An effective point guard cannot allow himself to be fazed, whether by success or failure.
Kendall Marshall has experienced both, yet he continues to play on.
The 23-year-old Milwaukee Bucks guard has scaled the game’s peaks and visited its valleys, and he is grateful for those travels.
“The journey’s been crazy,” Marshall said. “It’s been unexpected. There have been a lot of turns. But it makes me very grateful and thankful for the situation I’m in, to still be able to play basketball.”
“I think everything I’ve been through has put me in a mindset to not be afraid to fail, because, quote unquote, I have already. I just go out there and play and not be scared to make mistakes. That’s the main thing I’ve taken from my career so far.”
Marshall was placed on a national basketball pedestal at a ridiculously young age.
The native of Dumfries, Va., was deemed the premier 10-year-old basketball player in the country by HoopScoopOnline.com – yes, such rankings do exist – after leading Team Maryland to back-to-back national Amateur Athletic Union championships.
He was featured in a front-page article in the Washington Post and in a Sports Illustrated profile.
Marshall was exhibiting playmaking skills that went far beyond his years, embracing the pass-first point guard mentality that he still considers his calling card.
He was also demonstrating the ability to be a dominant scorer when needed. As an eighth-grader, he once accounted for 37 of his team’s 48 points in a 48-47 victory.
Marshall spent the ensuing four years at Bishop O’Connell High School of Arlington, Va. He was coached there by Joe Wootten, the son of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Famer Morgan Wooten, who became the winningest coach in the history of prep sports during a 46-year career as head coach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md.
During Marshall’s sophomore year of high school, he received the earliest scholarship offer extended to that point in time by University of North Carolina coach Roy Williams.
Marshall could have allowed the hype to get the better of him, but he kept his focus where it belonged. He led Bishop O’Connell to the 2010 Virginia Independent Schools Division I state championship as a senior and averaged a triple-double – 35.3 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.2 assists – as a senior.
Marshall competed in the 2010 McDonald’s All-American Game at Columbus, Ohio. Playing with former Bucks forward Tobias Harris and against current teammate Brandon Knight and former Buck Doron Lamb, Marshall contributed two points and a game-high five assists and was presented with the Naismith Sportsmanship Award following the game.
The 19th-ranked senior in the ESPN 100 for 2019, Marshall continued to build his point-guard resume during the following two seasons at North Carolina.
Marshall averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 assists per game as a freshman and became just the second first-year Tar Heel to lead the ACC in assists.
He upped his production to 8.1 points and 9.8 assists per game as a sophomore, handing out an ACC single-season record 351 assists – the fourth-highest total in NCAA history.
Marshall left Chapel Hill with a 3.01 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best in UNC history for players with a minimum of 300 assists. He won the 2012 Bob Cousy Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top point guard.
Marshall embraced the team-first element of Carolina’s offensive scheme. “That’s always been huge for me,” Marshall said. “Coach Williams always told us, ‘The winners get the awards and the rewards. It’s not always about the points you score. If the whole team is successful, the individual accolades will come.’
“I think we all realized that early on and tried to make the most of it. We tried to stick to those foundations.”
One of the beneficiaries of Marshall’s assists was current Bucks teammate John Henson. They spent two seasons together at UNC. Rather amazingly, Marshall said he and Henson never discussed the prospect of being NBA players one day.
“No, not at all,” Marshall said. “I personally never thought I would come to the NBA, to be honest. We were just kind of enjoying the moment in college, just happy to be there. Overall, those were the two best years of my life.”
Marshall quickly gained an understanding of the adulation that accompanies playing basketball for North Carolina.
“When I first came into the league as a rookie, I realized that I was treated better in college than I was with the first team out there,” Marshall said. “Carolina basketball is almost like a religion. You can put it up there with the Celtics or the Lakers, or the Cowboys in football.
“I think it’s very fair to say that at some of those blueblood colleges, it is like playing in the NBA.”
