NCAA Basketball: How's Marion Marcus Paige Doing So Far at North Carolina?

Making the leap from Linn-Mar High School to one of the elite programs in NCAA basketball is, well, a leap.

Add to it diving in as a starter as a true freshman at the toughest position on the floor - point guard - and you are asking a lot.

That's exactly what's being asked of 19-year-old Marion-native Marcus Paige. Paige is now part of the storied North Carolina Tar Heels, wearing the same colors Michael Jordan, James Worthy and fellow Iowan Harrison Barnes once wore.

So, how's the former Lions star doing in Chapel Hill?

It's been a shaky start, but you can see some positives.

In his first game, Paige scored six points, had four turnovers and zero assists against Gardner-Webb. Zero assists aren't what you want as a point guard, a position that serves as the floor general who is expected to distribute the ball to the scorers.

Against Florida Atlantic, Paige scored two points on a woeful one of eight shooting and three turnovers but had a respectable six assists. Paige dropped 15 points against Long Beach State, while dishing out four assists and turning the ball over five times. ESPN identified him as the Tar Heels' top performer of the game.

He is averaging 24 minutes a game, which is significant playing time, and North Carolina is 5-1, so far, and ranked No. 9 in the country.

Here is blogger Ben Williams' assessment so far:

Well right now it seems to mean that the Tar Heels have a supremely talented basketball player who is still learning a system, developing confidence and developing his body. In other words Tar Heel fans, everyone just sit back relax and don’t go crazy.

Marcus Paige is a freshman who has been in Roy Williams system for just about 5 months. Paige clearly is still trying to get comfortable with the system. Just because you can push the ball fast doesn’t mean you are going to be successful in Roy’s system.

Paige in the open court is already something to behold. He has great vision, feel, and speed. In the open court he looks like he has been playing with the rest of the Heels for 5 years not 5 months. Paige in the open floor is a perfect a fit as UNC could have found in the 2012 class.