NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Iowa of last decade
By Joey Loose
2. Marcus Paige – North Carolina
Moving forward, we’re looking at another successful guard who contributed on a pretty incredible Tournament run. Paige was highly touted out of high school, and this 6’1 guard from Marion took his talents to North Carolina to play for Roy Williams. Paige played for the Tar Heels from 2012 to 2016, starting all but two games during his college career and playing a major role on this team.
Early on, Paige established himself as a great distributor, while really emerging on the offensive end in year two. As a sophomore, he averaged 17.5 points and 4.2 assists per game, scoring 32 points in an early win over reigning champ Louisville. His scoring numbers were slightly down his final two seasons but he had just as big an impact. He helped lead the Tar Heels to the national title game in 2016, scoring 21 points in the title game against Villanova, including the off-balance game-tying shot with three seconds left.
Paige did all he could throughout a successful collegiate career. He was twice on the All-ACC teams and was three times named to the All-ACC Tournament team. During that high-scoring sophomore season, he led the conference in free throw and 3-point field goal percentage and ranks among the all-time ACC leaders in career assists. Drafted late in the second round, Paige has bounced around the professional basketball ranks, most recently playing overseas in Spain.