The Racer Nation's Top 20 Racers of All-Time
MBB: You voted Popeye Jones the #1 Racer in the first 100 years of Murray State Basketball
With today being the final day of RacerBasketball.com, it felt like an appropriate time to wrap up the longest running bit here on the site: Unveiling the Top 20 Racers of the first 100 years of Murray State Basketball — you know, the list I’ve been slowly rolling out over the last six months.
This was intended to be a summer countdown to help us pass the slow months before the season began. For a variety of reasons, most of which included challenges tracking some of the people on our list down, the release of this list has been, to put it politely, never ending.
What I hoped to do was talk individually with all of our living Racers on the list, and with the significant people around the Racer legends that are no longer with us.
In the end, here we are, with an abridged list for you to argue about one final time.
The premise of our list was simple: Who is the greatest Racer of all-time?
I gave all of you the chance to vote on the greatest Racers of the first 100 years of Murray State Basketball. The voting guidelines were simple: “Greatness means different things to different people. Were they the best player? Did they have the best stats? Did they win the most games? Did they make it to the NCAA Tournament the most times? Did their impact on the program surpass everyone else? How you define greatness is, obviously, entirely up to you.”
Without further adieu … here are quick biographies of your Top 20 Greatest Racers of All-Time we never had the chance to get to. You can re-listen to the conversations we were able to record about #13-#20 on the list at the links provided.
Popeye Jones — With 2,057 points, Popeye Jones is 4th on Murray State’s all-time scoring list, while his 1,374 rebounds are still tops in program history. Jones earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors three times, twice being named OVC Player of the Year. He was part of four OVC championship teams, leading the Racers to the NCAA Tournament in 1990, 1991 and 1992. Jones was the 41st pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. His #54 has been retired by Murray State, and he was inducted into the Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
Ja Morant — In just two years at Murray State, Ja Morant left an indelible mark on Racer Basketball. Finishing his career with 1,213 points, Morant holds the single-season scoring mark at Murray State with 808 points during the 2018-19 season. His 532 career assists are the most in program history. Earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in both seasons in a Racer uniform, Morant was the 2019 OVC Player of the Year. He helped lead Murray State to the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments, recording a triple-double against Marquette in the opening round of the 2019 Tournament. Morant became Murray State’s first Consensus First Team All-American in 2019, before being selected 2nd overall in that year’s NBA Draft. Morant’s #12 was retired in 2020, and he was inducted into the Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.
Jeff Martin — Murray State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,484 points has a good chance of holding that record forever. Jeff Martin was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree, twice earning OVC Player of the Year honors. Martin was on a pair of OVC championship teams, and in 1988 helped lead the Racers to an upset win over NC State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament — the program’s first-ever win in the tournament. He was the 31st pick in the 1989 NBA Draft. Martin’s #15 has been retired, and he was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2004.
Isaiah Canaan — One of just six Racers to score 2,000 points in their career, Isaiah Canaan put together a remarkable four-year run at Murray State. He was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, twice being named OVC Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Canaan played on two NCAA Tournament teams in 2010 and 2012, helping the Racers win games in the tournament in each of those years. In 2012, he was the program’s first-ever Consensus All-American, earning 2nd Team honors. He was the 34th pick in 2013 NBA Draft. Canaan had his #3 retired and was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2018.
Marcus Brown — Murray State’s third all-time leading scorer with 2,236 points, Marcus Brown was All-Ohio Valley Conference three times, and was OVC Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996. He was a part of three OVC championship teams playing for Scott Edgar and Mark Gottfried, leading the Racers to the NCAA Tournament in 1995. He was the 46th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He had his #5 retired and was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
Cameron Payne — The skinny point guard from Memphis had a huge impact during his two years with the Racers. As a freshman, Cameron Payne led Murray State to a CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship. The following year, he and the Racers won a school-record 25 straight games, going undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference, winning the regular season championship. He was a two-time All-OVC honoree, and was the 2015 OVC Player of the Year. Payne was the first Murray State player to ever be selected in the NBA Draft Lottery, going 14th overall to Oklahoma City in the 2015 NBA Draft. He was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2020, and his #1 was retired in 2023.
Isaac Spencer — With 2,248 career points, Isaac Spencer is Murray State’s second all-time leading scorer. He’s also fifth in program history with 976 rebounds. Spencer is one of two Racers in Murray State history to earn All-Ohio Valley Conference honors four times. He was part of three OVC championship teams, twice leading the Racers to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 and 1999. Inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2014, his jersey will officially be retired later this season.
Vincent Rainey — A four-time Ohio Valley Conference champion, Vincent Rainey is still ninth on Murray State’s all-time scoring list with 1,888 points. He was named All-OVC on three different occasions, leading the Racers to the 1995 and 1997 NCAA Tournaments. Rainey was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2021.
Bennie Purcell — Mr. Murray State scored 1,054 points in his Racer career. Bennie Purcell was a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference player, while leading Murray State to the 1951 OVC regular season championship. He was the 98th selection in the 1952 NBA Draft, before returning to Murray State where he spent time as an assistant basketball coach, before becoming the iconic tennis coach for the Racers. Purcell’s #21 was retired in 1952, and he became a member of Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 1969.
Joe Fulks — While Fulks only scored 621 points in his two years playing on the varsity at Murray State, his impact was immeasurable. He averaged 13.2 points per game, helping lead the Racers to a 39-9 record over that span. He was named All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1942 and 1943 and earned All-America honors at the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament in 1943. He left Murray State in 1943 to join the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. After his military service ended, Fulks played professionally from 1946-54. He was the NBA’s first scoring champion in 1947, and was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. Murray State inducted him into the Racer Athletics Hall of Fame in 1965, and his #26 was retired in 2001.
Dick Cunningham — In his three years at Murray State, Dick Cunningham score 981 points and 1,292 rebounds — second behind only Popeye Jones for the program’s all-time rebounding mark. Twice an All-Ohio Valley Conference standout, Cunningham helped the Racers win the 1968 OVC regular season championship. He led the nation in rebounding with 21.7 boards per game. In 1968, Cunningham was selected in both the NBA and ABA drafts. He was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 1986.
Don Mann — One of half of Murray State’s vaunted ‘M&M Boys’, Don Mann, along with Jeff Martin, helped the Racers achieve heights in the late 1980’s never before seen by the Murray State program. Scoring 1,449 points in his career, Mann was the program’s all-time leader in assists with 531, before Ja Morant ended his Racer career with 532. Mann was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference guard, helping the Racers win a pair of OVC regular season titles. He was also a key member of the 1988 OVC Tournament championship squad that beat NC State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. He was inducted into Murray State’s Hall of Fame in 2012.
Gonna miss you, Jeff!!
Thanks for all the great work you did for our program for many years, behind the camera at channel 6, and the Voice of the of Racers most recently!! Wishing you success at the big job ahead of you.
So Jeff, you’re not gonna be announcing Racer basketball anymore?