Collin Murray-Boyles scouting report: A hidden gem in the stacked 2025 NBA Draft Class

Star freshmen tend to dot the top of most draft classes. That’s the case for the 2025 NBA Draft — Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, and others. This class doesn’t feature many great returning prospects, at least not ones worthy of a lottery or top-10 pick.

Collin Murray-Boyles is the exception. After a strong freshman season at South Carolina, he frequents the lottery on many boards and mock drafts. Early in his sophomore year, Murray-Boyles established himself as one of the most dominant players in college basketball. The 6-foot-7 big man creates and scores efficiently, passes and defends at a high level.

Collin Murray-Boyles scouting report: South Carolina prospect shines against Clemson

South Carolina’s overtime win against Clemson exemplified Murray-Boyles's destructiveness. He tallied 22 points (6 of 10), nine rebounds, three assists, one turnover, four blocks and one steal. Beyond the steal and block numbers, Murray-Boyles controlled this game on defense, especially down the stretch.

Despite standing slightly shorter than most centers, Murray-Boyles compensates with elite strength, movement skills, instincts and a reported 7-foot-2 wingspan. Watch how quickly his feet glide guarding the ball here, poking the ball out.

Murray-Boyles constantly wins at the point of contact. He’s so physical, bumping and preventing drivers from entering the paint. That strength paired with his quickness and fluidity let him stop this drive and force a miss:

College scorers generally struggle to move Murray-Boyles from his spot. Ian Schieffelin can’t generate any force on this drive and forces a tough jumper:

On this play, Murray-Boyles cuts off the drive and forces a tough spin back. His size will allow players to shoot and score over him even when he stays in front like Schieffelin does here:

Here’s another example of that, with Murray-Boyles sliding down to help on the drive and contest. He’s quick off the ground but the floater still goes in:

But Murray-Boyles’s defense in space is high-level and could make him an elite defender at the NBA level. He’ll take over possessions, guarding multiple players as he hedges and recovers here. Late in the possession, he instantly peels off of the driver to steal the pass, showcasing his incredible instincts:

Murray-Boyles hedges aggressively here, flying out to cut off the driving angle. He immediately changes directions to guard the drive and blocks the shot with ease:

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Deep dive into Collin Murray-Boyles' offensive skillset

As dominant as Murray-Boyles is on defense, he can also control games on the offensive end. Murray-Boyles thrives in the post, weaponizing his strength, quickness, and touch to bludgeon defenders. He’s shooting an elite 74.1% at the rim this season with a massive 38.3% of those shots coming unassisted.

His touch is fantastic, allowing him to flip shots over contests from whichever angle he chooses. He shot 5 of 6 at the rim against Clemson, scoring despite the heavy contest for the and one here:

Murray-Boyles feels his defender and spins off him to score in this next click. He excels at reacting to his defenders’ positioning:

This decisive scoring forces defenders to react and punishes those who can’t Murray-Boyles gets to his hook quickly:

On this possession, Murray-Boyles showcases multiple of his post-scoring tools. He creates an advantage by spinning to the baseline and patiently picks his spot and angle to finish:

There are moments where Murray-Boyles’s size limits his interior scoring, as he can struggle to score over length and size. His lack of height only magnifies the importance of Murray-Boyles’ perimeter skillset. He’s an impressive ballhandler for his size, beating his defender off of the dribble and finishing with the weak right hand:

He can become careless on the perimeter; his turnover rate has ballooned to 20.6% this season compared to 14.3% last season. Murray-Boyles holds the ball too loosely and turns it over here:

The impressive handle helps Murray-Boyles unlock his passing; he’s an extremely high-feel player who processes the game rapidly with excellent vision. Murray-Boyles excels as an advantage passer, handling into the open space and lobbing up a pass with pinpoint precision:

He’s a stellar passer out of the post, adept at exploiting his gravity as a scorer to set up his teammates. Defenses send extra bodies at Murray-Boyles and he processes the floor immediately, skipping it out to the corner:

There are moments when Murray-Boyles lapses and turns the ball over while attempting to pass. He catches on the short roll here but can’t make a decision and coughs the ball up:

Compared to most 20-year-old bigs, Murray-Boyles handle, advantage creation and passing lap the field. Those skills could make him a genuine creator at the NBA level. His non-existent outside shot is the biggest obstacle. He missed his only 3-point attempt of the game and has made 3 of 10 attempts this season. Last season Murray-Boyles missed all of his 5 3s.

It’s fairly rare for shooters with a low volume as Murray-Boyles to become impactful NBA shooters. His strong mid-range shooting does provide some optimism and his touch around the basket is fantastic. But he’s not an excellent free-throw shooter, making 67.8% of them throughout his college career.

Teams will contemplate Murray-Boyles’ ultimate role and ceiling, but he’s undeniably a stellar basketball player. Stars often come from unexpected places and develop in unpredictable ways. Murray-Boyles’ physical tools, feel, skill, and touch may all be high-level enough for him to grow into an NBA star.