Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.) High School’s Matthew Murrell, the state’s No. 2 prospect, announced on Twitter that he will transfer to IMG Academy for his senior season.
Murrell is also the No. 85 prospect in the nation for the Class of 2020, according to the 247Sports composite.
The four-star junior guard said that IMG Academy assistant coach Trey Draper reached out to him a few months ago. Draper is a Memphis native and a former Memphis Tigers guard who played at Mitchell.
The decision comes 10 days after Vanderbilt announced that it hired Murrell’s high school coach, Faragi Phillips, to join Jerry Stackhouse’s staff. Murrell said Phillips’ departure played a role in his decision to transfer.
I want to thank the Whitehaven community, teachers , and former coaches for an amazing 3 years but for my senior year I will be attending IMG Academy🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/GHbq183VGu
— Matt🤐🏀🤘🏽 (@_iamMM12_) May 30, 2019
“He’s been coaching me all my life and I wanted to play a very competitive schedule this year and I knew that IMG was going to provide that for me,” said Murrell.
When asked if Phillips’ addition to the Vanderbilt staff made the Commodores more competitive in his recruitment, he said a little bit, but “not really.”
“They were competitive anyway, they play in the SEC, one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA,” said Murrell.
Murrell holds offers from Vanderbilt, Memphis, Tennessee, Ole Miss, North Carolina State and Florida, among others. He led Whitehaven to the Class AAA semifinals this season.
