Wins and losses will mean a ton when Daryl Murphy finally leaves Murphysboro, but for now, the boys basketball coach is taking a break.

Watching practice Wednesday afternoon in a pair of slacks and laceless shoes, Murphy, 37, wanted to talk about the players that helped him get to 176 career wins in less than nine seasons with the Red Devils (19-3), who weren't always so formidable.

With his win Saturday night at home against Massac County, he tied Eddie "Doc" Bencini's school-record mark of 177 in just his ninth season.

Bencini won 177 games against 186 losses between 1938-54.

"We thought the athleticism was here. We weren't sure about the discipline and the team structure, that was the major thing," said Murphy. "A lot of people think you roll the basketball out and just play the games, they don't know what goes into the job for these kids. I don't believe in giving kids anything, we want them to try to earn things, and a lot of that goes for discipline - they're not on the streets anymore. You get kids thinking maybe they can go to college, that maybe they can do things, then that starts paying off for our program."

To start, Murphy began getting his kids small jobs to pay for their shoes and varsity warm-ups. They refereed junior league games, manned scoreclocks, and cleaned up trash after other games for $5. He spends almost an hour each day checking up on players' academic progress at the high school, which has led to 19 full-ride scholarships and three straight SIRR Ohio Division titles.

One of eight kids from a strong Catholic family in Raymond, Murphy had to earn everything he got as part of a lower middle class family, graduating from Eastern Illinois University in 1990 with a degree in education. He began coaching at Springfield Calvary under current Anna-Jonesboro boys coach Jim Drew, intially with the junior high, then with the varsity.

"He was right out of college, about 21 years old, and I remember he was a very aggressive coach," said Drew, who has over 465 career wins. "He likes to pressure the ball and run with the ball. We did a lot of that at Calvary. He's taken that and used that in his present style of play."

After nearly ending up at Ball State as a college assistant, Murphy began his own record at Century, where he finished 43-12 in two seasons with two South Egyptian Conference titles.

At Murphysboro, people expected big things, as they do every year, because the Red Devils are currently a Class AA school in a Class A conference, even though almost two decades went by without a conference title.

"If it was so easy, how come they didn't do it for 16-some years?," Murphy said. "How come they didn't win a regional for 16-some years? People just think I roll out the basketball, and that I'm so blessed with talent. A couple years ago they picked us sixth place, and we won it."

Drew called his former assistant one of the best young coaches in the state.

"The guy is a workaholic," said Drew, who had Murphy handle defense and scouting. "He went in there and turned that program around the first couple years. I know he puts a lot of hours into it."

Murphy called the 1998 breakthrough one of his proudest moment as a coach. Murphysboro finished 21-8, won the conference after it was picked sixth, and took the school's first regional crown since Dwayne Kelly's 1982 squad.

"I love to see the underdog," Murphy said. "The kid that they said could never have done it. I love to see 'em go to college, and prove people wrong. People, I don't know; people see kids the wrong way on first impressions sometimes. I think people get a lot of wrong impressions about me. A lot of times I'm my own worst enemy, and I know it. The thing is, I care a ton about the kids I coach, I'm an awfully good father, and a good husband. That's what means the most to me."

Murphysboro Athletic Director Len Novara didn't hire Murphy, but was glad he had such a fierce competitor at the helm of his school's biggest draw.

"Daryl's an intense competitor," he said. "Like a lot of coaches, he thrives on trying to achieve lofty goals every year."

A better baseball player than a basketball player in high school, Murphy said the draw for him was not what he could teach, necessarily, but what he could hear.

"I get a thrill out of coaching and teaching kids 16-17 years old. It keeps you young," he said. "Springfield Calvary was known as a basketball powerhouse, and I loved the atmosphere. There's nothing like a sold-out crowd on a Friday night. Anybody wants to know why you love basketball so much, come and watch Carbondale and Murphysboro the next Friday or so.

"When this place is sold out by 6 o'clock at night, that's when you know."

And when Murphy does move on from Murphysboro, everyone will know he was one of the best basketball coaches the school's ever had, as well as one of the best role models.

"Coaching is a tiring, tough business," Murphy said. "It's just nonstop. Coaching's only really a fourth of it. Here we are 19-3, and there's three games that stick in my head. But it's very rewarding. I want to see the kids - like Tommy House. If Tommy House graduates from college, I'll be tickled to death, because 98 percent of the people around him said he'd never do it."

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15087