North Carolina sophomore Marcus Paige hasn't really been in the 2014 NBA draft
conversation to this point, but after a big year at North Carolina, the 6-foot
point guard could have a tough decision to make after the season. Would he leave
Chapel Hill for the NBA?
Judging by where Paige currently stands on Chad Ford's Big Board -- No. 69 overall and No. 14 among point guards -- the answer is probably no.
But by no means is it a sure thing that he'd pass on the draft for a third year at UNC. Just last year, in fact, we saw Shane Larkin, another 6-foot point guard, leave Miami after a huge sophomore season. Larkin went from scoring 7.4 points per game as a freshman to 14.5 as a sophomore. Paige, meanwhile, has gone from 8.2 PPG to 16.9, and done so at one of the biggest basketball schools in the land.
On Wednesday, ESPN Insider Paul Biancardi ranked Paige as college basketball's most improved player, which may be even more reason to believe the Iowa native could follow in the footsteps of another Iowan, Harrison Barnes, and leave UNC after two years for the bright lights and big dollars of the NBA.
I reached out to our own Jeff Goodman today for his take, given Paige's hot play and possible rising stock, and here's what he had to say: "I think Paige will stay another year and could be a guy who winds up moving into the equation for a late first-round pick a year from now. The hard thing is he had to play off the ball the majority of the time earlier this season, and he may have the same issue next season when Joel Berry arrives."
Judging by where Paige currently stands on Chad Ford's Big Board -- No. 69 overall and No. 14 among point guards -- the answer is probably no.
But by no means is it a sure thing that he'd pass on the draft for a third year at UNC. Just last year, in fact, we saw Shane Larkin, another 6-foot point guard, leave Miami after a huge sophomore season. Larkin went from scoring 7.4 points per game as a freshman to 14.5 as a sophomore. Paige, meanwhile, has gone from 8.2 PPG to 16.9, and done so at one of the biggest basketball schools in the land.
On Wednesday, ESPN Insider Paul Biancardi ranked Paige as college basketball's most improved player, which may be even more reason to believe the Iowa native could follow in the footsteps of another Iowan, Harrison Barnes, and leave UNC after two years for the bright lights and big dollars of the NBA.
I reached out to our own Jeff Goodman today for his take, given Paige's hot play and possible rising stock, and here's what he had to say: "I think Paige will stay another year and could be a guy who winds up moving into the equation for a late first-round pick a year from now. The hard thing is he had to play off the ball the majority of the time earlier this season, and he may have the same issue next season when Joel Berry arrives."
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