John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports
DONNELLSON - There was plenty of power behind Kenyon Murray’s words to Central Lee High School’s coaches and parents on Thursday night.
Murray had a successful college basketball career at Iowa.
He’s had a successful coaching career at the high school level.
And he’s had two sons get picked in the first round of the NBA draft.
“In today’s world, we need more ‘positive,’” Murray said. “We need more positive role models.”
Murray’s twin sons, Keegan and Kris, fit that. He pointed out how when the two were finished with their high school career, they had one NCAA Division I scholarship offer from Western Illinois.
They wanted a different opportunity, so they moved with their mother to Florida and attended the DME Academy, where they spent every day working on their games.
“Six and a half hours, in the gym,” Murray said. “My wife would call me and say, ‘They’re in the gym again. That’s all they do.’ That’s who they are.”
It earned the Murrays scholarships to play at Iowa and really, Kenyon said, that was their main goal.
“We were talking about when they thought about playing in the NBA,” Kenyon said. “Keegan said it was after his freshman year, when he started getting some attention. Kris thought about it a year later. Their goal was to just get a scholarship and get into a school.”
Now, both are in the NBA — Keegan with the Sacramento Kings, Kris with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I know, as a family, we’re blessed,” Kenyon said.
Kenyon, who played from 1993-96 for Tom Davis at Iowa, finished his career with 1,230 points and 566 rebounds. Now he’s a coach, and he wants to help other coaches.
“I coach,” he said, “because I want to impact people.”
Kenyon pointed out the “process” of being in the profession. He is the girls basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, where his daughter McKenna plays.
He asked the coaches if, at the end of every season, any of them immediately start thinking about next season. Almost all of them raised their hands.
“That’s the process,” he said. “You start thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve got these players coming back. Or, ‘I’ve got this player coming in.’ Part of that just comes from the drive of being coaches.
“Sacrifice is hard. To be great as a coach, you have to sacrifice.”
Kenyon appreciates the relationship he has with his players, but he also wants the respect from parents.
“I ask them to allow me to be their child’s coach,” he said. “If they have any concerns, I want them to come to me. I won’t talk with them about playing time. I want their kids to do that.”
Kenyon said coaches can have an impact on their players.
“As coaches, we sometimes see more in them than they see in themselves,” he said.
To the coaches, Kenyon said, he wants them to appreciate what they do.
“They look up to you,” he said. “You’re going to inspire so many kids.”
John Bohnenkamp is an award-winning reporter and regular contributor to Pen City Current.
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