Marshall was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 13th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. He spent nine games with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League, averaging 9.6 points, 7.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, then put up averages of 3.0 points and 3.0 assists during a 48-game rookie campaign with the Suns.
He was traded to the Washington Wizards along with Shannon Brown, Marcin Gortat and Malcolm Lee in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a future first-round pick on Oct. 25, 2013.
Marshall’s basketball career bottomed out when he was released by the Wizards three days afterward, but he picked himself up.
He began his climb back to the NBA with the Delaware 87ers of the D-League, breaking onto the scene with 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in his first game. He used his experience there as a vehicle, averaging 19.4 points, 9.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds over seven games before being signed by the Los Angeles Lakers came in December of 2013.
“Once I’m on the court, I don’t care where I’m playing,” Marshall said. “That’s what I’m going to do. I just went down there with the mindset that I had to take it game by game and that’s what I was able to do.”
Marshall averaged 8.0 points, 8.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 29 minutes during 54 appearances (including 45 starts) with the Lakers and tied for seventh in the NBA with 15 point/assist double-doubles last season.
“The biggest thing I gained from my year in L.A. definitely was opportunity,” Marshall said. “I grew a lot as a player, too. As a 21-year-old rookie, you’re still learning. When you’re in the NBA, there are going to be bumps in the road. I got a year under my belt and understand what’s expected of me. That made the second year a lot easier.
“You hate to see guys go down, but when we had guys like (Steve) Nash and (Jordan) Farmar and (Steve) Blake get injured, that gave me an opportunity to show what I was able to do.”
Marshall found a comfort zone as a playmaker and a shooter.
“I made my teammates better while I was there,” he said. “They made me feel welcome while I was there. The coach put the ball in my hands. They put me in a position to be successful, and I have nothing but great things to say about Coach (Mike) D’Antoni.
“I think about 80 percent of the difference for me was confidence – just going out there and taking shots and not worrying that I was going to miss. Throughout college and throughout my first year in the league, I was so scared that I was going to miss. Now, after seeing the bottom, I have nothing to lose. I learned the importance of just going out there and playing.”
Marshall was waived by the Lakers on July 18 and awarded to the Bucks on a waiver claim two days later. Shortly after hearing the news, he made a phone call.
“John (Henson) was actually the first person I called,” Marshall said. “I didn’t call my family. I didn’t call my sister. John was the first person I called. Obviously being able to share this with him was huge for me.”
He has enjoyed the reunion.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Marshall said. “It’s very comforting to have someone you’ve known for seven or eight years now with you. That’s huge. We’ve got a great nucleus here, a foundation of guys who are about the same age. It’s been fun growing together; not just me and him.”
Marshall has also embraced the opportunity to play for Bucks Head Coach Jason Kidd.
“Coach Kidd – it feels funny to say ‘Coach Kidd’ – was a player I loved watching growing up,” Marshall said. “Dallas was always my favorite team growing up. In the year I started playing in the NBA, they won the championship.
“The things I take a lot of pride in – passing the ball, being a floor leader, being a coach on the court – Jason Kidd mastered that throughout his career. If I can pick his brain and use those things I learn from him, I think it’ll be a successful year.”
Marshall has emerged as a vital component in the Bucks’ early success.
He averaged 2.9 points and 3.0 assists in 14.1 minutes during seven November appearances, then appeared in each of the Bucks’ first nine December games and bumped his scoring production to 6.6 points, shooting a sizzling 59.0 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range.
Marshall scored a season-high 20 points during Milwaukee’s 109-85 victory over the Miami Heat on Dec. 5, hitting 7-of-8 field-goal tries (4-of-5 from 3-point range) and both of his free-throw attempts. He also had an eight-assist game in a 104-88 victory over Detroit on Nov. 28.
“To land in Milwaukee, I think this could be a blessing in disguise,” Marshall said. “I have an opportunity to grow with this team. That’s my main goal: to take advantage of this opportunity and contribute in the best way I can.”