Terrion Murdix is feeling good.

That means a lot for Western Kentucky, considering.

Murdix, the Hilltoppers’ starting point guard and heartbeat on the floor this season, has been waiting more than two years for the moment when he takes the floor to help to play Kennesaw State in the Conference USA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament Thursday night at VBC Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama.

Murdix has been there – twice already – but never to play as he recovered from two straight knee surgeries that cost him consecutive seasons.

So yeah, Murdix is feeling pretty good.

“It was hard getting back healthy,” Murdix said. It was a long process – a tiring process – but I got through it.

“It was a lot of highs and lows, but never no doubts about getting back on the court. No doubts about getting back on the court – it’s the only thing that I like to do, so I’m going to stick with it for sure.”

Murdix arrived at WKU knowing he would have to sit out a year. He came to the program following his former coach Steve Lutz at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where he helped the Islanders win back-to-back Southland Conference tournament championships to earn NCAA Tournament bids.

Murdix was a vital member of those squads, winning Southland Defensive Player of the Year honors along with first-team all-conference, all-defensive team and NABC All-District First Team honors in 2023. The year before, he was the Southland tournament most valuable player and made the all-defensive team.

In the 2023 Southland Conference tournament championship against Northwestern State, Murdix went down early with a catastrophic injury to his left knee — a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus.

Even knowing Murdix would miss a full season, Lutz was eager to have his standout point guard join him in Bowling Green when he was named as the Hilltoppers’ new head coach shortly after TAMCC’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Murdix settled in with his new team as a positive force, encouraging his teammates during practices, pregame, from the bench, whenever and however he could help. Murdix had a front-row seat for the Hilltoppers’ stunning run to the CUSA Tournament championship as WKU won three games in three days to win the title – the program’s first in CUSA – and earn the first NCAA Tournament bid in 11 years.

“No regret – that was definitely excitement,” Murdix said. “I was happy for everybody. It’s always fun to win, watching or playing. It’s always fun to win.

“ … You’ve got to be connecting, you’ve got to be involved either way. Win, lose or draw, you’ve got to have somebody’s back to somebody can have yours.”

Murdix thought his time would come last season. So when he got the news that his knee surgery wasn’t success and he would have to undergo another – and sit out another full season – it might have been a crushing blow. Not for Murdix, who accepted that to work to get back on the court would take a little longer and started putting that work in.

“It’s all I got, man,” Murdix said.

Lutz departed after his lone season at WKU to take the head coaching job at Oklahoma State, with his top assistant Hank Plona elevated to replace him leading the Hilltoppers. Murdix stayed behind.

“I really wasn’t interested in a lot of other options,” Murdix said. “I was hurt and then it’s kind of the most obvious thing to do is be respectful and stay here. They paid for my surgery, so why not give them what they’re looking for.”

After seeing the high of WKU winning the conference title and reaching the NCAA Tournament his first year with the program, Murdix witnessed the struggles of last year’s injury-wracked squad that bowed out in the first round of the CUSA Tournament.

Heading into his second season leading WKU, Plona knew he wanted Murdix running the Hilltoppers on the floor. There was risk, to be sure, with that extensive knee injury history. But Plona was determined that Murdix was his point guard, so much so that he didn’t recruit another for this year’s team.

That decision has been the right one for the Tops.

“He just plays his game,” Plona said. “I just want Terrion Murdiix to be Terrion Murdix. I think I said a couple days ago, I did not want to recruit another point guard. I wanted him to be the point guard of this basketball team. I think it’s very rare to find players in today’s day and age that naturally think win, win, win, win. And that’s what he thinks. He doesn’t think pass first or shoot first. He thinks what do I need to do to help our team win at all times. And I think as a 5-10 or 5-11 guard, I think he believes that moving that basketball and putting it in the right spot – I probably encourage him to shoot a little bit more, if anything, to be honest with you. I let him do whatever he wants with the basketball. I rarely ever suggest anything to him with the ball. I think he’s the best in our program and one of the best in the country at deciding what to do to help a team win when he has the ball in his hands.

“He’s a very smart player. I think on the defensive end he’s about sixth or seventh in the country in steal percentage right now, so he causes some real problems on that end. He’s a good rebounder. To me, he’s just a unique, winning, team-oriented, win-at-all-costs, win-first player. And you don’t really want to mess with that.”

Murdix got another serious scare this season at the Battle 4 Atlantis – this time, with his right knee in an overtime loss to South Florida. Driving in the lane for a layup, Murdix had an opposing player step on his foot and felt that familiar shooting pain – he had partially torn the ACL in his right knee.

“Honestly, I thought it was going to be it,” Murdix said. “But I’m not a real negative person, so I wasn’t really down or anything. I’m just like it is what it is. Everything happens for a reason, for sure.”

Turns out, it wasn’t the end – after sitting out the rest of December, Murdix avoided surgery and made it back.

“Too many scars on these knees, too many scars,” Murdix said. “I’m still not really that confident about the knees but I’ve got to just keep going and trust God.”

Since his return, Murdix has been his normal unifying force on the floor. He leads the team in assists with 98 and steals with 44 despite missing eight games. He’s averaging 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds, numbers he could easily boost if needed by his team.

Scoring has never been the focus for Murdix, who describes his role as “the little crutch on the floor” for his teammates, making sure they get to the right spots to be successful before he worries about his own numbers.

“I feel like I’ve got a complete game, but I show it at different times and I just give what my team needs,” Murdix said. “That’s what I try to do.”

That selfless play might cost Murdix some potential postseason accolades, but Plona knows how valuable the Springfield, Illinois native has been to his program.

“Terrion has been winning his whole life,” Plona said. “It’s just kind of who he is and what he does. … I think he’s more comfortable in his health. I think he’s more comfortable with his legs right now than he has been all year and that’s allowing him to be who he is. I think he’s one of the best players in the league. I don’t really care about this all-league nonsense that comes out because I assume in today’s day and age that whoever has good stats gets voted and it is what it is. Maybe somebody thinks his stats aren’t good, but to me, man, he’s one of the absolute best players in our league. He’s one of the best point guards in the country and we need him to be that elite player if we’re going to be successful down the stretch.”

The end is coming up rapidly now for Murdix, seven years into a college career he never thought would go on this long. And while he might ruefully confirm that he’s “definitely a professional college student” at this point, Murdix is in no hurry for this last season to end.

“I’m not really chasing the money at this point in my life,” Murdix said. “I’m just trying to play basketball and be there for who there for me.

“ … I’m definitely excited for the tournament,” Murdix said. “I’m just happy to be here.”