University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Iowa Prepares To Welcome Paige
November 20, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
By Adam Lucas
When Marcus Paige was just an eighth grader, he received his first college basketball scholarship offer—from the University of Northern Iowa, approximately an hour from his home in Marion.
Eight years later, he'll return to Iowa as his Tar Heels face the Panthers tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Paige's status is uncertain as he recovers from a broken hand, but that hasn't slowed the dozens of ticket requests. His parents, Ellis and Sherryl Paige, expect no fewer than 80 close friends and family members to be in attendance. Many of those who couldn't get tickets from the Paige family horde purchased tickets through UNI, which put three-game ticket packages on sale that required those who wanted Carolina tickets to also buy tickets to the Loyola and Missouri State games. Paige fans bought them anyway.
“As soon as they announced Carolina was coming to town, there was a buzz,” Ellis Paige says. “People here really love Marcus and what he stands for, and that he tries to do things the right way. We have converted a lot of Carolina fans in Iowa. There are so many people who follow Marcus in small towns all over this state.”
It won't just be in the stands where Paige sees familiar faces. He grew up playing with Northern Iowa starting guard Wes Washpun, and Washpun's father coached him in AAU basketball in middle school.
In fact, it was Troy Washpun who was one of the first people to realize Marcus Paige was an elite talent.
“When Marcus was in sixth grade, Troy said, 'Your son is special,'” Ellis says. “He told me, 'One day Marcus is going to be in college somewhere playing for a national championship.'”
That, of course, is Paige's ultimate goal. Since the last time he played a game in Iowa, he's earned All-America honors, qualified to hang his jersey in the Smith Center rafters, and been a fixture on national television.
But he still isn't satisfied.
“Marcus isn't one to gloat about accolades,” Sherryl says. “He's a pretty regular, down to earth person. But he still feels like he hasn't accomplished his ultimate accomplishment at Carolina, which would be a championship.”
Even before he knew he would one day have the opportunity to attend Carolina, Vince Carter was Marcus Paige's favorite player. As a youngster, Paige wore Carter jerseys, watched Carter highlights, and selected his high school jersey number—15—as an homage to the Tar Heel product.
Fans around Iowa still wear their Linn-Mar High shirts with the 15 on the back, but they know the 15 as the number that used to belong to Marcus Paige. Ellis expects several of those shirts to be inside the arena in Cedar Rapids on Saturday. It's almost certainly the last game Marcus Paige will ever be part of in Iowa, and he returns home as a much different individual.
“Not too long ago, Marcus and I had a conversation about his time at Carolina,” Sherryl says. “He told me he felt like when he got to Carolina, he knew the game pretty well. But he said there is no comparison to what he has learned playing for Roy Williams. And he feels like he's done some incredible networking at Carolina, not just for basketball but in the journalism school. To have North Carolina on his resume is going to matter, and he knows that.”
