IN THE SPOTLIGHT: A FROSH WARNING MONTCLAIR PREP'S MURPHY PROVING SHE'S `THE REAL DEAL'.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

You hear about this 14-year-old girls' basketball player at Montclair Prep who can do so much, so you go and see for yourself.

You arrive at the gym and notice a girl, about 5-foot-11 with long, braided hair. She's not the tallest or the biggest.

Then the game begins. Your mouth drops.

She jumps center, moves to power forward, switches to point guard and then shooting guard. On defense, she comes flying out of nowhere to steal another pass.

``Is she the real deal?'' Montclair Prep coach Sean Brandon asks.

He already knows the answer: Freshman Eshaya Murphy is the best player you've never heard of.

Thursday's Delphic League finale at Campbell Hall was a typical game for Murphy. Playing the entire 32 minutes, she made 18 of 33 field-goal attempts and 11 of 22 free throws for 47 points in her team's 63-54 victory. She also grabbed 19 rebounds and had 12 steals.

She does two things well, which has helped her average 26.7 points, 16 rebounds this season - best in the area (she also ranks second with 147 steals). She either stands under the basket, receives a high pass while being double- or triple-teamed and muscles in a shot; or she runs the fast break and makes a layup.

``She's the type of player that will rise to the occasion,'' said Campbell Hall's Brittany Morris, who played with Murphy on a summer club team.

Murphy's teammates stand in awe. Last season, Montclair Prep was 0-10 in the Delphic League.

This season, it is 6-4 (19-6 overall) and will start the Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs by playing host to a wild-card game Thursday against Bell-Jeff.

``Sometimes, I forget to play,'' teammate Marley Webb said.

You still can't believe it. Then Murphy's mother, Pauletta, says she only has been playing for two years.

You wonder how she would do playing against big schools. Pauletta tells you when her daughter was 12, she beat 30- and 40-year-old men in basketball at a family gathering.

On the court near her home, 17-year-old boys didn't think a girl could play so well. So they would play her for money. They would leave poorer but wiser.

``She was born to play this,'' Brandon said. ``She's more athletic. She jumps, she's fast, she's strong. Girls can't stop her. She's the next Cheryl Miller.''

Murphy doesn't gloat, even though she knows she's talented. Even around her small campus, when classmates ask if she'll score 50 in the next game, she deflects the question.

``A lot of people come up to me and make a big deal,'' she said. ``I try not to make it a big deal. I try not to rub it in. I don't get cocky. I can't be the team by myself.''

Which is why, you learn, she works at trying to make her teammates better.

``In practice, if somebody messes up, she'll go over and talk to them,'' Webb said. ``In a game, if you mess up, she talks to you and gets you pumped up.''

Murphy knows her idol, Lisa Leslie, scored 100 points in a half in high school. That's not her goal. She wants to win a section championship and be remembered.

``I hope one day some girl says, `I want to be like Eshaya Murphy,' '' she said.

You know you'll remember what you saw.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo: Montclair Prep freshman Eshaya Murphy is an early bloomer - averaging 26.7 points and 16 rebounds this season.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News