Harper Murray has had a comeback for the history books! Last season ended on a fantastic note for her, as she was declared the top freshman in the Big Ten and a third-team All-American. Moreover, she is now having a season to remember.

Ahead of the 2 final Big Ten matches, the Husker Harper Murray has 3.29 kills per set and 27 service aces, which is the highest in the Nebraska lot this season. But things weren’t always this easy. The past few months, aka the off-season, were a nightmare for her that she could only break out of because of her coach, John Cook. Here’s how she credits him for helping her turn things around and get back on track.

Harper Murray sees a father figure in Cook

3 months back, Harper Murray was terrified of setting foot on the court. She thought, what if I get booed? Made fun of? Her confidence had plummeted to an all-time low. But, John Cook is not one to give up on his pupils so easily. Harper accepted, “He wasn’t happy with me. But at the same time, he promised my mom that he would be there for me. And that’s exactly what he did. He held me accountable. But he gave me grace.” 

“I have a lot of love and respect for him [John Cook]. I wouldn’t be the person or the player I am without him. And I know that I owe a lot to him. One of my biggest goals in life is to make him proud, especially because I put our program through a lot. I put us in the gutter at some points,” said Harper Murray.

But what led Harper down such a rough road? Well, it all started last season when the top-seeded Nebraska team lost the national championships, after which, Murray was inconsolable and shut herself inside the washroom. She was being called for a post-game press conference, but she knew— if she goes, things were going to go south. But after a whole lot of convincing, she went and sat silently for 8 and a half minutes, after which she let out in a moment of boldness, “I think we’re going to win three national championships (in) the next three years.”

What next? Well, her teammates on the dias were proud, ‘f**k yeah,’ said Rebekah Allick. But a whole lot of trolling happened. People asked her to learn the basics, like how to pass. Some stooped below the belt, so low as to claim that her late father would be ashamed of her, while others went as far as suggesting she should end her life. And the collective burden of it all was a LOT. And over the next few months, it just pushed her down the drain, leading to some of the most regrettable actions of her life. But coach John Cook eventually pulled her out of that dark pit.

Coach Cook pulls up Harper Murray from her downward spiral

One after the other, like falling dominoes, Harper Murray’s string of bad decisions followed over the next few months. It started with skipping classes and kept getting intense by the day. She then got arrested in Lincoln for DUI, and not even a month later, she was seen shoplifting jewelry worth $65 at a sporting goods store.

The world was shocked. And so was her family. In fact ESPN featured her story in an hour-long documentary, “No Place Like Nebraska.” The collective repercussion was that she lost her spot on the U.S. women’s U21 team and her family grew extremely worried that she might self-harm.

Also, another silent fear crept into her mother’s mind. She thought about the possibility of Coach Cook dismissing Harper from the team at Nebraska. But John Cook was not someone who’d give up on her so easily. He made Harper Murray complete extensive community service and over 100 hours of therapy, apart from the court-ordered probation. And gradually, Murray started regaining trust, in him, the team, and the situation.

In fact their bond grew so deep that everyone on the team knows, Harper Murray is John Cook’s favorite. They don’t say it, but they know. Their

TikTok videos are fan favorites! However, if you ask Murray, she’ll tell you that Cook is so much more than a coach to her. “He’s the closest thing I have to a father figure,” she says. No wonder she has JC written over the tape on her index finger in every match!