The Third Annual Donna Murphy Award will be presented to Jordan Brock of Harlan High School during the 2017 Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony on March 14th in the Bluegrass Ballroom of the Lexington Center in Lexington, KY starting at 6 PM.
Nominations were submitted from across the state for this prestigious award which honors a standout female senior basketball player who exemplifies the meaning of being a great student athlete. “All of the nominees were very admirable, but with what Jordan has been able to accomplish, she definitely deserves to be recognized,” said Donna Murphy.
Jordan Brock, a senior at Harlan High School, has played varsity basketball for six years and is a part of the 2,000+ point club at Harlan. She recently led the Lady Dragons to a runner-up finish at the All ‘A’ state tournament in Frankfort where she averaged just more than 31 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting better than 43 percent from the floor.
While constantly focused on bettering herself and team on the court, Jordan also takes time to volunteer and participates in several service projects and is on the honor roll. “Since sixth grade I knew I wanted to be the best player in my county and I actually received this honor last year. I was greatly humbled when named best player in the region, said Brock. “I want younger kids in my area to know that even though we are from a small coal town in southeastern Kentucky they can still achieve their dreams if they are willing to put in the work.”
Donna L.J. Murphy played basketball at Newport High School from 1972-76 and went on to become an All-American. During her senior year she was named Kentucky’s first Miss Basketball in 1976, averaging 35 points and 20 rebounds. She was awarded the Ted Sanford Award for being named the MVP of the 1975 Kentucky state tournament after she scored 67 points and grabbed 50 rebounds in two games. More than a great high school basketball player, Murphy was also the State AA high jump champion in 1974 and named All-region in volleyball before graduating fifth in her class. As a highly recruited student-athlete, she chose to attend Morehead State University and graduated magna cum laude twice, with a BA in Communications/ Journalism with Teacher Certification, and a MHE in Counseling.
Murphy remains a highly decorated high school and college student-athlete and a member of eleven Hall of Fames, including the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame. Murphy was also the first female student-athlete to have her jersey retired at Morehead State University and Newport High School. She was the first forward drafted in the Women’s Professional Basketball League in 1980 and went on to play for the St. Louis Streak. After her playing career she transitioned to coaching. She has held coaching positions at the collegiate level and also coached Pro-Am, high school, middle school, AAU and Exposure basketball. Murphy is currently a Professor at Bluegrass Community and Technical College and oversees the Diversity Outreach Services and Intramural Sports. In her free time she is a basketball skills trainer.
All sports fans are welcome to attend the 2017 Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony. Tickets are on sale now at http://www.mrandmisskybasketball.com or by calling 800-232-5308.
The 6th annual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Award Ceremony serves as a fundraiser for the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, who has announced Mr. Kentucky Basketball since 1954 and Miss Kentucky Basketball since 1976. KLEF’s mission is to prevent and cure blindness. For more information contact KLEF at 502-583-0564 or go to http://www.kylionseye.org.