Times wires
Saturday, March 26, 2011
NEWARK, N.J. — Amid all the star power of Kentucky and North Carolina, a pair of freshmen point guards could tip the outcome in one team's favor today in the NCAA East Region final.
The Wildcats feature 6-foot-3 Brandon Knight, who has hit the winning shot in two of Kentucky's three NCAA victories. The Tar Heels point guard, 6-3 Kendall Marshall, hasn't drawn the publicity of Knight but has done a marvelous job since taking over the starting job 19 games ago.
"Brandon is a talented, special player," Marshall said. "He made a lot of big-time plays. I think he showed throughout his career what kind of player he is. He's the anchor of the team, the point guard, keeping them going. (He made) two big shots in the tournament to keep the season alive."
Kentucky coach John Calipari said he has been impressed with Marshall.
"They get the ball up the court in a hurry and he'll throw it ahead," he said. "He'll snake his way to the rim if you space out. On his drives, he can find people next to the goal. He can find 3-point shooters. So he makes the game easy for his teammates."
Knight averages a team-high 17.2 points and 4.2 assists. Marshall isn't nearly as focused on scoring, averaging 6.2 points, but he doles out 6.2 assists per game and led the ACC in assists during the regular season.
Marshall took over the starting job from Larry Drew II after a 20-point loss to Georgia Tech on Jan. 16, and North Carolina has taken off since. The Tar Heels have won 17 of 19 games and reached the region final for the 25th time.
With Marshall running the offense, North Carolina moves up the floor as quickly as any team in the country. Marshall also has shown an uncanny ability to deliver passes where players can turn them into points.
"He is such a bright young man and he understands how to play the game of basketball," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "It's been an easier transformation maybe than any point guard I coached."