This is an opinion piece.

This is Phillip Murphy’s time of year.

He’s in his 18th season as McGill-Toolen’s head boys basketball coach, has a state championship on his resume and has taken the Yellow Jackets to the final four five times since 2016.

But he hasn’t coached one game this season and won’t for a while after having emergency surgery in Birmingham earlier this month and spending 10 days in ICU.

“We’ve always been taught to be ready for whatever comes your way,” he said this week. “You never know what is coming or when it is coming and, when hardships come, you have to be ready to push through and try to bounce back.

“That is where I am right now. It stinks not being out there with my team. It stinks not being out there with my son Jack in his senior year, but we are going to make the best out of it and do what we can to get back.”

Murphy’s medical issue started on Halloween.

“We practiced that morning,” he said. “That afternoon I had severe stomach cramps like I’ve never had before, but I just thought it was a stomach bug or food poisoning or just something weird. I tried to battle through it.”

The next day the plan was for Murphy to take his family and the McGill basketball team to Birmingham to watch the school’s volleyball team compete for a state title.

“He woke up that day with abdominal pain and lower back pain,” wife Brandi said. “He said he felt like crud but would be fine, but he looked awful. He’s so stubborn sometimes it’s like talking to a wall.”

The team and family completed the journey to Birmingham and watched the McGill volleyball team play its way into the 7A final the next day. Murphy’s condition seemed to worsen but again his mindset was to push through it.

On Thursday, Nov. 2, the Dirty Dozen won another state title.

“He sat through the game,” Brandi said. “I could tell he was in misery. After the game, everyone was celebrating, and I found him laying on the ground outside. He was four shades of green.”

No more “pushing through.”

Brandi convinced her husband he needed to go to the emergency room, and they called Murphy’s mom, who lives in Birmingham, to take him. With the kids in tow, Brandi took the bus back home and waited for news before returning to Birmingham.

The initial diagnosis was a perforated bowel. Unless treated immediately, the condition can be life-threating. Murphy knew it.

“That first diagnosis was scary obviously,” he said. “I did a lot of second guessing. Did I wait too long? All those emotions started to flood to me and, honestly, I didn’t know any of the answers at that time.”

Doctors treated Murphy initially with antibiotics in hopes of settling him down and getting him back to Mobile. Brandi said he felt better … for about 24 hours.

“But in the middle of the night that Friday (Nov. 3), he was in excruciating pain,” she said. “He was scared to death. We all were.”

The next day, doctors determined Murphy had a rare birth defect called Meckel’s diverticulum, a slight bulge in the small intestine. It had become infected and caused the small intestine to rupture. In fact, Brandi said her husband had two liters of infection in his abdomen.

Emergency surgery was needed immediately.

“He was cut from the sternum to the hip bone,” Brandi said. “He has 32 staples. Two days later, the incision got infected, and they had to open it back up. They thought that was likely because of the size of it. All of it was terrifying.”

Finally, this past Monday, Murphy and Brandi returned to Mobile.

“I was petrified,” Brandi said. “He’s never been that sick, never even had surgery. He was scared. That put pressure on me because that was hard. It’s probably the hardest thing we’ve been through, and we’ve been through some ups and downs along the way. Knowing he was so sick and so scared and seeing him so vulnerable was tough. We also were far away from the kids, which was tough. We have a lot of support now that we’re home, and that has been a great help.”

Murphy also said the statewide basketball community has been especially supportive along the way, including Theodore coach Philip Roebling and Spain Park coach Chris Laatsch.

Doctors have told Murphy he is progressing but that it would likely be six weeks before he can actively do much of anything. He watched his first McGill basketball game from home on Wednesday night. It might be a while before he actually watches one in person.

“They told me if I agreed to go in a wheelchair and sit in a corner and not open my mouth that I could go and observe,” Murphy said. “That’s obviously not going to happen.”

Brandi and McGill girls coach Carla Berry shared a laugh as Murphy told me this news on the phone Thursday. You see, Phillip is not exactly the most laid back of coaches when he is on the sidelines (see above photo). In fact, quite the opposite.

Assistant coach Terry Buckner has taken the lead of the team in Murphy’s absence along with the other McGill assistants. The Yellow Jackets are 3-1 following a 61-45 win over St. Paul’s on Wednesday night.

“I sent the staff an email when I went to the ER and just said, ‘things don’t look good, and I’m likely going to be out for a while,’” Murphy said. “I said, ‘It’s all hands on deck. I’m not going to be available to fill in gaps and holes. You have to figure out how to handle it for a while.’ They have done a great job.

“My son Jack has been a lot of help. He’s an extension of my voice. He’s been listening to me his whole life. He knows what we do in pregame, how we conduct ourselves in the stands before games or on the bus or in the lockerroom. It’s all a part of our culture. I appreciate all the guys and coaches so much.”

Murphy said he pushed this particular team harder than most in the preseason, largely because of its youth and inexperience. “It’s been fun to know that it is paying off,” he said.

Murphy and I didn’t chat long Thursday afternoon. I could tell he already was tired. It’s going to be a while before he gets back to the sideline, but he will be back. I have no doubt about that.

As I’ve covered high school sports in the Mobile area for the last decade, I’ve gotten to know Phillip Murphy well. I certainly respect his teams on the court and the success they’ve had along the way.

More than that, I respect Phillip Murphy the man. Early on, he took an interest in my life and my family and never fails to ask how they are doing when he sees me. It’s not something he has to do. It certainly would be easy to forget following a big game. But, win or lose, he has done it without fail every time I see him.

In fact, after our conversation Thursday, he texted me and asked me that same question because he said he had forgotten to do it. It may not even seem like much to him, but it has meant a lot to me over the years.

Sometimes a simple gesture can mean so much, can’t it? Never underestimate the impact you can have on others. It’s not hard to be kind to people, and Murphy certainly has been that for me. In writing this, I realized I’ve probably never thanked him for that. So, thanks, coach.

Take your time coming back. The team is in good hands.

High school basketball in the state of Alabama needs you.

In the meantime, know you are being prayed over.

Thought for the Week

“The hands that are holding tomorrow are still holding onto us.

Better days coming, watch and see.” – Mercy Me

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.