Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: The Carolina point guards under Roy Williams

By Davis Wallace

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 11: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a call by the officials during the second half of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 11: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a call by the officials during the second half of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TEXAS – APRIL 04: Marcus Paige
HOUSTON, TEXAS – APRIL 04: Marcus Paige /

Marcus Paige – 2012-16

Career stats: 13.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.3 apg

College accolades:

·         NCAA All-Region

·         2x All-ACC

·         3x All-ACC Tournament

·         2012-13 ACC All-Freshman

·         2013-14 ACC Most Improved Player

Second-half Paige peaked during his sophomore season for a Tar Heel team that was in the process of rebuilding. During that season Paige had games where we scored 35 points at NC State, 32 on a neutral site against Louisville and 25 at home against Maryland (all wins). Paige also started the most games at point guard for Williams with 139.

Related Story. This 4-star prospect is set to visit UNC in June. light

After the 2011-12 close to 80% of Tar Heels fans expected Kendall Marshall to return for his junior season. However, after winning the Cousy award, and having a great season he declared for the NBA Draft and was a lottery pick for the Phoenix Suns. *Insert Marcus Paige*

As he does with many of his players, Williams had full trust in Paige and gave him the keys to the offense. Sound familiar? Like many freshmen point guards, Paige had his ups and downs for a Tar Heels team in transition. A lot of wings on the 2012-13 team, and not a strong presence in the post. From that experience, Paige learned and got better as a student, player, and leader.

Paige had his best season as a sophomore averaging 17.5 points per game, and 4.2 assists per game. Junior year he played through a bunch of injuries but didn’t miss a game. Of course, everyone remembers this shot in the National Championship game his senior season, and we don’t talk about what happened next.

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