University of North Carolina Athletics
Brewer: Marshall Latest in an Excellent Long Line
January 4, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2012
By Rick Brewer, Sports Information Director Emeritus
Carolina opens ACC play against Boston College and Miami after a non-conference schedule that has proven one major point about this team.
That is one area about which Roy Williams has nothing to worry-- the point or more accurately, the point guard position. Few people expected that to be a problem, but Kendall Marshall has been even better than probably anyone could have imagined in the first seven weeks of the season.
Marshall is the latest in a long line of outstanding Tar Heel point guards. Carolina has had star players at every position over the years. But, it is hard to imagine any school in America that has a continuous line of outstanding playmakers as the Tar Heels.
Phil Ford, the 1978 National Player of the Year, has long been regarded as the best of them all. He has been followed by a constant string of other standouts. That list includes Jimmy Black, Kenny Smith, Jeff Lebo, King Rice, Derrick Phelps, Jeff McInnis, Ed Cota, Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson and now Marshall.
The 6-4, 195-pound sophomore handed out 150 assists in the first 15 games of the year. That includes a season-high 16 against Long Beach State. His totals have not been padded either. He has averaged 10.0 away from home as well as in Chapel Hill.
He has also been at his best in the biggest games. He led the ACC in assists as a freshman with 6.2 per game, but averaged 6.8 in conference games.
Former Duke star Jay Bilas has said Marshall is "probably the best passer in college basketball. No one tosses the ball ahead on the fast break as well as he does."
That has been a necessity because of the style Williams wants to play-- get the ball ahead as quickly as possible. His teams are probably the nation's best at scoring before opponents can get back on defense after a field goal of their own.
But, Marshall still gets the majority of his assists out of the Tar Heels' half-court offense. He has the uncanny ability to find open teammates in their best shooting spots on the floor.
"He has great court vision," said Phelps, now at member of Rice's coaching state at Monmouth. "That is something you can't teach. I imagine the game moves in slow motion for him. That allows him to see things other players can't see. If there is an opening in the defense through which he can get the ball, he'll find it."
He is certainly not a scorer like Ford, Smith, Felton or Lawson. But, he is an improved shooter. Defenders can't afford to drop off him and that has given him even better passing lanes. Plus, he has taken the ball to the basket more this year. That has allowed him to draw defenders and then find an open teammate or simply get off his own shot from close range.
Entering ACC play this season he had 380 assists in 52 career games at Carolina, a 7.3 average, and ranked among the national leaders this year in assist-turnover ratio.
Rice knew what to expect when his team faced Marshall on New Year's Day.
"I watch Carolina on television when I get a chance and I know what kind of player he is," he said. "Late in the game he had nine assists and I thought `Well, maybe he's not going to get 10 against us.' Then he got in the lane and dumped a pass off to (John) Henson for a layup."
Rice said that in addition to his simple feel for the game, he thinks Marshall's size is a great asset.
"He's so thick," said Rice. "He's bigger than most guards. At 6-4 and with that strength, there's not a lot most guards can do against him.
"I know when Derrick got here as a freshman he gave me plenty of problems because of his size. He didn't have Kendall's strength, but he was 6-3 and so good defensively.
"The scary thing for other teams is Kendall is going to do nothing but get better and better."
Most of Carolina's previous point guards probably had more speed than Marshall. But, he offsets that with his quickness and the court vision that Phelps described.
Jay Williams, an All-America point guard at Duke, agrees with Phelps about Marshall's ability to see the whole court better than most players.
"His vision and ability to deliver crisp passes allow him to facilitate better than any other player in the collegiate ranks," said Williams. "His patience, composure, control and uncanny style of play are what make him a spectacular floor general."
His ability to run a team really fueled Carolina's late-season play last year. It's no coincidence that Harrison Barnes' scoring increased once Marshall became the starter at point guard at mid-season. Barnes averaged 21.5 points in the final 10 games of the year as Marshall got better and better at finding him in open spots.
"I don't know how he gets the ball through some of the small openings that he does or even sees them for that matter," said Barnes. "I think our big guys are even surprised a lot of the time when he's able to get them the ball through so many defensive players. He gives the rest of us a chance to be a lot better offensively."
That's what Carolina guards of the past have done. But, only a few of them were able to do it as quickly as Marshall.
