Jarman to Represent Clemson at ACC Legend Functions

March 6, 2007

Murray Jarman, one of Clemson’s most popular players of the 1980s and a second-team All-ACC Tournament selection in 1984, will be Clemson’s Legend representative at the 2007 ACC Tournament in Tampa, FL. Jarman, a student-athlete at Clemson between 1980-84, still holds the seventh-best field goal percentage in Tiger record books at 55 percent.

Jarman burst on the scene in February of 1983 when he had consecutive 18-point games against Virginia’s Ralph Sampson and North Carolina’s Sam Perkins, two future top-10 draft choices. He reached national acclaim for his jumping ability – as a 6-6 center he had a 42-inch vertical jump, but still went head to head with All-Americans Sampson, Perkins and Brad Daugherty during his era.

Jarman was named to the All-ACC Tournament second team as a senior in 1984 when he scored 28 points on a 14 for 20 shooting performance in a head-to-head match up with All-American Perkins in the Tigers’ contest with number-one ranked North Carolina. No Clemson player has reached that point total in an ACC Tournament game since.

As a senior, Jarman averaged 15.0 points a game and shot 57 percent from the field and 74 percent from the foul line. He is the only center in Clemson history to shoot at least 55 percent from the field and 74 percent from the line and average 15 points per game in a single season.

When he graduated in 1984, Jarman ranked third in Clemson history in field goal percentage, at the time trailing only Tree Rollins and Horace Grant. His 55 percent figure is still seventh best in school history.

Jarman is remembered as one of the most improved players in Clemson history over his career. In his first two years combined, he scored just 17 points, but went on to score 621 over his last two seasons. He was named the team’s most improved player in 1982-83 and earned Most Valuable Player honors for the 1983-84 season.

Jarman is known as one of Clemson’s finest all-around athletes, as he was chosen in the NFL draft by the Denver Broncos, and the NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. He is the only Clemson athlete in the last 29 years to be selected in both drafts and still one of just five Clemson athletes in history to be drafted in both sports. Jarman never played football at Clemson, but still was drafted by the Broncos based on his pure athletic talent.

Jarman began his college career as a scholarship player at Fordham, but transferred to Clemson as a walk-on. He was invited to try out for the Clemson team based on his legendary performances in pickup games at Fike Fieldhouse.

Jarman’s father, Claude Jarman, Jr., won an academy award for his performance in the movie “The Yearling” in 1946. Jarman earned his degree in sociology from Clemson in December of 1984.