The present and future of Coupeville basketball hang out together, as Brady Sherman cheers on Xavier Murdy at the All-State game. (Deb Sherman photo)
Murdy (the #3 who’s fourth from the left) takes his place in the 2B all-star lineup. (Michele Murdy photo)
He played with the best and held his own.
Coupeville High School senior Xavier Murdy became the first Wolf boy in at least a decade-and-a-half to appear in the All-State basketball game Saturday.
While on the floor at Curtis High School, he pumped in 10 points, helping the 2B All-Stars thrash their 1B foes to the tune of 115-95.
It was the only game Saturday where the team repping the bigger classification won.
In later contests, the 1A all-stars beat the 2A team 109-99 and the 3A’s upended the 4A’s best 105-102.
The games, put on by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association, featured many of the best seniors in the state.
This year the WIBCA also held a “futures” game Friday, starring selected juniors from big-city schools.
Murdy is the only player at any of the six levels to hail from this region and is the first Wolf to make an All-State basketball squad since Makana Stone was selected to the 1A girls team in 2016.
Having been tabbed as the Northwest 2B/1B League MVP after helping lead Coupeville to its most-successful season in decades, X-Man shared the court Saturday with standouts like Liberty’s Tayshawn Colvin and 2B state player of the year John Lustig of Colfax.
Murdy got his points in the all-star game in much the same way he did for the Wolves — by outworking others.
He opened with a short jumper in the paint, having corralled a loose ball in mid-air.
After draining a pair of free throws — set up by snatching an offensive rebound — Murdy put another rebound back up and in.
A jumper on the move and a bucket where he slashed to the glass, switching hands in mid-move to score with his left hand, capped his offensive outburst.
Murdy, who made his varsity hoops debut as a freshman, finished his CHS career with 482 points.
This season, capping his run with fellow seniors Logan Martin, Hawthorne Wolfe, Grady Rickner, and Caleb Meyer, X-Man helped the Wolves win their first league title since 2002.
The CHS boys also claimed their first district crown since 1970 and advanced to the state tourney for the first time since 1988.
Murdy scored 24 points against top-seeded Kalama and 10 against Lake Roosevelt as the Wolves pushed both teams to the final moments in their state matchups.
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