University of Rhode Island

Luke Murray enters his second season as an assistant coach withthe University of Rhode Island men's basketball program.

Murray joined the Rhody staff - and reunited with Hurley in May,2013 - after spending the previous two seasons as an assistantcoach at Towson under former URI assistant Pat Skerry.  Whileat Towson in 2012-13, he helped orchestrate of one of collegebasketball's greatest turnarounds.  The Tigers set a new NCAArecord for the greatest one-season improvement, going from aone-win campaign in 2011-12 to an 18-13 mark and a second-placefinish in the CAA in 2012-13.

While at Towson, Murray was an integral part in bringing in thetop-rated recruiting class in the CAA for 2012-13 – including2013 CAA Player of the Year Jerrelle Benimon.  CBSSports.comranked the class No. 6 in the country among non-BCS schools. Murray was also selected as one of the top mid-major assistantcoaches in the country by CBSSports.com, due to his strongrecruiting talents.

Prior to joining the staff at Towson, he spent the 2010-11 seasonwith Hurley at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y., helping topave the way for the Seahawks' turnaround on the hardwood.

A 2007 graduate of Fairfield with a degree in sociology, Murraybegan his coaching career in the AAU ranks during his freshmanyear.  Additionally. during the 2004-05 season, he returned tohis H.S. alma mater - St. Luke's H.S. in New Canaan, Conn. - as anassistant coach.

The extensive contacts and coaching experience he earned as anundergrad led him to becoming the director of basketball operationsat Quinnipiac in 2007-08, before moving on to Post University inWaterbury, Conn. as an assistant coach, helping the Eagles to a17-10 record.

In 2009-10, Murray served as a graduate assistant at theUniversity of Arizona staff, while working on his master's degreein educational psychology.

updated 10/13/14