Two Tales For Two Tar Heels
With a Pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, From the University of North Carolina, We Select…
By Elizabeth Bloom
On Thursday night, college basketball stars and NBA hopefuls will gather in New York in hopes of hearing the their names called at the 2016 NBA Draft. Unsurprisingly, among these hopefuls are Carolina’s Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson, the dynamic duo that led the Tar Heels to the NCAA National Championship game.
While neither Johnson nor Paige will be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the tandem likely has potential NBA futures.
When Paige stepped on to UNC’s campus back in 2012, he was handed the torch from Kendall Marshall and told to keep the train moving. Over his four years at UNC, Paige passed Michael Jordan on UNC's all-time scoring list, among many other Tar Heel legends, set the program's all-time free-throw percentage (84.4 percent) mark, converted on a school-record 299 3-pointers, third most in school history, and was frequented with Academic All-America honors awards.
After his first three seasons at UNC, Paige, despite a small frame of 6-1 and 164 pounds and above average athletic ability, made an enticing draft prospect for some NBA teams. But after the emergence of teammate and buddy Johnson, and an off year in his shooting, Paige's draft prospects slipped some.
Paige is not currently named among the 60 players in mock drafts on CBSSports, NBCSports, or ESPN, despite playing well at the NBA Combine in May.
What makes Paige an intriguing draft prospect for NBA teams? He has an eerie resemblance to NBA point guard Mike Conley. Conley led Ohio State to an appearance in the NCAA National title game in 2007. Paige shares Conley’s mental strength, passion, and high basketball IQ. Coupled with his prolific shooting ability and low assist-to-turnover ratio (3.05), Paige is a natural point guard with great potential to find himself in the regular rotation on an NBA team.
Paige’s counterpart, Johnson, while also having an impressive career as a Tar Heel, has had a rather opposite pre-draft experience.
Johnson can most accurately be described as a “late bloomer.” His first three years as a Tar Heel prepped him for an explosive senior season, highlighting his athleticism, rim protecting ability, and flashy dunks. It was Johnson’s senior season that sent him soaring from the bottom half of this draft class into an almost definitive first round picks.
In particular, a 39-point, 23-rebound effort in a win at Florida State in early January set the tone, raised the bar, and grabbed the nation's attention. Johnson ended up setting UNC single-season marks for most double-doubles (23) and rebounds (416).
While both Paige and Johnson will both have professional careers, where they fall among the other draft prospects remains in question.
Johnson, the almost certain first-round pick, is expected to hear his name as early as No. 20 to the Indiana Pacers, according to BleacherReport. But more realistically, Johnson will go between picks 25 and 30, possibly placing him on the rosters of the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers (via Oklahoma City), Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland), or the Golden State Warriors.
Given Johnson’s skill set, it would be beneficial to see him fall later in the first round, hopefully to a team like the Hornets or the Pacers, even Toronto. Johnson can be an immediate impact off the bench with his fiery passion and ability to score at will. On a team that has some holes to fill in the front court, Johnson is more than capable.
“I bring a fantastic kid off the court. I bring a great teammate,” said Johnson when asked at the combine what he brings to the table. “I do whatever it takes to help the team win, and I’m not gonna be some pushy pushy guy that needs everything, I’m just gonna try and help my team win, whatever it takes.”
Paige, however, is not experiencing the draft security similar to his former roommate. The lefthander from Iowa is one of those on the border picks, potentially hearing his name late in the second round, but most likely not at all.
Paige doesn't wow general managers with his raw game and athleticism, but his character and innate scoring ability and basketball IQ do seem intriguing. Paige has been to workouts with many teams since the Combine concluded. He has attracted interest from the Lakers, the Hawks and the Mavericks.
"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," said Paige in an interview with The Gazette. "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."
Even as an intriguing potential back up point guard, Paige is masked by a draft class of flashy scorers – Jamal Murray, Brandon Ingram, Kris Dunn, Malachi Richardson.
If, and that is a big if, Paige’s name gets called Thursday night, it will be toward the end of the second round, more than likely as one of the last few picks. If favor falls his way, Paige may find himself on the rosters of either the Grizzlies, the Celtics, the Kings, or the Jazz.
Paige will most like sign with a team after the draft and work his way up the ranks through the NBA summer league and the D-League.
What is clear, no matter the outcome on Thursday night, is that both Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson have the opportunity to extend their illustrious Carolina careers into NBA careers.