The Process Ft Trey Murphy III

Ethen Meyers • August 8, 2022

Sure There is Bigger News

        I woke up today and saw the news of Cale Gundy resigning, and didn't have a clue who he was prior to the headlines. My day continued into the Dejounte Murray and Paolo Banchero beef that only gets weirder. Then, the unfortunate news of Jameis Winston tweaking his ankle in 7 on 7 drills which appears and is hopefully nothing. Finally it was all capped all of that off with the fact that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson nearly instantly had the answer of "Megan Thee Stallion" to a question of "What celebrity would you want to be the pet of?" and Kevin Hart seemingly like he has heard that before:

I know The Rock said don't ask, and honestly if you need to then maybe just forget it happened at all.  None of that stopped my desire to write about our Pelican daily content provided Trey "Trigga" Murphy.

Rookie Year, Rookie Mistakes?

        Obviously, the coaching staff saw something in Trey that they weren't quite ready to force him to work through mistakes despite allowing Herb Jones to start. I don't know how often to happens, but a 2nd round pick starting over a 1st round pick in the same draft class their rookie year likely isn't something you see happening every year. We saw glimpses of Trey here and there but it seemed his ability to carve out consistent minutes was an uphill battle and we never saw the other side of the hill he was climbing. Despite this, he still won the admiration of many even making sure a creator and fan got credit where it was due:

        I can't think off the top of my head anything Trey did wrong yet still we saw plenty of Garret Temple minutes instead of him. We even saw the coaching staff move Jaxson Hayes to a 4 and get starting minutes when it was clear Jax was not perfect and hit or miss if he showed up to play consistently. All of this, inconsistent playing time, and Trey still came out and shot like he was drafted to do leading all rookies in 3pt percentage. The best part of it all? None of this deterred Trey, and if you have seen Summer League or even the cell phone footage in games during his down time it is evident, Trigga is not playing around any more.

New Year, New Player

        Coming out of college being touted as a "bigtime shooter" but severely lacking in awareness to rebound effectively despite his size. Lacks the ability to find teammates, lacks good positioning on defense, and lacks a ball handling skill set. There seemed to be only one thing Trey could offer, shooting, but if you watched Summer League he came to be better and clearly worked on all the things he "lacked". One of the biggest things I saw repeated on a few draft profiles was Trey himself didn't quite understand what he was capable of and lacked confidence. I think this was the only rookie mistake the coaching staff was not willing to let him work through. Based on what we have seen since then, Trey has been a gym rat and looks more comfortable and capable in his frame that offers more agility than most guys who are 6'10 and in the NBA. Check out a few quick clips from the summer:

All Part of The Process

        Despite not playing as much as I think a lot of fans wanted, I still think the coaching staff made the right decision limiting Trey's minutes early on. Battling a demon like confidence in one self is something that can take a toll on a player even if they have been playing in the NBA for more than just their rookie year. Guys come back from injury and their confidence in their body or even if they will still play at the same level is something we have seen before. Trey battled and persevered through everything he "lacked" and is ready to come back and put the league on notice and remind everyone of something he realized, he was drafted in the first round for a reason. Watching Summer Trigga I can't help but think of the Kanye sample from his song "Stronger":


Work it, make it, do it
Makes us harder, better, faster, stronger


Follow The Kneaux on Twitter.

A quick share helps us a lot!

Saints Pregame: Domecoming vs Falcons

By Matt Miguez • October 5, 2026
Twenty years ago, the city of New Orleans was forever changed. The "Rebirth" game when the Superdome reopened after Hurricane Katrina was more than a football game already. However, when Steve Gleason blocked the first punt of the game and it was returned for a touchdown, everyone in the building knew it was over.

Recap: LSU Pummels McNeese in Non-Conference Game

By Chrissy Smith • October 5, 2026
BATON ROUGE -- No. 11 LSU did exactly what it was supposed to do Saturday night — and then some. The Tigers dominated McNeese from the opening whistle, rolling to a 63-14 victory inside Tiger Stadium while putting together one of the most productive offensive performances in school history. LSU finished with 731 yards of total offense , the second-most in a single game in program history. The Tigers also ran 101 offensive plays, setting a new school record. For head coach Lane Kiffin, though, the night was about more than piling up points against an FCS opponent. Kiffin Wants LSU Playing Its Standard LSU led 35-0 at halftime and had every reason to take its foot off the gas. Kiffin chose not to. When asked about using a running clock in the second half, Kiffin said LSU needed to continue playing its game. “You play the game and we decide when the game’s over, by the way that we play, and how physical that we play,” Kiffin said. That mentality showed up throughout the night. Even with the game firmly in hand, LSU continued to play with energy and gave plenty of younger players valuable snaps. Kiffin said the number of plays was particularly important because the Tigers will need that depth during the stretch ahead. “A lot of snaps for guys,” Kiffin said. “The goal was to get (that up) to evaluate those guys because they are going to need to play with the injuries we have down the stretch.” Offense Finds Plenty of Contributors Quarterback Sam Leavitt completed 18 of 23 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns, while Corey Barber Jr. caught two touchdown passes. The running game was just as impressive. Harlem Berry rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Stacy Gage added 110 yards and two touchdowns. Five different Tigers — Berry, Dilin Jones, Gage, Landen Clark and freshman defensive tackle Deuce Geralds — scored rushing touchdowns. Geralds' touchdown was particularly memorable. Kiffin joked afterward that he had checked with LSU historian and former Tiger Anthony “Booger” McFarland to determine whether anyone had previously recorded a sack and offensive touchdown in the same game. Kiffin said Geralds now holds the record outright. After a 35-6 victory over Texas A&M last week, LSU has now put together back-to-back dominant performances. The competition gets much tougher from here. But Saturday night showed that LSU has plenty of players capable of making plays — and Kiffin is making sure they understand the standard doesn't change simply because the opponent does. LSU is 4-1 and now turns its attention to Kentucky next Saturday on the road.
Show More