Norh Carolina Basketball: In Marcus Paige They Can Trust

The most important player in college basketball is the point guard. In a structured game, the point guard controls the tempo and gets the ball to his team mates in a position that is will result in a basket.

On top of that he has to take care of the ball.

So when a recruit is widely described as an “excellent ball handler” and has “poise,” he is perfectly qualified for the position.

Those are the descriptions used to describe Marcus Paige, one of the top point guards in the 2012 recruiting class, currently committed to North Carolina.

“I’ve always been a Carolina fan," Paige told the Gazette recently. "I developed a pretty good relationship with Coach Williams. When I knew they were 100 percent interested in me, I couldn’t turn it down. So I got it out of the way.”

It’s nice when a recruit enrolls at a school he admired before becoming an elite player. Paige is currently the No.1 ranked point guard as per ESPN’s 2012 recruiting list (28 overall). Rivals currently has the left-hander ranked sixth.

Unlike the 2011 recruiting class that is littered with 5-star rated point guards, the floor leaders in Paige’s recruiting class are not so highly regarded. That’s probably the reason for Paige’s current overall ranking.

He can only be judged based upon the competition around.

No one knows what North Carolina will look like in the fall of 2012. If underclassmen such as Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Kendall Marshall and James Michael McAdoo stay in school, Paige will be a great addition. However if most leave, including current point guard Marshall, Paige will be a good building block, especially if he can emulate his idol.

“In the NBA, I look up to Chris Paul,” Paige told the Hoops Window. "His leadership ability and his overall game as a pg is great. He’s also a good person off the court. I try to pattern my game off him”

He may like the former Wake Forest great Paul, but at 6’1”, 160 pounds he more brings to mind Davidson Wildcat Stephen Curry, now with the Golden State Warriors; though the rising high school senior may have more hops to his game than Curry.

Upon being asked what he most looks forward to at North Carolina, this is what he said:

“Tough question. I guess just the whole experience of being at my dream school and getting to know my teammates and of course, playing for championships.”