By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
Heading into the 2022-2023 basketball season, Holy Spirit girls coach Tim Whitworth wasn’t expecting to have the services of junior Kendall Murphy, a valuable forward in the Spartans’ lineup. She had torn an ACL the previous spring and that’s an injury that usually takes upwards of 10 to 12 months to fully heal.
So you can imagine Whitworth’s surprise when Murphy was ready to go on the first day of tryouts in November, about seven months after tearing up her knee.
“We had to tell her to slow down. Two months into her rehab she’s thinking she could play 5-on-5 full court,” remembers Whitworth. “That tells you what type of kid she is, and the kid she’s always been. I remember having a conversation with her mom and saying, ‘Kendall is going way too fast (on the rehab).’ But she just attacked it and was like, ‘I’m ready’ (by the time basketball season arrived). It happened in the spring and she was ready to go on the first day of basketball in November. I think that gives you a perfect example of the kind of kid she is. She attacked everything with enthusiasm and energy.”
“I was really determined to get back as fast as I could because I didn’t enjoy sitting on the sidelines. Sophomore summer is the biggest season for recruiting for lacrosse and I had to miss that, which sucked. I just really didn’t want to miss any more seasons, so I tried to get back as fast as I could. The knee brace was very annoying at first, but I got used to it and it all worked out. And now this (basketball) season I didn’t need it anymore,” said Murphy, an Egg Harbor Township resident. “I actually wasn’t scared at all, but it was annoying because the brace bothered me and sometimes my knee would ache after games. I had scrapes and bruises from the brace, but it got a lot better over time. Luckily I didn’t have any fears about reinjuring it.”
You might wonder why Whitworth speaks so glowingly of a player who averaged a little more than five points per game during her career. How could a player like that be the cornerstone of the program?
Well, there’s a lot more to basketball than just scoring, and Murphy brought things like leadership, hustle, pride, focus and intensity to the table every day, in spades.
“For us she was super valuable. We talked to her a lot about how valuable she was, just doing all those small little things that are so important. We have some kids who can really guard, but our seniors, they took that personally. Her and Ella Petrosh made the other kids want to compete. (Murphy) was unbelievable, she never got tired. She was in phenomenal shape and has a really high motor. And she can guard (positions) 1-through-5. She was our leading rebounder this year — every loose ball, she was just making plays. She was making plays this year where she looked like an NFL cornerback, a one-handed interception of a pass. You don’t really see that too often,” Whitworth said. “You never, ever had to question whether she was giving everything she had. Her and Ella — you want to talk about leaving a program better than you found it, those two were unbelievable for four years. I was thrilled to be a part of their journey. Just their leadership; they poured everything into every practice. And the great thing about Kendall was, even if the moment was super intense or super competitive, she always found a way to make it fun, too, which is really important at this level. You want kids to enjoy the competition, and she took advantage of that.”
Murphy has been a rare four-sport standout during her high school career. Her first three years she played soccer in the fall before switching to field hockey as a senior, and in the spring she’s a star on the lacrosse team — a sport she plans to continue at Salisbury University in Maryland.
“Senior year I decided to try field hockey for the fall instead of soccer. Just because I really wanted to just try something new,” she explained. “I borrowed my friends stick for the season, and I really did enjoy it. It was fun, kind of like learning something all over again when I was a senior. I love the group of girls and I think we had a good season. It was pretty challenging and I did get a little frustrated at first. I got a lot of fouls called on me.”
She had more than a few fouls called on her during her basketball career, too, but that’s because she plays the game going 100 miles-per-hour from start to finish. She’s voracious in her appetite for rebounds and often will pass up a shot to get a teammate a better look. That combination of smarts combined with a high motor set the tone for a team that plays at a frenetic pace. The Spartans finished 18-11 this past season and made it to the Cape-Atlantic League semifinals and sectional quarterfinals.
“The way we played it didn’t really matter who was scoring. We just loved to get up and down the court and be scrappy and play defense,” Murphy said. “We’re kind of chaotic, that’s how we like to play. It brings us more energy when we’re running around like crazy. We all support each other, so no one really cares about who’s scoring. This was probably one of my favorite seasons in basketball. I loved playing with everyone and our coaches. It was really fun to just play, I had no pressure.”
Whitworth said he loves the dynamic that multi-sport athletes like Murphy and Petrosh, a soccer standout, bring to his roster.
“I love multi-sport kids. That’s kind of been our backbone, to be honest. We have a lot of kids who are just good athletes who play multiple sports and I think it brings a different kind of excitement when basketball season rolls around as opposed to somebody who just plays one sport all year,” he said. “She’s going to play lacrosse in college, but if you ask her during basketball season, my guess is she likes basketball at that time. You get a different kind of excitement and energy toward playing basketball because it’s that time of year.”
Murphy said initially she wasn’t too keen on attending Holy Spirit High, but after four years in Absecon she loves the decision.
“I’m really glad I came to Holy Spirit. Even though I didn’t want to at first because I didn’t know a single person coming into Holy Spirit. But I couldn’t see myself in any other high school. Everyone respects everyone and on the sports teams everyone was nice to each other. It was like a small little family, and all the teachers and coaches that I’ve had at Holy Spirit, I loved all of them,” Murphy said. “I’ve come out of my shell a lot. I was very shy and didn’t talk to many people, but I did everything I wanted to do and got to try everything I wanted to try (at Holy Spirit).”
Whitworth said Murphy has definitely made a huge impact during her time as a Spartan.
“She’s not really a vocal kid, but definitely a kid who would lead by example. I think everyone looked up to her and how she played. She was a phenomenal leader for us in terms of leading by example. It makes your life as a coach a lot easier when you have that every day of the week. She really took the leadership role and ran with it. Sometimes kids need to hear it from other kids instead of the coach every day. It hits home and they really start to follow that kind of lead. We’re going to miss her a ton,” he said. “She comes from a great family, they are wonderful people. I’m happy to be a small part of these kids’ lives and you hope they enjoy their time with you, because we certainly enjoyed our time with her. My son and daughter are going to miss her. It seems like she’s been at this school for six years because she played with us from the time she was a freshman. We’re just super thankful to have a kid like her in the program, and I think we have a lot more kids like her coming through the program. It’s a credit to players like Kendall that we’re getting that type of kid.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
