Coach's son: The privilege and the pressure
Austin Kent
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Sports
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It was not the first time the then-19-year-old winger heard it, and it definitely would not be the last, but it may have been the only time an opposing team's crowd took the time and liberty to paint it in big bold letters on a sign for everyone to see.
The sign, however, despite it's creative use of bristol board, pales in comparison to some of the, let's just say, less tame comments heard from rowdy fans throughout the province.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's unlikely that you haven't already, but meet Scott Murray. And let me present to you both his blessing and his burden.
"I get that question every year, but I still don't know how to answer it," said Murray when asked about what could possibly (and unfairly) be the main thing he's known for when his five-year Brock basketball career comes to an end this March. "But it's awesome, I always wanted to play for my dad."
Murray, the 6'2" Welland native, has spent the last five seasons lacing 'em up for the man who literally taught him how, and you can bet that when word breaks of the seemingly nepotistic arrangement, the dozens of road games with voracious university student-filled peanut galleries would probably take their toll ... or not.
"I think it made me a stronger person, a better player, and it honestly never bothered me," said the youngest Murray. "If anything I think it made me try to play harder, to prove them wrong."
And that's just what he did, and will continue to do as the Brock Badgers set out to wrestle a Canadian Interuniversity Sport playoff berth from a visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees team at the Bob Davis Gymnasium next Saturday.
"I give him all the credit in the world to be able to play through that adversity and not let it affect him at all," said proud father and firey sideline dictator feared throughout the nation, Ken Murray. "He gives us everything he's got every time out and he's proved a lot of people wrong who thought he couldn't play at this level."
Growing up a stone's throw from Brock University and under the roof of the legendary coach now in his 18th season, it's no surprise that little Murray would start bleeding red, white and navy at a young age.
"When I was a kid he would tell me everything," said Murray. "He would always tell me about past players and past experiences, so Brock basketball was a big part of my life."
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