It’s been a great month for North Carolina birthdays! One of the great Tar Heels turns 32 today! On this special day, let’s take a moment to celebrate Kendall Marshall and his contributions to the University of North Carolina.
A Freshman Season For the Ages
Marshall arrived at Chapel Hill in 2010 with North Carolina in the middle of a short rebuild. Following the dominant National Championship run in 2009, Head Coach Roy Williams had to overhaul his roster with the departures of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Ed Davis, and Danny Green.
The 2009-2010 season was a struggle, but it did introduce John Henson and Tyler Zeller as mainstays in Williams’ rotation. After missing the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels brought in a recruiting class for the ages with Marshall being joined by fellow freshman Reggie Bullock and Harrison Barnes.
While Barnes, one of the most heralded recruits in the history of North Carolina, started immediately, Marshall had to wait his turn backing up Larry Drew II. The Tar Heels struggled out of the gate, but good things seemed to occur when Marshall stepped on the court. A little under halfway into the season, Williams decided to insert Marshall into the starting lineup permanently.
With Marshall leading the way, the Tar Heels won 17 of their final 19 games. Perhaps the most telling thing about Marshall is that in that final regular season game against Duke when Williams continued the longstanding tradition of starting every senior to open the game, he tasked freshman Marshall with leading the four seniors. North Carolina would ultimately defeat Duke in the season finale and take home the ACC Regular Season Title. Although they would go on to fall to Kentucky in the Elite 8, the seeds of a program on the rise had been planted.
So Close, So Far
Barnes was expected to be a top 5 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, but he surprised many fans and analysts by deciding to return to Chapel Hill for his sophomore season. Joining Marshall, Bullock, Zeller, and Henson, as well as junior Dexter Strickland and freshmen James Michael McAdoo and P.J. Hairston, the Tar Heels were absolutely loaded with talent. This year, there would be no slow start.
North Carolina was absolutely dominant throughout the season, capping off another ACC Regular Season Championship with a thrashing of Duke in Durham. And despite losing to Florida State in the ACC Championship, they were rewarded with a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
North Carolina started the tournament with two double-digit victories to cruise into the Sweet 16. But their round two matchup against Creighton is when it all came crashing down. Marshall fractured his wrist and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. And while North Carolina squeaked out a Sweet 16 victory over 13-seeded Ohio, they were no match for Kansas in the Elite 8.
After the loss, Marshall, Barnes, and Zeller would depart for the NBA. This season is one that still lingers for North Carolina fans everywhere, as many believe had Marshall stayed healthy the team could have won a National Championship. Marshall was spectacular all season, averaging a team-best 33 minutes per game, as well as 8.1 points and 9.8 assists per game, stats that do not do his impact justice. When you go back and watch the games, Marshall’s value to the team jumps off the screen. Barnes was the most talented player on the team and Zeller was the most reliable scorer, but everything ran through Marshall. The Tar Heels went as he did.
Love on the Rocks?
Marshall spent five seasons bouncing around in the NBA, trying to find a place to call home. Marshall’s passing was special, even for NBA standards, but his lack of shooting would ultimately be his undoing as the NBA was moving towards a more 3-point-heavy game. Marshall would ultimately call it quits in 2017 and returned to North Carolina to finish his studies. He graduated in the Fall of 2018.
Studying wasn’t the only thing Marshall pursued in his return to Chapel Hill. Marshall also showed interest in coaching and became a student assistant during the 2018-2019 season. After that season, Head Coach Roy Williams named him the Director of Recruiting, a position Marshall occupied until Williams abruptly retired in 2021. When Hubert Davis took over, he decided not to keep Marshall on staff, a decision that apparently irked the Marshall family, as his father made clear in a tweet in 2022.
It would be a shame if Marshall and North Carolina did not ultimately reconcile. Marshall was an enormous part of two special seasons leading the team to back-to-back ACC Regular Season Titles as well as the ACC Tournament Final and Elite 8 in both seasons. Close your eyes and you can probably picture Marshall dribbling with his head up trying to find a Tar Heel behind the defense or tossing a nifty entry pass to Tyler Zeller. Marshall was a wonderful Tar Heel, and he deserves to be remembered as such.
Happy Birthday Kendall!
