Kris Murray Representing Namesake Well

Iowa Sophomore Emerging in Second College Season

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Mike and Patty Street were seated in their usual Carver-Hawkeye Arena seats for last week’s basketball game against Indiana. Kenyon Murray walked over to say hello at halftime. He brought a smile with him.

“Hey, his namesake’s doing well tonight,” Kenyon told the Streets.

Kris Murray had matched his career high with 17 points in the first half, to go with seven rebounds. Kris was named after Chris Street, his dad’s close friend and the Hawkeyes’ beloved forward, who passed away 29 years ago Wednesday in an automobile accident. “He was a pretty special dude,” said Kenyon, who was a freshman when Chris died in the middle of his junior season.

Keegan Murray has been a breakout star for the Hawkeyes this season. Kris has often played in his twin brother’s shadow. But against the Hoosiers, with Keegan in foul trouble, Kris stepped up big. He finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs, in the victory. He did it in the same arena where Chris Street left everything on the floor during his career.

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery never met Chris Street in person, but he’s heard so many stories about him that he feels like knew him.

“And boy, he was a special player,” McCaffery said. “But an even better person, from everybody you talk to. And if he wasn’t a great person, Kenyon Murray wouldn’t have named his son after him. And that tells you everything about what he thinks of Chris.”

Kenyon always thinks of his friend when he walks into the arena.

“There’s such a connection when you have your son, who’s named after him, playing in the same uniform that he wore in the arena,” Kenyon said. “It’s every time that Kris takes the floor that I think about him. I just hope he’s looking down and he’s proud of him, what he’s accomplished and who he’s becoming.”

Patty Street said that seeing a young man named after her son have success was a powerful thing. She’s followed Kris with motherly instincts all season.

“We were so happy that Keegan had such a great start this year,” Patty said. “But I guess my heart was tugging for Kris to be able to show what he had. I kept thinking, “He’ll come along once he just gets some experience.’ ”

Kenyon met his wife, Michelle, when he was working at Indian Hills Community College and she was working in the radiology department at Ottumwa Regional Health Center. The attraction was instant. They started dating in June of 1998. They were engaged two months later and were married in September of 1999.

Long before their marriage, Kenyon had shared with Michelle his desire to name their first-born son after Chris Street. Kenyon wanted to spell his son’s first name Kris, not Chris, to keep the “Ks’ in the family.

The Murrays were living in Cedar Rapids when they found out Michelle was pregnant in early 2000. She was just finishing the radiology program at St. Luke’s Hospital, and she had a friend do an ultrasound. That’s when she discovered she was having twins. They took the next step and learned the gender of their children.

Kenyon called the Streets to ask permission to name their first-born son after Chris. Patty was quick to give her blessing.

“Kenyon, of course you can,” she told him.

Kenyon also wanted to make sure it was OK with the Streets if they spelled his name with a “K.’

“We said, “Hey, whatever you want to do,’ ” Mike told him. “You don’t have to have our permission, for crying out loud.”

Kenyon remembers making that call, for a lot of reasons.

“It was an easy conversation, but an emotional conversation,” he recalled. Michelle delivered twins on August 19, 2000. Kris was born a minute before Keegan. As the twins climbed the basketball ladder, their AAU stops included the annual Chris Street Memorial Basketball Tournament in Indianola. There, they played some games in the Chris Street Memorial Gymnasium. And now, Kris is keeping the Street legacy alive in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“They’re two really good kids, and we appreciate that fact as much as anything,” Mike said. “It’s nice to just be able to know them and be a part of them a little bit.”

Chris Street’s career high was 21 points against Eastern Michigan as a junior. Chris reached double figures in rebounding 21 times during his career, pulling down 16 on three occasions. So Kris still has some catching up to do there.

Numbers help create a legacy. But so does the way you live your life outside the athletic arena. “The most important thing is that Kris has a good heart and he’s a good kid,” Patty said. “Basketball is great, but that’s just a bonus.”

The Streets’ bond with Kenyon Murray is unmistakable. And now, they come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to see their late son’s namesake play for Iowa. The spirit does indeed continue. A lot of people have kept Chris Street’s spirit alive. That includes the Streets, who remain loyal fans.

“It would have been so easy and understandable if Mike and Patty would have just kind of left the whole Iowa thing behind them and went on to live their lives,” Kenyon said. “But they’ve embraced it. They embrace the legacy of who (Chris) is. For them to do that is unbelievable. His loss still reverberates through the state.”

McCaffery has also wrapped his arms around the Street legacy.

“It’s just important to everyone in the Hawkeye family to remember who Chris was, and see Mike and Patty still connected to the program,” McCaffery said. “I just think that’s really important. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We have a basketball team, and we play some games. But there’s more to it. We have a culture. It’s a family atmosphere. I think that everybody that ever wears the jersey takes great pride in it. And they remember who came before them, and all the great things they’ve done.”

When the Indiana game was over, Iowa players circled Kris Murray and congratulated him for a job well done.

“It was really neat, the way the whole team surrounded him,” Mike said.

Kris left the floor with a big smile on his face. A Chris Street smile.