NBA Draft: Marcus Paige might go undrafted?

Will Marcus Paige go undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft?

Before you blow a gasket about this article, there is not anything bad with a talented basketball player going undrafted.

In some ways, players have more control of their destiny when they are undrafted because they choose the team whose tryouts they will participate in; being optimistic. Another way to look at going undrafted is that no one is interested in you; the pessimistic thought process.

There have been numerous players who went undrafted and became successful NBA players, including Jeremy Lin (Charlotte Hornets), J.J. Barea (Dallas Mavericks), Raja Bell, Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat), Brad Miller, Darrell Armstrong, Jose Calderon (New York Knicks), Bruce Bowen, Avery Johnson, John Starks and Ben Wallace.

Tar Heel alum Scott Williams played over 15 years in the NBA and he was undrafted. He won a three championship rings with the Chicago Bulls from 1991-1993.

There is a chance that former Tar Heel Marcus Paige could join this list. Currently, DraftExpress and NBADraft.net project Paige not to be selected in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Heck, these sites have Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Tyler Ulis (Kentucky), Cat Barber (N.C. State) and Thon Maker (Australia) being selected in the second round.

While playing at Carolina, Paige played both guard positions. Paige peaked during his sophomore season when he averaged 17.5 points, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. Though his points per game declined during his junior and senior seasons (14.1 and 12.6 points), Paige was always the leader of the Tar Heels. He was not afraid to take big shots, which included game-winners, when necessary.

When his shot was not falling, he had no problem getting teammates the ball and allowing them to become the go-to player (e.g. Brice Johnson). Paige embodies leadership in every facet of the word. He lead from the front, as well as stepping aside for others to step up as leaders.

During his time at North Carolina, Paige was one of the best shooters in college basketball. Although he had a reputation as a shooter, Paige was/is not a one-dimensional player (Paige’s college statistics here).

Paige was an underrated point guard, who did a great job getting his teammates involved and being a floor general. He averaged 4.3 per game throughout college. Paige was a solid defender who averaged close to 1.4 steals per game his entire college career. As mentioned earlier, Paige averaged fewer points per game throughout his college career. He also made fewer mistakes on the basketball court at UNC in four years; a point that some people overlook. As a freshman, Paige averaged 2.5 turnovers a game. As a senior, Paige committed 1.2 turnovers a game, indicative of how cerebral he is.

Paige’s decline in turnovers from his freshman year to his senior year represents a 50% differential in turnovers. Another bonus with Paige is his character. He did not get into trouble with the law. Also, he was the ACC’s top scholar athlete for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016), in addition to being a member of the Academic All-ACC team every year in college.

At 6’2″ 170 pounds, Paige held his own against bigger guards in college basketball. He faced bigger guards in the ACC conference schedule throughout his four-year college career. No matter how he played during a game, Paige gave 100% and left it all on the court.

Here are some highlights from the college career of Marcus Paige, one of the best to ever play at UNC:

His heart and determination is something that DraftExpress and NBADraft.net neglect to mention. These are a few intangibles that make Marcus Paige such a special player. Leadership cannot always be measured and based solely from a player’s statistics. The manner in which a player approaches the game of basketball on a per game basis gives us a better view of the whole player.

Here is a quote about Marcus Paige from ESPN basketball analyst Fran Franschilla, per ‘The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines’ article where college coaches analyzed the Georges Niang, Jarrod Uthoff and Marcus Paige:

"“There’s a 50-50 chance that he gets drafted at all. But there’s no doubt because of his accomplishments and his ability he’s going to be playing for an NBA summer league team, and that’s really where it matters. He’s not going to be a first-round pick. If you’re not guaranteed money, the next best step is, ‘I’m going to have to go prove myself.’ Where you prove yourself is in the summer league. There’s no doubt Marcus is going to be on a summer league team and playing in front of a lot of NBA eyeballs with an opportunity to prove himself one more time. It’s not much different from going to that first exposure camp when you’re a young player in high school and you’re considered one of the elite. So he’s got to prove himself all over again, like all of these guys do. If he doesn’t make a roster, does he go to the D-League? Does he play overseas where I think he’d have a very good career at some point? A lot of variables here that more than likely his agent will walk him through.”"

In the same article, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery made this statement about Marcus Paige:

"“I’ve been a big Marcus Paige fan. I always have been. I think he’ll be a terrific point guard in the NBA. He played a lot of shooting guard for Carolina. That was good for him to go in that mode of, ‘I’ve got to go get buckets.’ That was good. But I think he’s a natural point guard. He gives it up easy. He throws it ahead, he can get in the lane, he can feed the post and he can score. He’s also an underrated defender because he does have great length. I think he’s going to be an excellent professional basketball player in the NBA.”"

Franschilla said it best when stating that “Paige has to go prove himself all over again.” McCaffery made a great point that “Paige is an underrated defender due to his great length.” In addition, Paige does not get credit for his athleticism, since he was more of a shooter in college. Right now, Paige has to showcase his entire skill set to NBA executives.

Sooner than later, people will realize that Paige is not a one-dimensional player. He will always be remembered for ‘the shot.’