I have been saying this since last season. Now we have proof.
The N&O’s Andrew Carter delves into one of the more amazing aspects of Kendall Marshall’s game, his court vision with a surprising nugget. Marshall actually has poor vision.
People who watch Kendall Marshall play basketball talk a lot about his vision, and how good it is, but in reality it has become worse over the years. Marshall, the sophomore point guard at North Carolina, scratched his left eye when he was a baby, scratched it so badly it bled.
He suffered from light sensitivity throughout childhood, when he often would bury his chin into his chest to avoid the sunlight during rides in a car. His sensitivity to light has improved. His vision has not. He plays with one contact lens – in his left eye, and probably should be playing with one in the other, too.
“I went to the doctor to get new glasses, and he told me my right eye’s gotten worse,” Marshall said recently. “So I probably need to be getting contacts in that eye, too. But I’m trying to wait until after the season because I don’t want to mess with it midseason.”
Given how well Marshall sees the court, it is shocking to learn he is out there playing with one contact lens in his left eye and probably needs one for his right. Even with that going on he still sees well enough to make passes 95% of other players would not make. Then again that is not just about vision it is also about seeing a defender turn his head at the right moment or knowing you can pass the basketball 60 feet, buzz a defender’s right ear and hit Tyler Zeller in the middle of the lane. So many of the “wow” passes Marshall are a combination of savvy and willingness to take a higher risk. The pitfall is Marshall does turn the ball over but his assist totals are so high is compensates to a certain degree. The next step for Marshall is to cut down on the former while maintaining the latter which is probably not as easy as it sounds.
Marshall says he plays the game by feel. Against Maryland on Saturday, Marshall came down with the ball on the break facing two Terrapin players and not once did he look to his left, right or behind. He drove right into them forcing them to play the ball then at the last second turned and flipped the ball to John Henson for a dunk. I have no idea how he knew Henson was there. Maybe Henson said something. Maybe he did a quick look as the break started. Or maybe he’s a Jedi Knight which means I fully expect him to slay the dark lords of the Sith tonight in Chapel Hill.
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In an era when players focus on perfecting individual scoring, it is rare to see players focus on something else. Marshall has amazing skill at passing, but he has become a lot more effective this season by developing his other skills: driving, defense and shooting.
He has also been contributing as a team leader.
I think his primary skill is to notice things in general. He is trying to do something about the areas where he needs to improve which will greatly enhance his team contribution.
Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force.
The Force is with him. Plus the Dean Dome looks a bit like a space ship. There probably is a correlation between the shape of venues and KM’s assists. Haven’t seen a story on that yet.
Marshall is going to play tonight’s game with the blast shield down. He’ll still end up with ten assists.
someone needs to photoshop Marshall into that initial Jedi training that Luke did on the Falcon (the Black Millennium Falcon??), where he was blindfolded.
How about a radar gun on some of those babies?
Speaking of Tar Heel point guards, the Dean Dome might explode if Stillman drills a 3 pointer like he did against State College and GT.
So if I read correctly, we can expect his assists to go up next season when Marshall’s vision is corrected in his right eye…..
I think that depends on who is left to pass the basketball too. There will be a ton of wing players but the frontline could be pretty thin.
As a Federer fanatic, I think asking Marshall to cut down on his mistakes is similar to asking Federer not to miss a huge forehand down the line on break point against Nadal. Simply going for the shot (pass), and having the ability to make it, is greatness. We have to accept that it will lead to mistakes, which he can maybe mitigate slightly. A good example is the hit-ahead to Zeller against Maryland that ended up in the third row. It looked terrible, but we’re awesome if he makes it 80% of the time. I don’t think it’s possible to single out the other 20% of the time and not throw it. It’s just that sometimes the result is inherently bad due to probability.
The TARHEELS have to play peremeter defense tonight against Duke. Duke can shoot it up beyond the arc. I just hope Barnes’ ankle is healthy and he is ready to get his game on. I’m not worried about our inside game of Zeller and Henson but I am worried about Bullock and our bench stepping up to play tonight. It’s going to be a close one. Marshall is going to bring it tonight against the dookies. It’s going to be a close one. I predict the HEELS by 6.
As someone who’s near-sighted in one eye and far-sighted in the other, I can tell you right now that it isn’t a big deal to only be seeing well with one eye while playing sports.
“I think that depends on who is left to pass the basketball too. There will be a ton of wing players but the frontline could be pretty thin.”
Agree, I was jesting, it would be nice if he has the re-classed Noel to throw lobs to in the post next season…..
“These aren’t the Devils you’re looking for. You can go about your business. Move along.” — Obi Roy Kenobi
Wouldn’t having a complete set of contacts help his perimeter shooting?
so if Marshall is a jedi, then we know what coach k is
^I don’t know… jawa or ewok?
I agree with his court vision. If he could correct his vision he would be a floor genius. He’s got to work on his shot tremendously. He had at least three easy layups with the left that’s his dominant hand that he couldn’t make. Every year when Carolina loses their point guard I fear that they won’t find somebody as good as the previous. After Lawson left I thought for sure it would be a few years before anybody like him would come around. At Marshall’s size, if he had the skill that Lawson or Felton had it would be disgusting!!