again, Murray dropped 20 points in a losing cause, but that was his seventh consecutive 20+ points game for the season.

Even though his performance couldn’t provide any silverware to the Wildcats, Murray benefited from it after being the first-round 7th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.