In his freshman season at Tennessee Tech, Murphy averaged 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
Sophomore season
As a sophomore, Murphy averaged 15.3 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He was awarded the Best Offensive Player Award by head coach Mike Sutton.
Junior season
In his junior year, Murphy averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. In the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Murphy averaged 24.3 points per game and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Murphy was also an All-OVC first team selection.
Senior season
On January 30, 2012 Murphy scored 50 points in a win over SIU Edwardsville, the most for any Division I player in the 2011-12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Murphy averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during the season. He was also named to the OVC All-Tournament Team and the All-OVC first team for the second consecutive year. Following the season, Murphy participated in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. He was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Professional career
Murphy was selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. He joined the Jazz for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On November 26, 2012, Murphy was assigned to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League. On January 8, 2013, the Jazz recalled him from the D-League. On July 10, 2013, Murphy was involved in a three-team trade that sent him and Andre Iguodala, then of the Denver Nuggets, to the Golden State Warriors. He joined the Warriors for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On July 24, 2013, Murphy was waived by the Warriors. On August 11, 2013, he signed with Strasbourg IG of France. On December 25, 2013, he left Strasbourg. On January 4, 2014, he was acquired by the Idaho Stampede. On August 27, 2014, he signed with the Utah Jazz. However, he was later waived by the Jazz on October 10, 2014. On November 3, 2014, he was reacquired by the Idaho Stampede. On December 30, 2014, he left the Stampede after appearing in 15 games. On January 2, 2015, he signed with the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. Following the conclusion of the CBA season, he returned to the United States, and on February 19, he was reacquired by the Stampede. On February 26, he was traded to the Grand Rapids Drive in exchange for Brandon Fields. On November 8, 2015, Murphy signed with the Hitachi SunRockers of the Japan Basketball League. On September 8, 2016, Murphy signed with the Orlando Magic. However, he was later waived by the Magic on October 16 after appearing in two preseason games. On November 17, 2016, Murphy was reacquired by the Grand Rapids Drive. On April 22, 2017, Murphy signed with Guangxi of the Chinese National Basketball League. On July 19, 2017, Murphy scored a career-high 67 points to go along with 6 rebounds in a 118-132 loss to the Lhasa Pure Land. On August 5, 2017, Murphy signed with Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb. On January 20, 2018, he parted ways with Cedevita. On September 26, 2018, Murphy signed with the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association.
