CHAPEL HILL — There have been games this season, several of them, in fact, when Kendall Marshall has accumulated four assists rather quickly. He needed just four on Wednesday night to set a new single-season record for assists at North Carolina, but Marshall, the sophomore point guard, had to wait.
He went into halftime with three assists, and then set up Harrison Barnes on a jump shot a couple of minutes into the second half. When the shot went through, Marshall had his 285th assist of the season, which set a new school record. Ed Cota set the previous record with 284 assists during the 1999-00 season.
“It was definitely weighing on me in the first half,” Marshall said. “I think we had three pitch aheads that usually are easy baskets. And we didn’t convert on it, or a couple of them were bad passes on my part. Some of them – I don’t know what happened.”
He smiled at that. Some games, Marshall has piled up assists with so little effort it’s easy to lose count. During the Tar Heels’ 88-64 victory against Maryland, though, Marshall seemed to be stuck on three assists for the longest time.
“It felt good to just do that early in the second half,” Marshall said of setting record.
At the next television timeout after Marshall set the record, the public address announcer at the Smith Center made those in attendance aware that they’d just witnessed a bit of UNC basketball history. Marshall received a long ovation.
He finished the game with eight assists, which gives him 289 and counting. He’s tied with Bobby Hurley for the third-most assists in a single season in ACC history, and he needs 15 to set a new conference record. Barring something unforeseen, it’s a certainty that Marshall, then, will be making more history.
As for the record he just set, and the player he surpassed, Marshall said he does have a relationship with Cota. The two haven’t spoken in a while, Marshall said, but they spent some time with one another about a year ago, at the end of Marshall’s freshman season.
“He’s a very good guy,” Marshall said. “I watch his highlights all the time. And you all talk about me, but some of the passes that he had the courage to make are ridiculous.
“So I have the utmost respect for his game and I thought he was a very great player.”
Comments
What Is An Assist?
Thu, 03/01/2012 - 20:58 — ab3623OK, OK! I'm like you - I know what an assist is! I have played and watched basketball for over 50 years! But like many "facts", when I had to stop and think of exactly what the definition of an "assist" is, I wasn't so sure. So I did what I have learned to do in my old age - I went to Wikipedia, which says that an "assist" is a pass that leads to a basket being scored. OK, I get that. But Wikipedia says the basket must be scored within two dribbles (I assume from the receiving player who scores) and that there is some judgment involved. Wikipedia also says that, originally - or when the term "assist" was used in earlier times - the score had to be made without dribbling. So assists from "older days" may not be the same as today's "assists." It did not say, and I do not remember, if there was a certain date when the definition of "assist" changed from specifically saying that the score had to be made immediately upon the catch - or the running-without-travelling drive - before dribbling the ball at all. Also - I now wonder if - and this is assuming that Wikipedia has it right - that if a player can catch the ball and dribble twice before scoring, and still have the passer get an assist, is there any limitation in "dribbling twice?" And if the scorer now has some "judgment" as to what an assist is, then what is the scope of that judgment?
So - does anyone have an exact definition of "assist"? This may be a simple answer, but if it is I don't know it.
Thanks!
You know what
Thu, 03/01/2012 - 22:49 — gvillegatrI'll never get those two minutes back. Thx, bro.
haha
Fri, 03/02/2012 - 17:23 — SurferDitto dude, but your two seconds made it worth while. haha