蜜柚直播

And Murphy, a longtime former Lute Olson aide, could be part of that history again Friday at McKale: Bringing in the opponent on opening night for what could be 蜜柚直播鈥檚 best team in the Sean Miller era, maybe even among the best UA teams of all time.

Except Murphy wouldn鈥檛 go quite that far.

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to compare generation to generation,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to get Luke (Walton) upset by saying this team is better than the 鈥�01 or 鈥�03 teams.鈥�

But there鈥檚 no doubt the UA has a rare combination of elite-level talent and experience that is making the Wildcats among the Final Four favorites entering the season openers around the nation this weekend.

蜜柚直播 returned Allonzo Trier and Rawle Alkins from the brink of the NBA draft, has a core of senior experience in Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Dusan Ristic, and a powerhouse freshman class led by Deandre Ayton.

Yeah, that guy. The same skilled 7-footer who showed up in front of Murphy three years ago, as a rising sophomore playing ball in his native Bahamas.

Back in August 2014, Murphy took NAU on an exhibition trip to the Bahamas along with North Carolina and several other teams. They were mostly laid-back affairs except for a game between UNC and a local collection of players known as the 鈥淧rovidence Storm.鈥�

That鈥檚 because Ayton showed up to help the Storm upset the Tar Heels 84-83. According to Inside Carolina, Ayton scored 17 points and grabbed 18 rebounds that day.

Murphy said he thought he saw Ayton go for 30 points and 10 rebounds.

Whatever. The fact is that Ayton was beating up on a proud college basketball program before he was even a sophomore in high school.

鈥淗e dominated North Carolina,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e known about him since we were in the Bahamas. I wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if he鈥檚 the No. 1 pick in the draft.鈥�

Three years later, and Murphy has to face him and a bunch of other pretty intimidating guys.

Freshmen Emmanuel 鈥淎kot and (Brandon) Randolph are potential lottery picks. Ayton is a potential lottery pick,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淭rier is an incredible college player, Rawle Alkins is incredible and I haven鈥檛 even talked about Parker Jackson-Cartwright. Or Dusan Ristic.鈥�

Together, they鈥檙e not an easy group for Murphy to be facing, but he鈥檚 not complaining. Not only is Murphy an 蜜柚直播 graduate who worked in various roles for the program from 1998 to 2006, but he also knows what really matters in the one-bid world of mid-major basketball: That is, win your conference and get to the postseason.

For NAU, the nonconference season is just about getting better, win or lose, and preparing for conference play.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great to come out of the gates with a team like 蜜柚直播,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 be honest: We鈥檙e not gonna be judged on how we did against one of the best teams in the country. It鈥檚 about how we do in our league.鈥�

But NAU may not have it easy in the Big Sky, either. Blue Ribbon Yearbook picked the Lumberjacks to finish last among its 12 teams, while the conference鈥檚 coaches poll had them 11th and its media poll put NAU 10th.

A five-win season in 2015-16 and a nine-win season in 2016-17 will do that, though Murphy says NAU鈥檚 infusion of graduate and junior college transfers has brought in a mix of experience and competitiveness that is rubbing off on the younger players.

And even though Murphy鈥檚 teams have struggled the past two years, NAU last spring extended his contract through 2020. Both sides are committed to buyouts, too: NAU has to pay Murphy two years of his base salary ($185,400) if the school terminates his contract while Murphy must pay a year of salary if he leaves after next March 15 and 1茠 years of salary if he takes off before then, according to The Lumberjack, NAU鈥檚 student newspaper.

Murphy said he鈥檚 grateful for the extension and optimistic about the future.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited about where we are as a program and where I am, but it鈥檚 a tough job,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淓very job is difficult but when we had injuries and lost seniors the last couple of seasons it was (tougher). Obviously, we went back further than I wanted, but I think we鈥檙e in a good place.鈥�

UA coach Sean Miller will be pulling for him, too 鈥� at least outside of Friday鈥檚 game.

鈥淛ack Murphy is somebody that everybody here in 蜜柚直播 knows well because of his history with our program,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚 really respect Jack as a coach and as a person. He鈥檚 been a great friend to me and to our program, really from Day 1 all the way until now.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always tough to play against somebody you really like a lot and respect but I鈥檓 excited about playing NAU because I think it鈥檚 right on a lot of levels. It鈥檚 two in-state schools here from the state of 蜜柚直播 getting a chance to square off on the opening night of college basketball. We鈥檙e looking forward to the challenge.鈥