La Salle's Murray forced to sit, think

There are times when La Salle sophomore Aaric Murray plays like a bona fide NBA prospect, and there are times when the talented 6-foot-10 center seems little more than a bystander.

Lately, the highly touted Murray has been more the latter, so Explorers coach John Giannini benched him for Saturday's game against Richmond in an attempt to get Murray to refocus his efforts.

Giannini, whose team has lost five of its last six games, said Sunday that Murray understands why he was benched, and the coach is confident Murray will get back to being the player he was earlier in the season.

"I won't get into specifics, but I can tell you Aaric has already addressed the situation positively," Giannini said. "After the George Washington game (last Wednesday), the status quo would not have helped us. For us to be good, we need Aaric to be good."

A superb athlete, Murray, who could not be reached for comment, has a tendency to become frustrated and lackadaisical on defense. His poor defensive play against GW helped lead to his benching.

Murray went to La Salle carrying huge expectations, but he is still learning the game. He came out of Glen Mills as a prized recruit even though he only began playing organized basketball when he was 16. Unlike many of the more promising recruits, Murray didn't play on a high-powered AAU team and the competition he faced in high school didn't help to accelerate his development.

But Murray turned his life around at Glen Mills, a school for court-adjudicated male delinquents from 15 to 18 years of age. Giannini, who has a doctorate in sports psychology, is convinced Murray will turn his game around as well.

"Believe me, I know my players, and I know what it takes for them to respond," he said.