Marcus Paige (2016) - Patterson Medal Winners - University of North Carolina Athletics

Marcus Paige

Induction:
2016
Class:
2016

2016— Marcus Paige: Men’s Basketball (Marion, Iowa)
Paige was the first three-time captain and only four-time defensive player of the year in Carolina Basketball history.

The Marion, Iowa, native was one of only two players in ACC history to score 1,800 points, have 500 assists, grab 350 rebounds, make 275 three-pointers, and have 200 steals. A double major in media and journalism and history, Paige became the first Tar Heel and just the third ACC player to earn Academic All-America honors in three seasons. He won the Skip Prosser Award as the ACC’s top scholar-athlete for men’s basketball in 2015 and 2016.

He finished his career 11th at UNC in career scoring (1,844), first in three-pointers made and attempted (299-798), fourth in free throw percentage (.844), fourth in assist-turnover ratio (2.2/1), eighth in assists (602) and third in steals (203). He was Carolina’s all-time leader in three-point field goals in the NCAA Tournament (39).

Paige became one of six players to win UNC’s MVP honors as a sophomore and junior (with Lennie Rosenbluth, Billy Cunningham, Michael Jordan, Antawn Jamison and Tyler Hansbrough). He earned All-ACC honors as a sophomore and junior. He scored in double figures 94 times with 23 20-point games and three 30-point efforts, including a career-high 35 points and seven 3FGs at NC State as a sophomore.

Paige earned first-team All-ACC Tournament honors in 2015 and 2016 and All-NCAA East Regional honors in 2016. He had a game-high 21 points and six assists in the 2016 NCAA championship game vs. Villanova, scoring eight points in the last 1:33, including a game-tying three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play.

He played professionally for seven seasons before joining Hubert Davis’s coaching staff in 2023.