With the NCAA’s regular season coming to a close this weekend, the postseason awards discussion has kicked into high gear.
We already know that Thomas Robinson and Anthony Davis are going to be the two players that get the most consideration when it comes to Player of the Year. Draymond Green has thrown his name into that conversation as well. That means that the front court is pretty much solidified in regards to first team All-Americans.
Who ends up getting selected in the back court is still up in the air, however. But I think we can settle the debate on the point guard fairly quickly: Kendall Marshall.
Marshall entered the season as, more or less, a one trick pony. We knew he was the best passer in the country. We knew that he was the engine that would make the high-powered UNC offense go. That wasn’t a secret.
But what Marshall has shown over the last few weeks is that he’s more than just a passer. The kid can score, too, and he proved it as No. 6 North Carolina ran through No. 4 Duke 88-70 on Saturday evening.
Marshall finished with 20 points and 10 assists against the Blue Devils. This came less than two weeks after he had one of the most dominant performances of the year against NC State, when he finished with 22 points, 13 assists and zero turnovers while shooting 7-8 from the floor and 4-5 from three.
What’s great about Marshall, however, is that he doesn’t need to score. He knows that he has a ton of talent around him; at least four Tar Heels will go in the first round of whatever NBA Draft they end up entering. That’s why he’s scored in double figures a whopping five times this season and averages all of 6.8 ppg. He picks his spots. He knows his role. That may be his most valuable attribute as a player.
Having a point guard that is capable of getting his own bucket at the end of a clock is so important, and UNC fans can rest assured that Marshall is more than up to the task.
If All-American standing was determined by who would win a 1-on-1 tournament, Marshall wouldn’t have a shot going up against the likes of Tyshawn Taylor and Damian Lillard.
But there probably aren’t five players in the country that are more important to their team than Marshall is to UNC. If that doesn’t make him deserving of being an All-American, than I don’t know what does.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.