Luke Murray makes college hoops “40 under 40” list

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Luke Murray’s days as a Louisville assistant coach are numbered.

Chris Mack’s right-hand man has already been mentioned as a top candidate for multiple head coaching vacancies over the past two years, including just a couple months ago when he was named as an option for the vacancy at Illinois-Chicago. That job that ultimately went to high-profile defensive specialist Luke Yaklich, but the snub didn’t remove any of the shine from Murray’s ever-expanding national profile.

Need proof? Murray checks in at No. 10 on ESPN’s freshly-released list of the 40 best college basketball coaches (head coach, assistant coach, ops director, whatever) under the age of 40.

10. Luke Murray, Louisville assistant (35)

It’s only a matter of time before Murray is the head coach of a high-major program after working with Sean Miller, Dan Hurley, Towson’s Pat Skerry and now Chris Mack as one of the most impressive assistants on this list. He was instrumental in the assembly of Louisville’s 2019 recruiting class, ranked 10th by ESPN. — Myron Medcalf

Murray is the third highest-ranked assistant coach on the list, falling behind only Florida’s Jordan Mincy and Duke’s Jon Scheyer. The list is topped by highly thought of UNC Greensboro head coach Wes Miller. Another former Mack assistant, current Xavier head coach Travis Steele, is No. 2.

It’s going to feel like such a wasted opportunity if we don’t get at least one deep NCAA tournament run with Bill Murray as a Louisville fan. It sure feels like 2021 might be our last shot at avoiding that long-lasting regret.