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Round 2 – No. 49
Erik Murphy, PF
Chicago Bulls

Height: 6’10″ | Weight: 240 lbs.
Age: 22 | Class: Senior

Florida Gators senior forward Erik Murphy, the team’s leading three-point shooter (.453) last season, was selected by the Chicago Bulls on Thursday with the No. 49 overall pick in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft.

“It’s unreal. It’s an unreal feeling. It hasn’t even processed yet,” Murphy told OnlyGators.com shortly after being drafted. “I’m just kind of relieved, excited, shocked. I don’t know. There’s a whole bunch of things going on in my head. We knew they had interest, but we didn’t know how serious it was because I did not work out for them.”

Murphy, the fourth Florida player drafted in the last three years and 11th Gators prospect chosen since 2007, learned of his selection while watching the event with family and friends at his parents’ home in South Kingstown, RI.

“Chicago called me right after the pick was announced. I have really bad [cell phone] service at my house and a lot of calls don’t even get through, so they may have called before and it might not have gone through,” he said. “But I talked to them right after and told them I was very excited and could not wait to get up there.”

The 17th player drafted out of Florida since head coach Billy Donovan took over the program in 1996, Murphy averaged 12.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26.4 minutes per game last season.

“I’m really proud of Erik,” Donovan said in a school release. “He has worked hard to reach this point and has a great opportunity in front of him.”

Murphy projects as a stretch-four in the NBA and is most often compared to former Gators forward Matt Bonner, who was chosen by Chicago with the No. 45 overall pick in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft.

He will need to work on his rebounding and perimeter defense to have a long career at the next level but has a consistent stroke from downtown that will make him a reliable shooter off the bench for the Bulls.

Murphy joins former Florida center Joakim Noah on Chicago’s current roster. The Bulls selected Noah in the 2007 NBA Draft with the No. 9 pick.

“I know Jo really well,” Murphy said. “Out of the Florida guys I did not play with that come back to the school, I’m definitely closest to him. It’s nice to have that connection and potentially be his teammate. I’m really excited about that possibility.”

Murphy is the 35th former Gators player selected in the history of the NBA Draft.

Tags: Draft, Erik Murphy, NBA