Marcus Paige
| No. 5 – North Carolina Tar Heels | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / Shooting guard |
| League | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
September 11, 1993 Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) |
| College | North Carolina (2012–2016) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Marcus Taylor Paige (born September 11, 1993) is an American college basketball player for the University of North Carolina. He attended Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa, where he was Iowa Mr. Basketball and a top-ranked prep basketball player in the Class of 2012.
High school career
Paige was rated as the number 22 overall player (and the best point guard) in the class of 2012 in the ESPNU 100,[1] the number 35 player by Scout.com,[2] and the number 34 player by Rivals.com.[3]
In his junior year, Paige led Linn-Mar High School to an undefeated season and the 2011 4-A state title. However, the honor of team MVP went to Matt Bohannon, a senior who went on to play basketball at the University of Northern Iowa. Considered by scouts to be an excellent ball handler with shooting range to the three-point line,[4] Paige also played on the AAU circuit with Martin Brothers Select.
On January 8, 2011, Paige verbally committed to play college basketball for North Carolina, turning down scholarship offers from Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa. In his senior season, Paige was the leader of his Linn-Mar team, as he averaged over 28 points a game. He also recorded the most points in school history with 49 against Cedar Rapids Kennedy in Substate. Marcus Paige's high school career ended when Linn-Mar was defeated by Iowa City West in the State Semifinals.
College recruitment
| Name | Home town | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Paige PG |
Marion, IA | Linn-Mar HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jan 8, 2011 | |
Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 | ||||||
College career
Freshman season
During Marcus Paige’s freshman season at North Carolina, he averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 assists per game as he started 34 of 36 games for the Tar Heels. Throughout the season, his assist to turnover ratio was 1.8:1, which was sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His season high for points in a game was against Virginia Tech, with 19, and a season high for assists against Notre Dame with 10. Paige led the Tar Heels to the round of thirty-two where they eventually lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 70-58. At season’s end, he was elected to both the ACC All-Academic Team and the Freshman All-American team.
Sophomore season
Paige improved his statistics from his freshman season. During his sophomore season, Paige averaged 17.5 points per game and 4.2 assists per game. Throughout this season, he shot 44% from the field, 39% from three-point range, and 87.7% from the free throw line.[5] His point average per game was fourth in the ACC, and his free throw percentage was the highest in the entire conference. Paige led the Tar Heels to the NCAA tournament, where for a second year in a row, they lost in the round of thirty-two against the Iowa State Cyclones 85-83. He was named second-team All-American, first-team All-ACC, and was awarded the ACC’s Most Improved Player.[6]
Junior season
Paige finished his junior season averaging 14.1 points and 4.5 assists per game. After a stellar sophomore season, Paige had a dip in offensive production. He managed to shoot 39.5% from 3-point range while shooting only 41.3% from the field. For the season, Paige fell only one three pointer short of tying Shammond WIlliam's record for most three-pointers made in a single season, which stands at 95. Marcus Paige earned himself second team Academic All-American honors for the second consecutive year as he managed to also earn second team All-ACC honors. Statistical drops are in part credited to a case of Plantar Fasciitis that Paige was fighting all year long as well as the team's decrease in dependence on his offensive production.
Senior season
Paige was named preseason ACC player of the year. He broke his hand before the season started. He got his first start of the season in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge against the Maryland Terrapins. He scored 20 points and 5 assists in the 89-81 win. However, after his game against the University of Maryland, he struggled at the perimeter. Despite a lack of 3's, Marcus went on to be one of the best defenders for UNC. Once the ACC tournament started, his momentum shifted. Once March Madness begun, Paige was unstoppable. In the Tar Heel's Sweet 16 match against Indiana, Marcus made four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game. eventually making three more 3's and tying a school record for most 3-[pointers made in an NCAA tournament game. UNC went on to beat Indiana He scored 20 points and 5 assists in the 89-81 win. On April 4th, 2016, in the NCAA Finals game against Villanova, Paige scored 21 points and a circus 3-point shot to tie the game with 4.7 seconds left. However, Villanova would then hit a buzzer beater to win the game 77-74.
References
- ↑ "2012 College Basketball Recruiting Rankings - ESPNU 100". espn.go.com. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- ↑ "Scout.com College Basketball Team Recruiting Prospects". Scouthoops.scout.com. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- ↑ "The Rivals150 2012 Prospect Rankings". Rivalshoops.rivals.com. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- ↑ "2012 Elite 100". The Hoop Window. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/61652/marcus-paige
- ↑ http://www.goheels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205698556