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PREP BASKETBALL
Hope Christian boys coach earns 900th career win
Coach Jim Murphy has 918 overall victories, including 18 with the Hope girls, in his distinguished career
For the second time in his life, Jim Murphy is a coach with 900 career victories.
The longtime Hope Christian boys basketball coach on Tuesday afternoon hit No. 900 with the Huskies, who throttled St. Pius 99-62 in a consolation bracket game at the Rio Rancho Holiday Hoops Classic.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to enjoy a great career of coaching basketball,” said Murphy, 66.
Murphy is 900-292 at Hope Christian, where he has been coaching since 1982 — He actually was already over 900 career wins, since he also coached the Hope girls for the 1982-83 season and went 18-7. So his overall win total stands at 918 between both genders. Hope is 4-3 this season.
Murphy already was No. 2 on New Mexico’s all-time wins list, behind Ralph Tasker, but he is now just the second man with at least 900 victories.
“I still do love it,” Murphy said. “The kids are somewhat different, but they’re still the same in a lot of ways.”
The legendary Tasker won 1,117 combined games between Lovington and (mostly) Hobbs in an amazing career that spanned 1941-1998. Tasker’s overall total is 1,122, accounting for some wins at a school in Ohio.
The New Mexico Activities Association’s website says Murphy is the fifth-leading active coach in the country and started the season 44th nationally all-time.
No boys coach in New Mexico has won as many state championships as the 16 Murphy has attained with the Huskies. If Murphy continues to coach and win at his current pace, he’d likely approach the magical 1,000-win plateau in about five more seasons.
Asked if he would coach until reaching 1,000, Murphy responded: “Probably not. I’ll go one year at a time. I don’t know if I’ll be around for that many.”
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The nostalgia part of such a career milestone, Murphy said, doesn’t hit him that hard after four-plus decades on the job.
“Some people,” he said with a laugh, “don’t even know my first name. They call me coach.”
