Cover photo courtesy of  Johnnie Izquierdo; https://i1.wp.com/augustafreepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/uva-trey-murphy.jpg?w=400&ssl=1

By Salim Alvi ’24

Fall 2014.

Trey Murphy III stepped onto the Cary Academy campus for the first time as a member of the Upper School. A wiry 5’8 freshman, Trey was anything but your typical ninth-grader.

“I just loved basketball, and wanted to be the best I could be.”

Trey did not disappoint. Upon graduation in 2018, he left Cary Academy as the school’s all-time leader in field goals, three-pointers, and free throws made. He averaged almost 25 points and 7 rebounds a game his senior year, earning him both the All-Metro honors by the Raleigh News & Observer and the Triangle Independent School Athletic Conference (TISAC) All-Conference honors by the time his playing days in a Chargers uniform had come to an end.

Now a rising star for one the top teams in college basketball, the current University of Virginia Cavaliers shooting guard graciously took time out of the busy ACC schedule to speak to me about his time at Cary Academy, life in college, and his goals moving forward.

By his final year at CA, Trey had added  9 inches to his frame (to 6’5). Always known as an outstanding shooter and team leader, Trey led by example. He made a point to never miss an off-season training session and constantly searched for ways to improve his overall game. With all the individual outstanding accolades, the one with his teammates stuck out the most.

“My most memorable moment at Cary Academy was Homecoming in my senior year. It was the night I reached 1000 points for my career, but more importantly it was a big win for our team, for our school. We won by like 25 points. It was great just playing with my brothers.”

With his leadership qualities, it was clear Trey was going to be a success no matter which college he selected to continue his playing days. With about 5 or 6 full basketball scholarship offers to choose from, Rice University ultimately became his destination for the next two years. What set Rice apart was its tremendous academic reputation while still giving him the opportunity to develop his game skills.

“I enjoyed my years at Rice. I had a slight build coming out of CA, and really hit the weight room to put on about 15 pounds of strength the summer before my freshman year, and then an additional 15 pounds of muscle by my sophomore year. That really helped me out with the physicality of the college game. There can be times you are playing against guys who are 22 or 23 years-old, but putting on that strength helped me play early. The other big challenge was the speed of the game. In high school, you have a second to make the right play, in college you have to think even quicker…you have like a half-second to react.”

In addition to the mental aspects of the game, Trey’s body continued to grow. He hit another growth spurt, and at Rice was closer to 6’9. Always known as a sharp-shooter, it was his work ethic as a true student of the game that helped him make what appeared to be a seamless transition to the college game. Trey even set the school freshman record for three-point percentage (42.1%) and second for 3-pointers made. By his sophomore year, he lead Rice University in scoring (13.7 points per game). Both seasons also included being named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

“That was really important to me, learning how to manage your time. You just have to always make sure you stay on top of your stuff, and not fall behind. You of course want to stay academically eligible, but I’ve always been motivated to just work hard in everything you do.”

As his second season at Rice came to an end, Trey had evolved into one of the most promising young college players in the country. With the uncertainty of COVID in the background, Trey made the difficult decision to leave Rice University to find a school with a larger basketball program that could help him achieve his ultimate goal of getting to the NBA. He also wanted to find an option that would help develop the rest of his game, especially defensively.

There were no shortage of suitors, with over 20 major basketball programs interested in bringing Trey in as a transfer collegiate athlete. Ultimately, the opportunity to play at the University of Virginia was too good to pass up.

“It is one of the top schools in one of the top conferences. They had just won a National Championship in 2019. I knew they were a great defensive team, and felt that was the place I could develop the rest of my game. My goals for my team are to win an ACC Championship and ultimately another National Championship. It was hard at first with COVID, not really getting to practice…kind of just having to sit there and wait to see if we were going to get a chance to play. We had a lot of Zoom meetings though, and I got a good feel for my new team.”

Settled into his new school, Trey was fast to leave a mark. Now a starter on a top 10 team, Trey continues to develop into one of the top shooters of the ACC and the entire country. He memorably shot a sizzling 48.5% from three point territory while third on the team in scoring (10.8 points per game), As he continues to work on his all around game, he has shown the quickness to guard smaller players and has the size and wing span to defend longer opponents. With the NBA squarely in his sight, he continues to add different dimensions of his game by studying some of the top players.

“I try to model my game after guys like KD (Kevin Durant), Jason Tatum, Devin Booker, guys like that. I can learn different pieces of the game from each of these guys…just study how they work on the little things to be the best players in the league.”

No matter where his professional basketball career takes him, Trey will always be a Triangle kid at heart. He can’t wait for a chance to come back and play in Chapel Hill against UNC and Cameron Indoor against Duke, calling it a “blessing to play there…would be really great.”

I was a 6th grader and manager for the middle school basketball team when I first saw Trey Murphy III light up the gym at CA with his deep 3’s, but more importantly with his bright smile. He will go down as one of the best student athletes in Charger sports history and a true representative of our school.

I concluded my interview with Trey by asking him for one message he would give to Cary Academy students: “Whatever it is you fall in love with, just trust the process, and never give up reaching your goals. Don’t ever think that just because you come from a small place, that you’re not good enough. You may not be able to see things at the time or how things will materialize, but when you keep working as hard as you can, anything is possible.”