Iowa guard Devyn Marble says he's 'a work in progress'

EUGENE, Ore. -  Devyn Marble changed perceptions about his style of play in one half of basketball Sunday.

Marble, a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard, drilled five 3-pointers in the first half of Iowa's 108-97 loss to Oregon in a second-round National Invitation Tournament game. Marble, who eventually popped seven 3-pointers and scored  a career-high 31 points, had hit only 15 3-pointers in Iowa's previous 34 games this year.

"I just wanted to come in and be aggressive," Marble said. "I noticed when I was watching film and Coach (Fran) McCaffery was letting me know that I wasn't being aggressive enough. I was missing a lot of opportunities to shoot the ball, and he thought I needed to take more shots. That's what I tried to come out here to do (Sunday)."

It was the sixth straight game Marble has hit a 3-pointer, but in the previous four games he attempted no more than three 3-point shots. When watching film Marble noticed opponents weren't respecting his outside game. That's something that won't happen next year based on Sunday's performance.

"I feel like I can shoot the 3," Marble said. "I think I'm a pretty good 3-point shooter. Tendency is that I am a mid-range player and I like to get to the basket, and I do. I feel like I can shoot the 3 fairly well. Coming out of high school I shot the 3 fairly well. Confidence-wise, I can shoot pretty well.

"I noticed I was struggling in that time span of the last two weeks of the season. It was just due to the teams playing defense on me a little more. So it was a little struggle getting into the paint and stuff, so they were giving me those shots. When I went back to the film, I talked to a few people and they told me how to adjust and that's what I did out here (Sunday)."

Against Oregon, Marble was left open from the wing early and made his first five shots from the field. By halftime Marble had scored 19 points and was 5-for-5 from 3-point range.

After Iowa squandered a 15-point, first-half lead, Marble kept Iowa in the game early in the second half. He fed freshman Aaron White near the basket, and drained his sixth straight 3-point attempt to push Iowa ahead 58-51 with 18:04 left. In a back-and-forth scoring barrage, Marble hit a jumper in the lane and followed with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 68-68.

"The thing about him, he's really good corner shooter," McCaffery said. "He doesn't make a lot up on top, and he'll eventually get that worked out. But he played with a confidence level (Sunday) and aggressiveness. He drives early and gets a bucket. He makes a 3, then he makes another 3 and then he's off and running.

"He was spectacular. In that one stretch where we were really struggling, he was the only one that was scoring."

Marble's 31 points were the most ever by an Iowa player in an NIT game. It also tied for the sixth-highest postseason scoring output in Iowa history. He added five assists and five rebounds and had no turnovers in 37 minutes.

"Dev just took the game into his own hands, and we've got to ride a performance like that," Iowa senior point guard Bryce Cartwright said.

Marble improved more than perhaps any other player this year. He doubled his scoring average from 5.7 points as a freshman to 11.5 a game this year. His assist-to-turnover ratio was 2-to-1, ranking fifth in the Big Ten. He started 13 games at point guard before moving permanently to the off-guard role, which is where Fran McCaffery said Marble will stay in the future.

To take the next step and become an elite player, Marble said it's about refining his game and improving every day. That includes becoming a more consistent shooter.

"I know I can shoot the ball," Marble said. "A lot of people think that's not my strong point. Statistically I wouldn't blame you for saying it. But I know I can shoot the ball. I'm working on it. Coach Andrew (Francis) is getting me right.

"Once you get to this level, your shot has to be quicker. Just a few mechanics, I'm moving a lot faster coming off screens and stuff, and the game is a lot faster. It was more just adjusting, not that I can't shoot more. It's not a strength. It's more of a work in progress."