It’s difficult to define the legacy of a career that hasn’t concluded.
However, when evaluating the careers of men’s basketball and women’s basketball seniors Brian Stafford and Kaetlyn Murdoch, it becomes apparent the outcome of their respective final performances in crimson and gold won’t do much to alter their legacies—they leave the respective programs as two of the best players in school history.
For Murdoch, the program’s all-time leader in blocks, she currently sits No. 3 on the school’s all-time scoring for the women’s program. Since arriving in 2008, Murdoch has been a starter and a key contributor for head coach Erik Johnson, who inherited an 11-19 team when he took over that same year.
“She’s played in every game I’ve coached here and I’m sure she’s made me look like a lot better of a coach than I really am, because she’s so experienced in every situation, recognizing and knowing what to do,” said Johnson. “If you want me to talk about Kaetlyn’s extensive resume, we may be here for a few hours, because she has just accomplished so much in her career.”
Despite being recruited by former coach Pam Tanner, Murdoch elected to stay at DU and has seen the program transform from SBC bottom-dweller to a competitive team that recorded a win over a nationally-ranked opponent and received a spot in the National Invitational Tournament last season.
“In terms of basketball, I’ve been able to see our team grow on the court,” said Murdoch. “We have an ownership about our game, which is different from when I first got here. It’s been a really cool journey from freshman year until this point right now.”
Similar to Murdoch, Stafford is in the top five in scoring in DU history, currently at No. 4 with 1,513 career points, starting every game since his freshman year and eclipsing the school record for games played last Saturday with 121 games.
However, Stafford didn’t have to make the same awkward transition as Murdoch as he was amongst head coach Joe Scott’s first recruiting class, which included teammates Travis Hallam and Justin Coughlin.
In the 2007-2008 season, the year before Stafford’s arrival, the Pioneers improved from 4-25 to 11-18 in Scott’s first year, and have improved over the past four seasons as the program continues its conversion from Division I bottom-dweller to a team on the verge of completing the best season in school history.
“I never thought I would play as much as I have, but I’m just grateful to have had all the opportunities over the last four years—it’s been an honor for me,” said Stafford after practice last week. “In these final weeks here, I want us to continue to compete at the high level of play we’ve established we can play at and continue playing with confidence. We want to get a conference championship; that would be a great ending for us seniors and it would leave the program in a great position heading into the future.”
While Murdoch and Stafford have been vital to the transformation of their respective programs, neither player will get an opportunity to be a part of the school’s major transition into the Western Athletic Conference in the fall.
As they prepare for their final games in Magness Arena, they share memories with their respective graduating teammates.
Although Murdoch is the only senior listed on her team’s roster, she will be departing the program with redshirt junior Morgan Shell, who will graduate in the spring.
“This team is like a second family to me; they mean so much to me,” said Shell, who plans to attend law school after she graduates. “It’s going to be a huge hole to fill. I’m going to miss the team comaraderie of always having someone around to pick you up.”
Men’s senior Alex Pickert shares the same sentiments.
“I’m going to miss hanging out with the guys and having a shared, common goal,” said Pickert, who joined the program in 2008 as a walk-on. “It will be hard not having 14 other guys to relate to every day.”
Although primarily a bench player for the Pioneers, Pickert, like all of the graduating basketball players, has lasting memories of playing in Magness Arena.
“My favorite memory was hitting my first three-pointer [against Louisiana Monroe on Dec. 19, 2009],” said Pickert, who will move back home to California this summer. “That moment taught me a valuable lesson—keep working hard and things will open up for you.”
Fifth year senior Rob Lewis understands that lesson better than most. Lewis spent the 2010-2011 season on the injury reserve, choosing to return to the team in the offseason in attempt to overcome persisting injuries.
This season, Lewis has been nagged by injuries again; however, has had a stretch of good health this past month, experiencing some new career highs.
“The game against Middle Tennessee [on Feb. 4] was a culmination of my hard work over the last five years,” said Lewis, who will wrap up an MBA in June and wants to pursue a career in commercial banking. “That was the highlight of my career so far, seeing the stands that full and that loud. Having dealt with injuries, I was really able to appreciate that moment.”
Throughout all accounts and memories from the departing players, there remains one commonality—Magness Arena, where the seven graduating players will play their final career home games this Sunday.
For the men’s team, the seniors are a career 51-10 overall at Magness Arena, cementing a home court advantage that will benefit the program in years to come.
“Home court has been huge for us since day one,” said Hallam. “We’ve played really well. We’ve defended home court every year and there haven’t been too many losses in here for us, which has been huge for a growing program. I’m proud to be a part of where it is heading into this postseason and where it will be in the years to come.”
Although players such as Murdoch and Hallam can’t put their finger on a specific memory in Magness Arena, they have a sense for how important the building has been for their individual growth as well as their team’s growth.
Other players, such as Coughlin, are holding on to their final moments in Magness Arena so desperately that they refuse to leave the gym even after practice has concluded.
Coughlin spent thirty minutes after last Wednesday’s practice shooting around and honing his game. The following night, he came off the bench to score 14 points and deliver a signature performance of his career.
“That’s why you practice, shooting around in the gym, continuously; it’s so you can come off the bench and hit shots and energize the team,” said Coughlin after Thursday’s 77-52 romp over Louisiana Lafayette. “It’s huge to be playing this way right now. In recent seasons, we’ve seen what playing poorly in February does to your momentum. We know the importance of playing well now.”
While the seniors take lessons from the past into their final weekend playing in front of the Magness Arena crowd, they hope to create new memories come the postseason, which may lead to a rewriting of several legacies.
While Murdoch’s career 275 blocks establishes her as one of the greatest players in program history, she’d trade her place in the record books for just one more game with her teammates.
“I would trade in any of my career accomplishments in a second to play another week, or another two weeks, with this team,” said Murdoch. “Records are just something in the books. More games mean more memories.”
