Linn-Mar's Paige is 2012 Iowa Mr. Basketball

DES MOINES -- You walked into the state tournament media work room following Linn-Mar's exciting one-point win last Wednesday night over Dubuque Senior at Wells Fargo Arena, and there was Marcus Paige. Of all people.

Still in uniform, he had his arm around an older gentleman, posing for photographs. The older gentleman profusely thanked Paige for taking the time.

"No problem. No problem at all," Paige answered, politely. "Any time."

"That was a thrill," the older gentleman said after Paige left the room. "Quite a kid."

You hear that from a lot of people about the Linn-Mar senior. Quite a kid ... and quite a player.

Paige ended his prep career Saturday afternoon in the 4A consolation game by scoring 28 points, his season average, probably surpassing Jason Bohannon of Linn-Mar as the Metro's all-time leading scorer. There's some question about Bohannon's career numbers, so Paige is either first or second at 1,695.

One place he's hands down tops this season is in the state, as he has been selected 2012 Iowa Mr. Basketball by the Iowa Newspaper Association, in a vote by the state's sportswriters. The Gazette's Jeff Johnson was one of the voters.

Paige, the North Carolina signee, is the seventh Metro prep to win the award, the second straight, following Jarrod Uthoff of Cedar Rapids Jefferson last year. He's also the third Linn-Mar prep to be named Mr. Basketball, following Todd Lumsden (1983) and Bohannon (2006).

"Probably winning a state championship was the highlight of my career," Paige said. "But there are too many off-the-court memories to count."

On the court, Paige helped lead Linn-Mar to finishes of first, second, third and fourth in his four seasons as point guard. This season, he scored 46 in a midseason game agaisnt Cedar Rapids Prairie and had an amazing 49 in a 4A substate double-overtime win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy. He threw a half-court pass to teammate Andy Henry for a game-winning layup in the 4A quarterfinals a week later.

Off the court, Paige has been just as big a winner. He was among a group of roughly 25 basketball players honored at the state tournament last weekend for excelling in the classroom. Every time you looked up in Des Moines, he was either graciously posing for pictures or signing autographs for people.

His humble, down-to-earth personality is as striking as his considerable game.

"If you walked down the halls at Linn-Mar and didn't know who he was, you'd have a hard time picking him out," said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson. “He is who he is. He is a true gentleman, a great student. I think the biggest thing at this tournament was that (last-second) pass in the Dubuque Senior game that nobody thought he was going to throw. Then (Friday), he's walking off the floor after a semifinal loss (to Iowa City West). As defeated as he was, there were a bunch of kids that wanted his autograph. He signed for them before he walked off the floor. If that doesn't show you what he's all about …”

Paige will play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago on March 28, will be in Portland, Ore., April 7, as part of a U.S. junior national team competing in the Nike Hoop Summit, then will travel to Charlotte, N.C., the following weekend to take part in the Jordan Brand Classic.

It's graduation in late May, then early enrollment at Chapel Hill in mid-June. So much for one final family vacation with his parents, Ellis and Sherryl, and older sister, Morgan, who recently wrapped her sophomore basketball season at Wisconsin.

"I think my family vacation is going to be when we go to the Maui Invitational at the beginning of next season," Paige said. "I'm looking forward to that."

Paige was joined on the Class 4A first all-state team with state champion Iowa City West juniors Jeremy Morgan and Dondre Alexander. Sophomore guard Wyatt Lohaus was a third-teamer.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson guard Taylor Olson was named a second-teamer in 4A, and Cedar Rapids Prairie forward Matt MacDougall a third-teamer.

In Class 3A, Western Dubuque junior guard T.J. Lake was named to the first team, with Anamosa guard Spencer Barnes to the second team and Western Dubuque forward Cameron James to the third team. North Cedar's Jordan Hay was a repeat first-teamer in Class 2A, joined by Mount Vernon point guard Jake Timm.

West Branch's Rylan Murry (second team) and MFL/Mar-Mac's C.J. Mason (third team) also were honored.

In 1A, all-state picks included Iowa Mennonite's Chance Miller (second team), Keota's Casey Sieren (second team), North Linn's Jake Oswald (third team), North Tama's Mitchell Boerm (third teamd), Lone Tree's Brian Forbes (third team) and Lisbon's Ben Knake (third team).