Iowa's Devyn Marble says he's fine after concussion

IOWA CITY - Iowa sophomore Devyn Marble said a concussion two weeks ago hasn't set him back in preseason workouts. In fact, it's worked just the opposite.

"I think I'm playing even better than I was before I was hurt," the 6-foot-6 Marble said.

Marble suffered a concussion on the team's first day of practice when he collided with senior Matt Gatens. He said he remembers the play but "didn't think it was that big of a deal."

Marble then competed in the team's public practice, including a slam-dunk contest. Later he left the court and testing proved he had a concussion.

"I played and then I started getting bad headaches and stuff," Marble said. "I just wasn't feeling too well.

Marble was held out for nearly two weeks. Multiple times he failed to pass concussion tests. He took another test last Wednesday and found out Thursday he was cleared for practice. "It was frustrating because (those) tests are hard for anybody it seemed like. I was really trying to understand what was going on. But they just wanted some better results in some certain aspects of what I was taking. I ended up passing so that was good."

Marble initially was limited to no-contact but since has practiced fully, including in the team's closed scrimmage against Western Illinois on Sunday. Since returning, Marble has become the team's all-everything guard this week, backing up all three guard slots. He's worked heavily at the point behind Bryce Cartwright and the off-guard slot behind Matt Gatens.

"I've been playing quite a bit at the one and two, switching back and forth with (Branden) Stubbs and (Josh) Oglesby," Marble said. "So right now I'm going to be backing Bryce."

Marble started six games last year and averaged 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.