Marcus Paige sets sights on NBA

CHICAGO — The setting was different but the intensity was just the same for North Carolina guard Marcus Paige and his opponent at the NBA scouting combine, Maryland's Melo Trimble.

The two squared off on nearly every possession of the annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge's marquee matchup back in early December. Paige scored 20 that night to lift his No. 9 Tar Heels past the No. 2 Terrapins. Thursday, the two faced off again in a game that lacked a fraction of the team importance but meant everything to both players.

'People hyped up that up as a big matchup in college and here we are, we're both trying to make it at the NBA level,' said Paige, a Marion native and Linn-Mar graduate. 'I think that's cool because we both have a lot of mutual respect for each other. But at the same time, there's only 'X' amount of spots and we're trying to beat each other out for spots.'

Neither boasted impressive statistics on Thursday. Paige scored eight points, and Trimble had five. Paige did have five assists and three steals in nearly 23 minutes.

'I knew he was going to bring his best, and I'm going to bring my best,' Trimble said. 'He went to Carolina, and I went to Maryland. When we first played them, that was his first game back from his broken hand. He had a breakout game, and I played good, too. So I just knew coming in (Thursday) he was going to try to go at me, and I had to come at him.

'He's quick, he can shoot it, he's small, but he's strong. He looks small but looks can be deceiving. On the court, he's strong.'

Paige guided his team this spring to the NCAA title game, where North Carolina lost to Villanova 77-74 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. But Paige put the Tar Heels in a position for overtime with a double-clutched, tying 3-point shot with 4.1 seconds left. He finished the loss with 21 points, but he won over the nation with his eloquent humility in postgame interviews.

'It was a whirlwind of emotion,' Paige recalled. 'The fact that people received the way I behaved really well, that was pretty cool. I was just being myself. I was trying to be as genuine as possible and try to handle that moment the best I could without really thinking about it too much because it's the hardest thing I've ever been through. To hit a shot like that and to have them (Villanova) answer and have the final buzzer not go our way.'

Paige ended his final season with solid statistics at 12.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists per game. But he separated himself with his intangibles. Paige was named North Carolina's only four-time winner of its defensive player of the year award. He also became the school's first three-time permanent team captain.

In his career, Paige was named a second-team All-American after his sophomore season and was a two-team team MVP. He finished with 1,844 points, 602 assists and 203 steals at North Carolina. He was named Iowa's Mr. Basketball in 2012 at Linn-Mar.

After the NCAA title game, Paige's whirlwind spring included finishing up classes. He participated in a barnstorming tour of ACC all-stars that included a stop at Linn-Mar High School. Paige eschewed all NBA workout invitations until he graduated last week. But he still had to sift through agent interviews and prepare for the combine.

Paige, who measured 6 feet, 1 3/4 inches without shoes, signed with Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management and will begin training in New York after the combine. Then Paige will visit NBA teams for workouts with hopes of getting drafted.

'When I get in and I have a chance to work out at each team's facility and compete head-to-head with guys, I think that will help me because I'm a great competitor,' Paige said. 'This stuff, I'm just trying to show I can run a team and knock down some shots. Two games in the combine isn't going to completely make or break you or jump you 30 spots on the board. The process of going through those workouts is very important. I hope they consider the body of work, but I also hope they see me as a player that can make an impact at the next level and not just a great college player.'

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