NBA Draft: Defense the Key for Kendall Marshall
By Matt Hamm
North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall declared for the NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Chapel Hill. His stock was as high as it probably could ever be after a sizzling March. Marshall will have to prove that he can continue to hit the jump shot he suddenly found in March that had been missing from his game for his entire collegiate career up until that point.
Defenses often left Marshall wide open in the half court, almost daring him to shoot. And he rarely did, and when he was tempted enough by the lack of defense to hoist up his own shot. Few went in and it seemed Marshall’s reputation as a one dimensional offensive player, that of a master distributor and nothing else, had merit. Still, Roy Williams spoke often of wanting Marshall to be more aggressive. To shoot the basketball more, and most of all, to attack the rim more often.
It didn’t start slow, it was all of the sudden. When a crease opened, Marshall attacked it and showed off his ability to score at the rim. Then when left open, he put up the jump shot with confidence. He was knocking down J’s from all over the court, including better than 50% of his attempts from three point range. All of a sudden, Kendall Marshall was not only a passer, he was a true, dual threat PG.
I find it much more unlikely that Marshall can flip the switch in the same manner when it comes to improving his defense. Though he showed some continuous marginal improvement throughout the season, he didn’t come close to making the type of leap he made in his offensive game. It’s more likely that Roy was encouraging Marshall to shoot more because he saw him demonstrate the ability to do so in practice and knew all along he had it in him.
Marshall was never a big time scorer in high school, but he wasn’t somebody defenses left alone either. As an unselfish PG on an extremely talented team it’s likely that Marshall fell into the habit of never looking for his own shot. With so many passing options and so much success setting up his teammates. His development simply hadn’t got to the point to where he was incorporating his own scoring into the mix yet. For such a talented offensive player with the basketball in his hands. Making this improvement in his game was more of an adjustment of mindset. Reverting to something he’s done his whole life. All star basketball players at some level or another have had success scoring, Marshall is no different.
On the other hand, one of the knocks on Marshall coming out of high school was his perimeter defense. He is routinely broken down off the dribble by faster opponents and has trouble staying in front of his man. Entering the NBA with a grueling 82 game schedule, Marshall will have to work harder than he has in his life. He needs to improve both his upper and especially his lower body strength and improve on his lateral quickness. He needs to study great defenders and learn to anticipate his oppositions moves and utilize his basketball IQ to stay ahead of his man. Marshall is not a big time athlete and nothing will change that. But that hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of the all time great passers in Carolina history in just two seasons of work. And that didn’t stop him from turning the corner in terms of his scoring output. Marshall must overcome this hurdle if he wants to be a starting PG in the NBA. Thinking back over his progression at Chapel Hill and my bets on Kendall.
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