Former Knick Toure' Murry aiming to begin coaching career following retirement as player

Toure' Murry made his NBA debut on November 8, 2013. That night in Charlotte was the culmination of countless hours of work and sacrifice.

And it wasn’t even on Murry’s radar a few years earlier.

“I didn’t even think about the NBA when I started at Wichita (State),” Murry said by phone earlier this week. “I thought I’d go overseas but I wasn’t thinking about the league.”

Murry surpassed his own expectations – and soundly beat the odds against him – to carve out a 10-year pro career. It included stints in New York, Washington, Utah, the G League and overseas. He won two NBA G League titles and a championship in the Bosnian and Herzegovinan League and with Astros de Jalisco in Mexico.

Last week, Murry decided to retire from pro basketball. But he’s not leaving the game.

Murry aspires to coach in college or the NBA in this next phase of his professional career.

He’s been spending time at his old high school, Houston’s Klein Forest, working with young players and sharing his perspective.

“I’ve seen so much and I just try to help where I can,” Murry says.

Murry’s playing career prepared him well for a career in coaching. He’s played at every level of basketball and spent time around some of the best players and coaches in the league.

Murry helped lead Wichita State to the NCAA Tournament and an NIT title. He won a G League title playing for Nick Nurse at Rio Grand Valley. He played for Mike Woodson in New York. And he’s experienced life as an overseas player. His overseas career featured stops in Turkey, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Kuwait and Ukraine.

Given all of that experience, Murry is confident that he can impart wisdom to players in almost any situation because he’s been through it.

“I know what it’s like from their perspective and I know what they might be going through,” he says. “I’m ready to help.”

Murry looks back fondly on his Knicks career. He still has a few framed items from his time with the club. And he plans to borrow some of what he learned from Woodson in his coaching career.

“To be able to instill confidence in players like he did with me, that meant a lot to me. He coached me and he showed that he cared,” Murry said of Woodson.

Murry also recalls sharing a locker room with players he grew up watching on TV or in video games like Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin.

He learned quickly that those stars are regular teammates in the locker room, players he could lean on for advice as he adapted to NBA life. Now, Murry wants to play a similar role with younger players as the member of a coaching staff.

“I’m ready,” he says. “With my journey, playing the game at a high level, my expertise, I know I want to be a part of the game and I think coaching is the best (route) for me.”