GIRLS’ BASKETBALL 1993-1994 / GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE : She Grows Accustomed to Her Sport

Before her sophomore year, Michol Murray’s only encounters with a basketball came when her dad tried to teach her some basics about the sport.

“That’s when I was a little kid,” the 5-foot-7 senior recalled. “My dad tried to show me something else besides soccer, but I wasn’t that good at it.”

But like a fine wine, some things take time to improve. And Murray has definitely shown herself to be of vintage quality.

At guard, Murray has become one of those players who make opposing coaches squirm. She was selected to the all-league first team last season, when she averaged 16 points. And though Garden Grove had some fairly good players, Murray was one of the reasons the Argonauts tied for second at 8-4, finishing the regular season 16-10.

This year, Garden Grove will field a young team, with Murray as the only returning starter.

“I know a lot of people will be looking up to me to lead,” Murray said. “But I want my teammates to realize that if we are going to go anywhere, it has to come from them. I can help, but I can’t carry the whole team.”

And though Murray realizes she will be thrust into the role of team leader, she does try to hide the fact that handling pressure is not one of her strong points.

“I hate it,” she said, laughing. “I don’t play as well when I have pressure on me.” That is one of the reasons she chose her college now, so her play this season won’t be a factor as to which school she’ll attend.

“I know that if my performance on the court was going to determine which college I would be going to, I would be a wreck,” Murray said.

Murray has signed a letter of intent with San Diego, though she was also contacted by Long Beach State and Arkansas. She has a 3.2 grade-point average and scored 900 on the SAT test.

“I love sports, but I also know that I need to do well in the classroom,” she said. “I have to credit my mother, Linda, for stressing the importance of academics.”

Murray said her parents are the yin and the yang of her life. Where her mother stresses academics, her father, Frank, stresses athletics.

“Sports have always been important in my house,” she said. “My dad got me into it early with soccer.”

Murray was a goalkeeper.

“I liked this position because I was good with my hands and I had speed,” she said. “I wasn’t that agile, but I could stop those balls.”

In those days, Murray was content with soccer. But during the summer of ‘91, before her sophomore year, Murray’s athletic priorities changed.

“My friend, Rachel Sanders, who played basketball with Garden Grove, kept pushing me toward the court,” Murray recalled. “She kept saying, ‘You should go out. You’ll love it.’ ”

Finally giving into Sanders’ pleas, Murray tried out for the basketball team.

“I really didn’t know how to play the game,” she said. “It was a rough summer playing and learning, but I managed to pick it up.”