Michigan Basketball's Player Development Paved Unique Path for Coach Dylan Murphy

Once Mike Boynton Jr. was named the new Michigan basketball head coach, he quickly had to work on retaining the roster. And after he nearly went 100% in doing so, Boynton Jr. had to shift to his staff.

Boynton Jr. had to replace four total assistants, including himself who went from an assistant to head coach, and he quickly finalized deals for two new ones to come into the program. He first hired Brown head coach Mike Martin, and then Boynton Jr. found a unique mind and landed G-League coach Dylan Murphy.

Murphy was the head coach of the Osceola Magic NBA G League Team, and was in Orlando's organization for the last five seasons. He helped the Magic win a G-League title, and he was also part of the analytics department and served as a former scout with the Atlanta Hawks.

Getting to know former Wolverines

Coaching the Magic for several years, he got to know several former Wolverines. Orlando was drafting or signing former Michigan players left and right, and when Murphy was looking at Michigan as his next potential stop, he was able to lean on former Wolverines.

Despite there being a changing of the guard from head coaches throughout the years at Michigan, the one thing Murphy told Brian Boesch on 'Defend the Block' was that anyone who came from the Wolverines had a deep understanding of basketball and a great IQ.

Orlando Magic guard Zavier Simpson (8) shoots as Memphis Grizzlies forward Jake LaRavia — USA TODAY Sports

"IQ," Murphy told Boesch of what stood out about Michigan. "I mean, I think you see every player that comes out of Michigan just knows how to play basketball. It stood out immediately. Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner, Jett Howard, Caleb Houstan. You know, I was actually Caleb Houstan's player development coach in Orlando.

"I was Iggy Brazdeikis's player development coach as a two way. You know, even Zavier Simpson, John Teske, who were in Lakeland before Osceola, and then DJ Wilson, who I actually got to coach in Osceola. So all those guys are the one. One common theme, obviously talent and ability, but knowledge of the game really translates."

Player development at Michigan

Murphy had a quick cup of coffee in the collegiate ranks when he worked with Ball State for one season as a graduate assistant, but what made the hiring of Murphy so unique is that he brought an NBA mindset to the table.

One key area for Murphy was that he was in charge of player development and determining if players were ready to go from the G-League to the NBA. He has a keen sense of talent and where players need to improve.

While he told Boesch he is still sorting out his role on the team, you can bank on player development being a big one of his moving forward.

Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella (13) contests a call — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"Basketball is basketball ultimately," Murphy said. "Things are new also for J.P. Estrella. Right. You know, things are new for Moustapha [Thiam]. Understanding where people are in their journey in this program, at this stop of their career, really important how you approach things.

"Obviously, the longer you've been around a certain style of play or game, you're going to have a faster learning curve. But you got to meet people where they are and approach it that way. And then, obviously, the relationship building, it's valuable for so many ways.

"Players are not robots. They are human beings. They also have individual goals on top of our team goals. And then I think most importantly, it is super rewarding as a coach when those relationships last....And obviously, I've had the fortune of being able to coach Michigan players already. So I've seen how that has been done in the past and I hope to continue that here a couple more."

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