{{Short description|American basketball player}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Red Murrell | image = Red Murrell.jpg | image_size = 260px | caption = Murrell with the [[Phillips 66ers]]. | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 4 | weight_lb = 205 | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|2|23}} | birth_place = [[Linneus, Missouri]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|10|31|1933|2|23}} | death_place = [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], U.S. | high_school = Linneus (Linneus, Missouri) | college = *[[Moberly Area Community College|Moberly Area CC]] (1954–1955) *[[Drake Bulldogs men's basketball|Drake]] (1955–1958) | draft_year = 1958 | draft_round = 4 | draft_pick = 25 | draft_team = [[Cincinnati Royals]] | career_start = | career_end = | career_number = 33 | career_position = [[Forward (basketball)|Forward]] | years1 = | team1 = | highlights = * [[AAU Men's Basketball All-Americans|AAU All-American]] (1960) * [[Associated Press|AP]] Honorable mention [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] ([[1958 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1958]]) * 2× First-team All-[[Missouri Valley Conference|MVC]] (1957, 1958) * No. 33 [[Drake Bulldogs men's basketball#Retired numbers|retired by Drake Bulldogs]] * [[NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NJCAA champion]] (1955) }} '''Phillip Ray "Red" Murrell''' (February 23, 1933 – October 31, 2017) was an American [[basketball]] player, best known for his college career at [[Drake University]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/drake/drake-bulldogs/2017/12/20/former-drake-basketball-all-american-red-murrell-dies-84/971758001/ |title=Former Drake basketball All-American 'Red' Murrell dies at 84 |website=[[Des Moines Register]] |language=en |access-date=2017-12-21}}</ref>
A 6'4" [[Forward (basketball)|forward]] from [[Linneus, Missouri]], Murrell originally committed to the [[University of Missouri]], but left the school early in his freshman year. After a stint in the Army, he went to work for the [[Ford Motor Corporation]]. Upon being laid off, he returned to college, attending [[Moberly Area Community College]] on a basketball scholarship.<ref name=DMR>{{cite web | last = Brown | first = Rick | title = Red Murrell, Drake Basketball, 2005 | work = [[Des Moines Register]] | date = July 30, 2007 | url = http://archive.desmoinesregister.com/article/20070731/SPORTS020403/707310409/Red-Murrell-Drake-Basketball-2005 | accessdate = October 20, 2014 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://archive.today/20141021045039/http://archive.desmoinesregister.com/article/20070731/SPORTS020403/707310409/Red-Murrell-Drake-Basketball-2005 | archivedate = October 21, 2014 }}</ref> During the 1954–55 season, Murrell was a second-team [[National Junior College Athletic Association|NJCAA]] All-American<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | title = 2012–13 NJCAA men's basketball media guide, page 65 | work = [[National Junior College Athletic Association]] | date = | url = http://www.njcaa.org/Record%20Books/Basketball%20%28Men%27s%29/Men%27s%20Basketball%20Record%20Book.pdf | accessdate = October 20, 2014 | archive-date = June 12, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130612184007/http://www.njcaa.org/Record%20Books/Basketball%20%28Men%27s%29/Men%27s%20Basketball%20Record%20Book.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> and led Moberly to the NJCAA national title and was named to the all-tournament team.<ref>{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Michael L.|date= 1988|title= The JUCO Classic: 40 Years of the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament |location= Dallas, Texas|publisher= Taylor Publishing Co.|pages= 68–74 |isbn= 0-943335-02-7}}</ref>
Following his season at Moberly, Murrell transferred to [[Drake Bulldogs men's basketball|Drake]]. In his three varsity seasons, Murrell scored 1,657 points for his career (22.7 [[points per game]]), leaving as the school's all-time leading scorer – a record that stood until 2010. He was drafted by the [[Cincinnati Royals]] after his junior season, but opted to return to Drake for the [[1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1957–58 season]]. That year Murrell set another school scoring mark, averaging 26.7 points per game, fifth in the nation. He was named an honorable mention [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] by the [[Associated Press]] and was a first-team All-[[Missouri Valley Conference]] choice. In his final game, Murrell set the Drake single-game scoring mark with a 51-point outburst against [[Houston Cougars men's basketball|Houston]].<ref name=DMR/>
Following his college career, Murrell was drafted by the [[Minneapolis Lakers]] in the fourth round of the [[1958 NBA draft]] (25th overall). Instead, he signed with the [[Phillips 66ers]] of the [[Amateur Athletic Union]] (AAU), where in 1960 he was named an [[AAU Men's Basketball All-Americans|AAU All-American]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grundman |first=Adolph| title = The Golden Age Of Amateur Basketball: The AAU Tournament, 1921–1968 | date=January 2004|publisher = [[University of Nebraska Press]] | url = https://market.android.com/details?id=book-kHVGigFqcNkC}}</ref>
Murrell was the first player in Drake school history to have his number retired.<ref name=DMR/> He has also been named to the [[Iowa Sports Hall of Fame]] and the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web | title = Four Coaches and Two Players Headed to NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame | work = [[National Junior College Athletic Association]] | date = January 25, 2011 | url = http://www.njcaa.org/newsarticle.cfm?articleid=13287 | accessdate = October 20, 2014 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20141021034815/http://www.njcaa.org/newsarticle.cfm?articleid=13287 | archivedate = October 21, 2014 }}</ref>
Murrell died on October 31, 2017, in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], from heart disease.<ref>{{cite web | title = Phillip Ray "Red" Murrell (1933 - 2017) | work = [[Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise]] | date = November 19, 2017 | url = http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/examiner-enterprise/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=187271958 | accessdate = December 27, 2017}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{1960 AAU Men's Basketball All-Americans}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrell, Red}} [[Category:1933 births]] [[Category:2017 deaths]] [[Category:American men's basketball players]] [[Category:Basketball players from Missouri]] [[Category:Cincinnati Royals draft picks]] [[Category:Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players]] [[Category:Forwards (basketball)]] [[Category:Minneapolis Lakers draft picks]] [[Category:Moberly Greyhounds men's basketball players]] [[Category:People from Linn County, Missouri]] [[Category:Phillips 66ers players]]