Now, he has class five days a week. He has little spare time, but he has taken up boxing to get his fix of physical contact. The Spanish class has been particularly tough: “A lot of my classmates are coming straight from high school Spanish, where they took four years of it,” he said. “I’m playing catch-up.”

Murphy, who is not married and does not have children, rarely plays basketball anymore and has not had much time to watch the N.B.A. But he did attend two Columbia home games this season, and he has gotten to know some of the players through shared classes. They are some of the only students who have recognized him.

Steve Frankoski, 24, a guard from Florham Park, N.J., recalled his first encounter with Murphy. “I was coming out of class one time,” he said. “I saw him. I saw this massive dude. I was like, ‘That looks like someone I know.’ And it was him, so I said, ‘Yo, Murph!’ He turned around and was like, ‘Yo, yo.’ He’s from Jersey, and I’m from Jersey, so I said, ‘Jersey!’ ”

“We kept seeing each other around, so eventually we started just dapping each other up,” Frankoski said, referring to bumping fists as a greeting.

Frankoski, who averaged 7.7 points for Columbia this season, said he planned to pursue playing opportunities overseas when he graduated this year. Murphy, on the other hand, has no idea what he wants to do after school. But that makes him quite happy.

“My life has always been planned out,” Murphy said, smiling. “You got a schedule in August, and you knew on St. Patrick’s Day you’d be playing in Cleveland, or you’d have an off day. It’s exciting not knowing. Not knowing is intriguing.”