Countdown to tip-off: Marshall looking for exclamation point to UNLV career

By Taylor Bern

Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 | 2 a.m.

This is the season Anthony Marshall has worked for the past several years. The hometown kid is leading a powerful team with a chance to make a deep NCAA Tournament run and bring back the aura not felt in this city for 20 years.

Far too often last season, especially as the team crumbled down the stretch, Marshall took the weight of the defeats on his shoulders. He often was the guy with the ball in his hands at the end of close games, and when it didn’t turn out well, he was reticent to share responsibility.

Now that he’s moving over to be the primary point guard, Marshall still is going to have the ball in his hands. However, considering the weapons around him, the task often should be to find the open man rather than take the last shot. Those around him are confident he can be the leader this team needs him to be.

Vitals

Ht Wt Yr Pos. Major

6-3 200 Sr PG Interdisciplinary Studies

How he got to UNLV

Marshall was one of three guards then-coach Lon Kruger was looking at for two spots. Fellow senior Justin Hawkins was the first to commit, and Marshall took the other spot while the other target, fellow Las Vegas local Elijah Johnson, went to Kansas, where he’s a senior starter on a top-10 team.

Box score stats

Yr GP-GS Min FG% 3FG% FT% Rbs Ast TO Stl Pts

11-12 34-33 32 43.8 25.6 71.8 5.1 154 103 52 12.2

10-11 33-27 26.6 47.1 20.3 70.3 4 99 55 42 9.7

09-10 34-11 19.1 44.4 4.3 54.8 3.1 58 58 44 5.3

Advanced stats (via kenpom.com)

Yr %Min ORtg eFG% %Poss %Shots TS% OR% DR% ARate TORate

11-12 76.4 101.1 47 23.7 20.1 52.6 4.1 13.6 26.5 22.9

10-11 66.3 107.5 49.6 21 19.7 54.2 4.8 12.9 22.2 17.6

09-10 47.4 85.2 44.8 20.5 17.5 46.8 4.3 14.9 16.4 25.6

What they’re saying

"(Oscar Bellfield) was a steady point guard who averaged 5.4 assists, and his absence will likely require Anthony Marshall to be more of a primary ball-handler. Can Marshall handle those duties? Yes, I think so."

— CBS Sports

"He’s a veteran guard being asked to play the role of facilitating point guard when it’s not exactly his strong suit. There is a lot of talent on the UNLV roster, and Marshall is the guy that can bring it all together."

— NBC Sports

"If the Rebels are going to live up to billing, to have their reality be as good or better than the anticipation, then another S-word will have to be present throughout the campaign. That word is steady, and it begins with Anthony Marshall, who is transitioning from a combo guard role to be the team's primary ball-handler. It will be his job to orchestrate all the fun, new pieces and also set an example for the freshmen who will back him up in the Rebels' full-throttle system."

— Sports Illustrated

Rice’s take

“Anthony’s extremely important to our team. He’ll be our starting point guard, and he’s worked so hard on being a distributor, but at the same time, he’s extremely versatile and does a lot of things for us.”

In his own words

“I don’t want to take any days off where I go home and look back and wish I had gone a little bit harder. I’m going to give everything I have.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.