Marshall’s career night silences the critics
It turns out Kendall Marshall reads the newspaper, too.
Prior to North Carolina’s trip to NC State Tuesday night, the Raleigh News & Observer previewed the game in its morning paper. It broke the game down position by position in an effort to decide who had the edge at each spot.
The point guard edge went to State’s Lorenzo Brown, a fine player and an integral part of the Wolfpack’s success this season. When the story reached Marshall’s hands before the game, it gave the ACC’s assist leader a chip on his shoulder.
The article labeled Marshall “one-dimensional.”
Fair enough, right? After all, prior to Tuesday, Marshall averaged just 6.6 points per game to go with his gaudy 9.6 assists mark. He is known as the penultimate deferrer, frequently passing up open shots to give his ultra-talented teammates the chance to score. He’s shooting worse than 30 percent from three-point range and is constantly being knocked (somewhat unfairly) for his lack of quickness on the defensive end of the floor.
None of those flaws showed up Tuesday. Marshall scored a career-high 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting (4-of 5 from long range), 13 assists…and zero turnovers. Statistically speaking, it was one of the best games by a Tar Heel point guard ever. Let that sink in for a minute.
It’s no secret that Marshall bases his willingness to shoot by whether or not he’s hot early. If he misses his first shot or two, he may not shoot again save for a lay-up here or there. If he hits a couple shots early, he’s a little more frugal with his shot selection. Tuesday’s game was unlike anything we’ve seen before.
Marshall drained his first two three’s as Carolina jumped ahead 28-18 midway through the first half. To the Wolfpack’s credit, they didn’t fold despite a scorching start by the Tar Heels.
As the ‘Pack clawed their way back into the game, it was Marshall who helped Carolina pull away once more — with his shooting. Carolina led 37-36 late in the first half when Harrison Barnes sunk two free throws, followed by Marshall’s third trey of the game, and the Heels went to the locker room leading 46-41.
Carolina controlled the second half, per usual, en route to an 86-74 victory. On a rare night that the Heels were dominated inside, Marshall’s sharp shooting was the major difference in the game. The Wolfpack outscored Carolina 42-22 in the paint.
Time and again this season we’ve heard “If UNC can do _____, it can’t be stopped.” Well, the Tar Heels’ ability to shoot the ball is the absolute No. 1 difference between what will make them a very good team or a great one.
For instance, on the occasions this season that Carolina has looked the best this season, it’s when the Heels have been hot from outside. One of their strongest performances of the year was the loss at Kentucky, when they shot 10-of-18 from deep.
Everyone knows about Carolina’s strength in the frontcourt. Tyler Zeller and John Henson form the most formidable inside tandem in the country, while Harrison Barnes is the most NBA-ready small forward in the nation, a mortal lock to be a top-3 pick in June.
It’s up to the likes of Reggie Bullock (11 points Tuesday, 3-of-6 from three), P.J. Hairston (slumping: three points in six minutes Tueday), and ultimately Marshall to space the floor with their ability to score on the perimeter. If not, teams will continue to collapse on the post and clog the lane. Even then, only a handful of teams can beat the Tar Heels, but they can’t win a national championship without a balanced attack.
If Tuesday night was a sign of things to come from Marshall, it will be the missing ingredient to a deep March run that has always been assumed to end in New Orleans.
Note to America: don’t sell Kendall Marshall short.
LINKS
— Virginia escaped Blacksburg with a 61-59 win over Virginia Tech in a game that the Cavaliers couldn’t afford to lose. TechHoops was encouraged by the play of the Hokies’ four freshmen in the loss.
— The Cavaliers are dropping like flies, though, and it’s at the worst possible time. Malcolm Brogdon played through “throbbing” pain at the end of the game, and Paul Jesperson had to play a career-high 28 minutes (although he played very well). Brian Schwartz at Streaking the Lawn has a full analysis from the ‘Hoos side of things.
— Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hits the highlights of Georgia Tech’s embarrassing 56-37 home loss to Clemson Tuesday.
— Maryland’s comeback win over Miami felt like three wins in one to Terps’ coach Mark Turgeon. I’ll have more on this game later, but what an impressive effort from Turgeon’s club.
— Duke Hoop Blog is a must-read for all ACC fans, not just Blue Devil faithful. This post from Sunday was a follow-up to an extremely thoroughly researched blog post comparing each ACC team’s success at home compared to on the road. It’s stat heavy, but the graphs are great and it’s really interesting if you’re in to that stuff.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Holy. Freaking. Crap. This latest posterization comes courtesy of Gabe York, a consensus top-100 recruit who’ll be dunking on some poor folks in the Pac-12 next season as a member of the Arizona Wildcats’ No. 1 recruiting class. I’ve watched this about 50 times since yesterday.
