Coach's son: The privilege and the pressure

"Hey Murray, your dad can't help you shoot."
It was not the first time the then-19-year-old winger heard it, and it definitely would not be the last, but it may have been the only time an opposing team's crowd took the time and liberty to paint it in big bold letters on a sign for everyone to see.
The sign, however, despite it's creative use of bristol board, pales in comparison to some of the, let's just say, less tame comments heard from rowdy fans throughout the province.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's unlikely that you haven't already, but meet Scott Murray. And let me present to you both his blessing and his burden.
"I get that question every year, but I still don't know how to answer it," said Murray when asked about what could possibly (and unfairly) be the main thing he's known for when his five-year Brock basketball career comes to an end this March. "But it's awesome, I always wanted to play for my dad."
Murray, the 6'2" Welland native, has spent the last five seasons lacing 'em up for the man who literally taught him how, and you can bet that when word breaks of the seemingly nepotistic arrangement, the dozens of road games with voracious university student-filled peanut galleries would probably take their toll ... or not.
"I think it made me a stronger person, a better player, and it honestly never bothered me," said the youngest Murray. "If anything I think it made me try to play harder, to prove them wrong."
And that's just what he did, and will continue to do as the Brock Badgers set out to wrestle a Canadian Interuniversity Sport playoff berth from a visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees team at the Bob Davis Gymnasium next Saturday.
"I give him all the credit in the world to be able to play through that adversity and not let it affect him at all," said proud father and firey sideline dictator feared throughout the nation, Ken Murray. "He gives us everything he's got every time out and he's proved a lot of people wrong who thought he couldn't play at this level."
Growing up a stone's throw from Brock University and under the roof of the legendary coach now in his 18th season, it's no surprise that little Murray would start bleeding red, white and navy at a young age.
"When I was a kid he would tell me everything," said Murray. "He would always tell me about past players and past experiences, so Brock basketball was a big part of my life."
And now the relationship is mutual. The Badgers, once (and now again) legitimate championship contenders, rely on the small forward for his leadership, three-point lethality and omnipresent emotion.
Without any hesitation, coach agrees.
"He's been a great three-point shooter for us and the record books will show it."
In fact, the record books list Murray as the fourth best three-point shooter in the history of Brock University, with an astounding 356 makes over the past five years.
But aside from the accuracy from long range and the intensity brought forth each and every night in games or in practice, what, of this, can be attributed to sharing a gene pool with one of Canada's best coaches and one of its former best players?
"He taught me more of the mental aspect, more of the game preparations," said Scott Murray. "And confidence is a big issue that my dad taught me, but as far as Xs and Os and shooting form go, he never really sat me down and taught me."
During his own five-year career from 1972-77, the eldest Murray was named Badgers MVP five times and even flirted with playing basketball professionally before opting to head down the coaching path, one that has created some of the coach's proudest moments.
"It's been a joy because not many coaches get that opportunity," said Ken Murray of being able to call the shots while his now-23-year-old son takes them. "He's really matured as a young man and he's grown up. I'm happy to see how he's developed, not only as a basketball player, but as a person."
Sure, when you look at all the landscape-shifting Brock victories he's contributed to over the past five seasons and all the autographs signed, three-point shots made and teammates impacted, it is safe to say that Scott Murray only plays on the team because his dad is the coach.
After all, if you grew up studying the game with one of the country's greatest coaches and shared the same all-star pedigree and dedication, you'd be pretty good at the game too.
"He's a happy-go-lucky kid who gets along with everybody really well," said the coach. "I think he's got a bright future ahead of him.