A very thorough piece from Draft Express on Kendall Marshall’s prospects heading into the NBA. The level of detail on Marshall’s game is well worth the read if you are inclined. If you don’t have the time, here is the basic summary.
Looking forward, Marshall’s superb passing ability, feel for the game, excellent intangibles, and penchant for playing winning basketball are certain to be attractive to NBA teams, as there simply aren’t many players who can run a team like him available, certainly not in this point guard-starved draft class. The recent seamless transition of Ricky Rubio, a player with a similar strength/weakness profile in many ways, will also help the case for those wondering how Marshall’s game could translate to the pros, as will the continued success of Andre Miller, another guard he somewhat resembles.
Maximizing his spot-up shooting and defensive abilities are definitely the simplest short-term and long-term improvements Marshall can make, and both would go a long way to easing his transition and rounding out his game. Playing in an unselfish offensive system under a coach that recognizes how to utilize his skills will be critical for Marshall’s long-term success, but it’s difficult to see a player with such a pronounced and coveted strength not finding a niche in the NBA.
Essentially those areas those of us who watched Marshall at UNC observed as concerns are shared by NBA scouts. However, Marshall’s passing and his management of the offense are seen has such huge gifts, teams will be more than willing to bring him on despite some of deficiencies with his speed and defense. In other words he does something really well which should prove useful to the right team with the right coach.
Of the three that declared for the NBA Draft on Thursday, Marshall might be the one I spend the most time watching just to see how he translates to the professional level.
