NBA Draft Profile: Kendall Marshall

By: Kels Dayton

KENDALL MARSHALL

6-4, 187 lbs.

Hometown: Dumfries, VA

School: North Carolina

Class: Sophomore

 

STRENGTHS: Marshall has Superman-like vision, a willingness to make the daring pass, and  super-smooth control over the game. He’s never rattled, and runs his offense with a calm demeanor. He’s the quintessential pass-first point guard with a basketball IQ that would get him into Harvard (if they accepted that kind of thing over SAT scores). Marshall averaged 9.8 assists per game and finished a tenth of a point behind Iona’s Scott Machado for the national lead. He also came on strong at the end of the season, scoring in double figures in seven of his last nine games. Marshall put up 18 points and 11 assists before getting hurt in the third-round NCAA Tournament game against Creighton.

 

WEAKNESSES: The wrist injury is a huge concern, and Marshall hasn’t fully recovered as of yet. The prognosis had been six to eight weeks from March 18, so scouts should eventually get a chance to read him at full strength. He has been working out in Florida, and may head to Houston to train with former NBA guard John Lucas, so scouts may have a chance to see him in early June. Other than his injury, Marshall doesn’t have a lights-out shot, and is not much of a scoring threat, having averaged just 7.9 points per game this season. He shot just 35 percent (28-for-79) from three-point range and just 69 percent from the free throw line this season. He’s going to have to develop a consistent shot in the NBA if he wants to gain respect from defenders, and could have used another season in college to try and develop that shot.

 

BOTTOM LINE: Few players in this class have better passing skills than Marshall. He’s a pure point guard who makes others better and can make the spectacular pass no one else saw coming. Marshall is great in transition, and doesn’t turn the ball over often. Given a year or two to develop a reliable jump shot, Marshall could turn into a steal in the late lottery.

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