Marcus Paige

Marcus Paige

Paige shooting against Villanova
No. 4 – Salt Lake City Stars
Position Point guard / Shooting guard
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1993-09-11) September 11, 1993
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 164 lb (74 kg)
Career information
High school Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa)
College North Carolina (2012–2016)
NBA draft 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 55th overall
Selected by the Brooklyn Nets
Playing career 2016–present
Career history
2016–present Salt Lake City Stars
Career highlights and awards

Marcus Taylor Paige (born September 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina, where he helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2016 NCAA Championship Game.

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. 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 per game. He also recorded the most points in school history with 49 against Cedar Rapids Kennedy in Substate. Paige's high school career ended when Linn-Mar was defeated by Iowa City West in the State semi-finals.

College recruitment

Name Hometown 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:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96

College career

Freshman season

During his freshman season at North Carolina, Paige averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 assists per game and 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.[5]

Sophomore season

Paige improved his statistics from his freshman season. During his sophomore season, he averaged 17.5 points per game and 4.2 assists per game. Throughout the season, he shot 44% from the field, 39% from three-point range, and 87.7% from the free throw line. 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.[5]

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 three-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. 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.[5] His statistical drops are in part credited to a case of plantar fasciitis that Paige was fighting all year long.[6]

Senior season

Paige was named preseason ACC player of the year. Early in the season, Paige was widely regarded to have been in a shooting slump.[7] However, he recovered late in the season and led the Tar Heels to the 2016 NCAA Championship Game, where they faced Villanova. In the game, Paige scored 21 points and hit a game-tying three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in the 2nd half of regulation. However, Villanova's Kris Jenkins went on to score a buzzer beater to win the game 77–74.[8]

Professional career

On June 23, 2016, Paige was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the 55th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Utah Jazz the following day.[9] He signed with the Jazz on August 22, 2016,[10] but was waived on October 13.[11] On October 31, he was acquired by the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA Development League.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "2012 College Basketball Recruiting Rankings - ESPNU 100". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Scout.com College Basketball Team Recruiting Prospects". ScoutHoops.Scout.com. ScoutHoops. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Rivals150 2012 Prospect Rankings". Rivals.com. Yahoo.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ "2012 Elite 100". TheHoopsWindow.com. The Hoops Window. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Marcus Page bio". GoHeels.com. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ Auerbach, Nicole (November 2, 2015). "No. 1 North Carolina's Marcus Paige puts better foot forward". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ Waliga, Heather (April 5, 2016). "MARCUS PAIGE'S PARENTS PROUD TO SUPPORT SON IN NCAA FINALS". ABC11.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Villanova beats North Carolina on Jenkins' buzzer-beater to claim first national championship since 1985". ESPN.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Brooklyn Nets Acquire Draft Rights to Isaiah Whitehead". NBA.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Jazz Sign 2016 Draft Pick Marcus Paige". NBA.com. August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Jazz Waive Dawson, Ford and Paige". NBA.com. October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Salt Lake City Stars roster and info after D-League Draft". SLCDunk.com. SB-Nation. October 31, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
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