The last couple of years we have lived through have been tough.
Almost everyone comments on how challenging — due to COVID-19 — life has been in one way, shape or form.
No one knows what it is like to overcome a challenge better than Rob Murphy, the newly titled assistant general manager of the Detroit Pistons.
Murphy grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Detroit and his mother was tragically murdered when he was only 13.
As COVID first raged, Murphy was finishing a 10-year run as head coach at Eastern Michigan University, where from day to day, due to the virus, basketball teams never knew how many student athletes they had at their disposal to practice or play or whether games were even going to be played.
When he left that team after the 2020-21 season, EMU Athletic Director Scott Wetherbee was quoted as saying Murphy left the program better than he found it.
That was certainly an understatement. Murphy took over the program and left as the second-winningest coach in the school’s basketball history (graduating the majority of his student athletes in the process).
Next, there was the daunting task of setting up the business and basketball operations of the Pistons new G League Team, The Motor City Cruise. Getting immersed in the basketball operations of an NBA franchise would have been hard enough but as president of the Cruise, Murphy also had to build the business side in a year in which COVID was impacting prospective company and sponsor budgets. Yet, the Cruise blew through sales projections and provided an affordable entertainment option for its new fans.
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Through it all, Pistons General Manager Troy Weaver observed the effort and, at the end of the season, promoted Murphy to assistant general manager of the Big Club. It is no secret Weaver and Murphy have known each other for years, but anyone who knows Weaver knows one has to earn his trust and respect and, Murphy did that.
“Rob is a trusted friend and more importantly a proven basketball mind,” Weaver told me. “His success at all levels gives me confidence that he will continue to excel as an executive on the professional level.”
The Weaver/Murphy relationship has allowed Murphy to be comfortable in being candid in providing advice to his boss. Murphy was among the cadre of Pistons personnel and executives advising Weaver on who to select with the team’s fifth pick in the recent NBA draft and he led the charge in presenting to Weaver Purdue guard Jaden Ivey. In spirited pre-draft discussions, Weaver watched and listened as everyone offered their thoughts before ultimately making the final decision himself on Ivey.
“Jaden’s a high character young man with (a) great work ethic who desires to be great. He’s a dynamic guard who brings versatility to our backcourt with the ability to impact both ends of the court,” Murphy said of Ivey.
That all of this was accomplished literally minutes from where Murphy grew up is not lost on Murphy and, is the kind of “made for TV” story you almost could not make up.
His perseverance has been nothing short of remarkable.
“I’m proud to be embedded into the fabric of the Motor City,” Murphy said. “There’s nothing more gratifying than positively impacting our underprivileged youth in our Detroit community while restoring our Pistons organization back to a competitive championship level.”
When Murphy arrived at EMU, he founded the Rob Murphy Foundation, which provides resources and opportunities for underprivileged city children. But, it’s Pistons basketball, and helping Weaver and Head Coach Dwayne Casey build a championship-caliber organization for owner Tom Gores and Detroiters, that drives him.
While he admits to at times missing coaching, his primary focus is to do all he can to help one day raise a banner in Little Caesars Arena that would mark the winning of an NBA title.
Under Weaver’s guidance, the Pistons seem well on their way. Many basketball insiders believe the club quietly has had one of the best offseasons of any team in the league. Be assured as Weaver continues to build the on-the-court product, that Murphy will be at his friend’s side listening, learning and working to help achieve the sports ultimate prize.
Contact Carol Cain: 248-355-7126 or clcain@cbs.com. She is senior producer/host of “Michigan Matters,” which airs 8 a.m. Sundays on CBS 62. See Rob Murphy, GM’s Terry Rhadigan, AHOF’s Sarah Cook and Dr. Micala Evans on this Sunday’s show.