WSU guard Toure Murry
Toure Murry, it appears, will be Wichita State’s career assists leader.
When we left the Rose Garden on March 15, we thought Murry had recorded five assists in the NCAA Tournament loss to VCU, giving him 429 for his career and tying him with Warren (Armstrong) Jabali (1965-68).
On Monday, WSU director of media relations Larry Rankin sent out an e-mail reading:
It has come to my attention through a clip video of our final game against VCU that it is clear Toure Murry had six assists and not five assists, which I am trying to get added to his career total which would make him the all-time assists leader in WSU history.
Murry didn’t need the record to complete his career as one of the most well-rounded Shockers. He is a 1,500-point scorer, No. 2 in steals and No. 1 in assists. Jabali doesn’t need to hold the record to retain his spot as one of the program’s best. People who saw him play regard him as talent similar to Stallworth, Carr, McDaniel etc. and Eagle columnist Bob Lutz, who did see him play, enthusiastically maintains his jersey should be retired. For his career, Jabali averaged 16.7 points and 10.8 rebounds.
It is worth noting Jabali handed out his 429 assists in three seasons and 78 games while Murry played in 139 games. Times change. Technology improves. Murry’s pursuit of the assists record serves to highlight the skills of both players.
Because the game in question is an NCAA game, Rankin must go through the statistics crew from the game to change Murry’s total.