Between Hauser, Huff & Murphy: Who would win at H-O-R-S-E ?

By Jerry Ratcliffe

A trio of Virginia players are presently living in rarified air, at least as far as ACC basketball goes.

Sam Hauser, Jay Huff and Trey Murphy III have set a high bar for future Cavaliers to follow in terms of their shooting accuracy from all three levels on the court.

Consider that from 1992-93 through 2019-20, a total of 10 ACC players appeared in 75 percent of team games and shot better than 50 percent from the floor, better than 40 percent from the 3-point line and better than 80 percent from the foul line in a season. Also consider that all three of the aforementioned Cavaliers may meet those standards this season.

The research comes from Rob Daniels, one of the best hires I ever made in my former newspaper life. A tireless worker and superb writer, Rob knows how to dig up statistics.

Heading into Thursday’s ACC Tournament quarterfinals against the No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 NC State winner (Wednesday, noon, ACC Network), Hauser, Huff and Murphy should be forces to be reckoned with.

Presently, Hauser is shooting 51.7 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from the 3-point line and 87.5 percent from the foul line.

Huff is making an ACC-leading 59.2 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from the arc and 83.7 percent from the free throw line.

Murphy, the only non-senior of the group, is connecting on 51.8 percent of his field goals, 44.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and 91.9 percent of his free throws.

Hauser and Murphy are almost identical from the field and the free throw line, but Murphy blows everyone away on free throws (34 of 37).

Together, the trio has scored 58.4 percent of Virginia’s points this season (921).

So, who would you put your money on if the three were to play a game of H-O-R-S-E?

That question was posed to the free-spirited Huff during Monday’s video conference with a few of UVA’s players, and as one might suspect, the playful Huff didn’t disappoint.

“I’m going to say me just because I think I can do some things [Hauser and Murphy] might not be able to do because of my height,” said Huff, who stands 7-foot-1. “I depends on whether Sam is having a good day or not, and Trey.

“I’m going to claim it purely based on my reach and some of the things that I can do from behind the basket that I’m not sure they can do.”

Hauser came to Virginia from Marquette and his shooting prowess preceeded him. He was known as a pure shooter, and the stories that came out of his redshirt transfer season when he could practice but not play in games, were eye-popping.

Associated head coach Jason Williford said on the “Jerry Ratcliffe Show,” back in November that the staff was almost shocked every time Hauser missed a shot, and that in one practice segment, Hauser scored 24 out of 28 points.

The question put to Huff was, is Hauser the purest shooter of the trio.

“Actually, I think Sam’s a terrible shooter,” Huff smiled, looking away from the camera and focusing on Hauser, who was waiting in the wings for his turn with media. “He’s standing right over there.

“I’d say me,” Huff again smiled. “I’d actually love to see that happen (a game of Horse between the three). But I’m going to say me just because [Hauser] is standing right there.”

It wasn’t a day to get a lot of serious answers out of Huff, who earlier in the day was voted second team All-ACC, which many Virginia fans and this sportswriter, disagreed with. I felt that Huff should have been first team along with Hauser, and I felt that Hauser should have been ACC Player of the Year with Huff getting strong consideration.

Huff was asked if he felt he should have made first team, and he kind of laughed off the question.

“I feel I should have made the All-Freshman team, the Sixth Man of the Year, and what else, oh, yeah, Coach of the Year as well,” Huff chuckled. “Honestly, those things don’t matter as much to me.”

Huff is more concerned with finishing off the season with success, which includes an ACC Tournament Championship and going deep into the NCAA Tournament.

For Virginia’s players, this will be their first postseason action in two years because last year’s ACC Tournament was canceled moments before the first quarterfinal game between Clemson and Florida State. The NCAA followed suit that afternoon.

With the tournament returning to Greensboro, N.C., not far from where Huff grew up in Durham, does that add extra excitement into the event?

“To a degree it does, especially with it being back in Greensboro,” Huff said. “Greensboro is where I grew up on [the tournament]. There’s a lot of history there. To me that adds a certain layer of excitement, but at the same time we will prepare the same way we always doe.”

Huff remembers his dad, Mike, who was also his coach growing up, taking him to some ACC Tournaments over the years, skipping class to attend. Like many, he recalled teachers putting the games up on big screen in class “because they knew we weren’t going to pay attention [to class].”

For Huff, looking back on last year’s event and how it was halted abruptly by the Covid virus, he is thankful and hopeful this year’s tournament will go off without a hitch.

“This is a year where I honestly wasn’t sure we were going to have college basketball,” Huff said. “This season has been a cherry on top.

“Aside from virus issues, basketball is shaping up well,” Huff said about Virginia’s good fortune of winning the ACC regular season crown. “I’d like to personally thank Notre Dame for putting us in position to get there.”

How Virginia fares from the point onward will depend on how well the Cavaliers’ “Big Three” perform, and if their shooting from all three levels can continue at such an impressive pace.

It won’t be H-O-R-S-E.