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Valley fever sidelines Arizona State’s Jermaine Marshall

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Dave Dulberg/Arizona Sports

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With Tim Frazier sidelined due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, Jermaine Marshall saw his role change during his junior season at Penn State. With Frazier, considered to be one of the Big Ten’s best guards, out of the lineup Marshall was asked to do even more offensively for head coach Patrick Chambers. Marshall posted averages of 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season, but instead of staying at Penn State for his senior season the guard from Etters, Penn. made the decision to transfer.

Ultimately Marshall wound up at Arizona State, where he’s expected to be a valuable contributor that welcomes back point guard Jahii Carson and center Jordan Bachynski. And Marshall’s certainly an important player for the Sun Devils, who have to account for the departure of two double-digit scorers from last season’s squad (Carrick Felix is a Cleveland Cavalier, and Evan Gordon transferred to Indiana).

Unfortunately for Marshall and Arizona State he’s been dealing with a case of Valley fever, with that news being provided by head coach Herb Sendek during Pac-12 Media Day in San Francisco. According to Sendek, Marshall’s missed the last week of practice but is working towards returning to the court soon.

So what is Valley fever? According to the Mayo Clinic it’s “a fungal infection caused by coccidioides (kok-sid-e-OY-deze) organisms. It can cause fever, chest pain and coughing, among other signs and symptoms.” Apparently there are two species of coccidioides fungi that can cause Valley fever, a medical issue that occurs primarily in the southwestern United States according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

With Marshall expected to return to the floor soon the Sun Devils seemingly won’t have to worry about any missed game time. Marshall’s the most experienced of a group of newcomers on the perimeter looking to crack the rotation, including junior college transfers Beau Barnes and Shaquielle McKissic, sophomore Calaen Robinson (sat out all of last season) and freshmen Chance Murray and Egor Koulechov.

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