Eric Murphy helped establish a standard of excellence as head coach of the Florida SouthWestern men’s basketball program. After six years at the helm in Fort Myers, he is looking to bring that standard to Division I.
FSW announced Tuesday that Murphy has resigned as head coach of the Bucs to take an assistant position at Western Kentucky.
Murphy helped transform the program into a collegiate powerhouse. He joined the team as an assistant in the inaugural 2016-17 season and spent two years in that role before taking over as head coach in 2018.
He leaves FSW with a 143-34 record (.829 winning percentage) as head coach. He oversaw three different conference moves and established a 61–15 league record. The Bucs finished this season with a 22-9 record before falling in the FCSAA State Tournament in their final campaign.
“Serving as FSW men’s basketball head coach for the past six seasons has been one of the greatest joys of my career,” Murphy said in a statement. “This opportunity has allowed me to further hone my leadership and training skills and grow immensely in my professional career. …”
Murphy knows Division I hoops well. He helped send 34 former Bucs to the next level and established Suncoast Credit Union Arena as a must-see talent hub on the recruiting trail.
One key recruit he helped mold was Keon Ellis, who played for two years under Murphy before signing with Alabama and later carving out a key role for the Sacramento Kings. Ellis was the first former Buc to sign an NBA contract.
Other notable recruits include Jadrian Tracey (Oregon), Dezdrick Lindsay (Oregon), Kario Oquendo (signed to Georgia, transferred to SMU), Jaden Campbell (Samford) and Bryant Selebangue (signed to Tulsa, transferred to State of Arizona).
“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach some really good players,” Murphy said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our former players who have represented FSW at both the collegiate and professional levels. I look forward to watching current, future and future FSW athletes. I am confident that we will continue to see FSW men’s basketball compete at the highest level of the NJCAA.”
Murphy recorded Suncoast Conference championships from 2018-2020 and, in turn, two NJCAA national tournament appearances. He was named Suncoast Conference Coach of the Year in 2020.
He will join a Hilltopper program run by another college product, Hank Plona, who was the head coach at Indian Hills for eight years. Plona spent a year on the bench at Western Kentucky before being named head coach last month.
The Hilltoppers went 22-12 last season and won the C-USA conference championship before losing to Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
This article originally appeared in the Naples Daily News: Eric Murphy resigns from FSW and accepts assistant position at WKU
