When Murray State and Belmont play each other tonight in a terrific Ohio Valley Conference, you’ll see a strong HoopSeen flavor on the floor. 

The best players on the hardwood have chapters of their stories written from their showings at our events. 

We featured Ja Morant last week in our Throwback Thursday series. The Murray State star is the crown jewel of the Ohio Valley Conference but he wasn’t the only impact player that joined the league in 2017. 

On National Signing Day, we featured the OVC’s best incoming classes and players. There were five players scattered about both clubs. 

Morant is having a season to remember, no doubt, but he’s not the only Racer making an impact on the 13-4 club. 

After missing his first year in college due to injury, Alabama native Tevin Brown is having a tremendous freshman year for Murray State. Brown is averaging 12.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and he's shooting 40.6 percent from three. Brown scored 31 points in a win over UT Martin and connected on 9-14 from three. 

A number of NBA scouts were on hand to see Morant but came away impressed with Brown, too. Brown has started in every game at Murray State that he’s played in. 

Brown was a stud at our events. His story started at our 2016 Alabama Elite Preview. I wrote this after seeing him for the first time: 

Well, hello! The 6-foot-6 wing played his way into the conversation with his terrific play on both ends of the floor throughout the camp. Brown rebounded as well as any guard/wing there was in the camp. He ripped and ran the floor. Brown shot well and made smart decisions throughout the camp setting. Brown has the tools of a guy that is primed for a breakout. An improved motor will determine his level. The tools are there to be mid-major plus (maybe higher) after the spring recruiting period. 

From there, he was one of my favorite players at our team events. Brown was a top performer at the Atlanta Jam and Bob Gibbons. 

Brown has been the exact player we thought he was going to be. He earned his scholarship by shining at our live period events and in front of Murray State coaches. He’s not the only one that took such a path. 

For Belmont, the Bruins had a stellar class in 2017. You can see that classes impact on the floor this season. 

Team Corey Brewer was one of the best teams to play at our events during their heyday. Point guard Grayson Murphy dominated the circuit as one of the best floor generals on a non shoe team in the South. 

Back in 2015, he was one of our top performers in the 16 and under division and from there he just did the work to play his way to a starter’s role at Belmont. In 2016, he did it again and was a top performer at our July NCAA Live Period event - The Best of the South.

The Best of the South was a point guard friendly event and few guys were better at the position than the Nashville-area floor general. He was one of the top assist men in the event and piloted his team through a terrific week of basketball in metro Atlanta. Murphy justified the parade of college coaches that followed him around all week long with his play. He’s going to be a fine point guard at the college level and he’s entering his senior season in high school with a terrific body of work on the travel circuit. Murphy averaged a dozen points and roughly eight assists a contest.

He’s been a starter all season long for Belmont (13-4). Murphy is averaging 10.8 points, 5.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals a game. He’s also shooting 37.3 percent from three. 

Murphy wasn’t the only Bruin on our top incoming players for the Ohio Valley Conference. 

Caleb Hollander was the top incoming power forward and Nick Muszynski was the top incoming center. 

Hollander played with Murphy on the Corey Brewer/We All Can Go squad. Like Murphy, Hollander was a top performer at some of our top events. He was a 16U Best of the South All-Tournament selection and a top performer in our 17U division of the 2016 Best of the South. 

We wrote this about Hollander after his stellar BOTS showing:

The leading scorer of one of the best teams in the event, Hollander was a constant threat in the pick and pop game with his terrific guards Grayson Murphy and John Carter. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 15.8 points at the Best of the South has become quite the priority for a host of mid-major schools. The Nashville native continues to rise with recruiters this summer.

Hollander is averaging 9.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a game and starts as the four man for the Bruins.

Muszynski, an Ohio native, is having a stellar season as a starter. He’s posting 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 assists a game. 

All three Bruins redshirted as freshmen and all three are anchors to the Bruins current successes and bright future. 

We wrote this on National Signing Day in 2016: “You can make an argument for Belmont as one of the top 20 non-major classes in the 2017 class in college basketball” and “both (Morant and Brown) should do two things during their time at Murray State 1. start for multiple years and 2. score a lot of points. The Racers have a heck of a two-man class.” 

THROWBACK THURSDAY SERIES 

November 8, 2018: Davion Mitchell
November 15, 2018: Ryan Greer
November 29, 2018: Luguentz Dort
December 6, 2018: Ephraim Tshimanga 
December 13, 2018: Devin Butts
January 17, 2019: Ja Morant