Ailing Panther

Just 1 for 12 FGs after head injury

Ryan Murphy hasn’t returned to form since missing time with a concussion.

The shot wouldn’t have counted — it was released about a full second after the final buzzer sounded — but for Ryan Murphy, a potential reprieve existed in a 3pointer he hoisted at the end of Pitt’s 59-56 loss Saturday against Virginia at Petersen Events Center.

As the ball made its arching trek to the basket, it appeared as if it would fall. The Panthers junior guard and all those in attendance were denied the opportunity to see whether it would, though, as Virginia’s Braxton Key reached his hand through the rim and swatted the ball away.

Had the shot gone in, Murphy wouldn’t have been a hero, the player who came through when he needed to in the dramatic final seconds to send the game against the defending national champions into overtime. But the mere act of seeing the ball go through the net for a player in desperate need of such a visual wouldn’t have been meaningless.

The past month has been unkind to Murphy. The 6foot-2 guard, a junior-college transfer in his first season with the program, had a concussion Jan. 30 at practice. As he recovered from that head trauma, he missed three games.

The road back has been taxing. In the four games since he returned, Murphy has made just 1 of 12 shots and scored 2 points. A player who, before his injury, was averaging 10.1 points per game has been a non-factor offensively. By the time Pitt tips off Wednesday night against Syracuse at home, he will have not made a 3pointer for 31 days, dating to Jan. 25 and the previous time the Panthers played the Orange.

Pitt coach Jeff Capel sees frustration in his guard.

“I just think it’s the inability to make shots,” Capel said. “That’s what he does. He has gotten some clean looks. He just hasn’t made them. That’s frustrating, when you know you can shoot the basketball and the ball’s not going in the basket.”

Before missing his past seven attempts in the past five games in which he has played, four of which came in the loss to Virginia, Murphy was shooting 35.5% from 3 on the season, though even at 33.3% now, he’s still the team’s top shooter among players with more than one 3-point attempt this season. He wasn’t necessarily a knock-down shooter, but he was good and consistent enough for a team that lacks a dependable outside shooter.

After his concussion, though, he has had trouble reacclimating. With the way Pitt’s schedule has been, with no extended time off until the final weekend of the season, and with how Capel has noticed his team wearing down a bit, the Panthers practices haven’t been overly strenuous or even regular, depriving Murphy of some valuable practice time. Because of that, Capel believes there’s rust, especially since many of the shots he has been missing were open.

Gripped by those struggles, Murphy has received some help and outreach from teammates. Guard Xavier Johnson said he texted him Saturday after the loss asking him if he was OK, helping initiate a larger conversation.

“I told him ‘Look, we just need you to make shots. That’s the main thing you came here for. You need to make shots,’ ” Johnson said. “I told him that. I guess he took it. In practice, he has been shooting it pretty well. I just told him to keep shooting. It’s going to fall eventually.”

(Murphy was not among the players made available to the media Monday.)

If there is encouragement to be found in that sorrow, it’s that Murphy was at least a more active part of the offense against the Cavaliers. He took six shots, none of which went in, but that matched his shot total from his previous three games combined. Against the Orange Wednesday, he will be especially important, as outside shooting is often seen as a way to neutralize the effectiveness of its famed 2-3 zone.

Murphy hasn’t been a passive victim in this ongoing saga, either. His father, Greg, tweeted a video Saturday of him shooting, with someone rebounding for him, in an otherwise empty Petersen Events Center.

The ball, in those isolated instances, was making its way through the net. If it can find a way to do that in a game, the benefit that Murphy could receive would go well beyond 3 points on the scoreboard.

“I don’t think you have the same confidence shooting the ball, especially him as a shooter,” Johnson said. “When you see that ball go in, I guess it’s just on from there.”

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NOTE — Capel said Monday that forward Kene Chukwuka will be taking part in Pitt’s senior day ceremonies Wednesday night. Chukwuka, a senior, has missed all of the Panthers’ 28 games this season after having hip surgery in the offseason. Last season, the 6-foot-9 Stockholm native averaged 3.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game. Given the circumstances, Chukwuka would ostensibly qualify for a medical redshirt, which would give him another year of eligibility, which, based on his participation in senior day, would almost certainly be used elsewhere. If he’s not with Pitt next season, it clears up a third scholarship, which would give it enough room for its threeplayer class it has already signed.