With Temple’s men’s basketball struggling this year, there is not much to look forward to come March, except high school SAT’s for prospective athletes.
This March will be the next chance high school basketball star Wayne Marshall will have to improve his SAT scores in order to make himself eligible for college.
Marshall is one of Temple’s biggest recruits this year.
Hailing from Philadelphia’s own Martin Luther King Jr. High School, Marshall is a forward/center with a shooting guard’s ability.
Against St. Dominic from Long Island, NY, Marshall showcased a small amount of his talent despite being double-teamed every time he had the ball.
He posted 24 points, six rebounds, eight assists, two steals, one block, and was an impressive 16 of 18 from the free-throw line.
Although no one on St. Dominic was big enough to defend Marshall one-on-one, his coach, Greg Moore, assured that we haven’t seen half of what Marshall can do.
“I’m going to tell you a secret. [Marshall] likes playing against guys his size, he didn’t really want to play these guys because no one is his size,” Moore said.
Marshall not only scores well in the paint by overpowering his opponents but he can step out and use his three-point range jump shot.
He can handle the ball well enough to drive to the basket and pass around double teams to give his teammates open looks.
Marshall may be one of the top recruits coming out of Pennsylvania. Temple’s in-state rival, LaSalle University, also noticed the talent of the 6’10” star and offered him the chance to play for its program.
But in the end, Temple was Marshall’s top choice.
“I would love to play for John Chaney. I think if I go there, he will work me hard to get me where I need to be with the 5 a.m. practices and everything,” Marshall said.
“I’ve liked Temple since I was young growing up. I really wanted to stay home, too.”
The best aspect of Marshall’s game is no doubt his smooth shot, which makes defenders pay for sending him to the free throw line where he rarely misses.
“Coach makes us run for 20 minutes so we can shoot free throws when we’re tired,” he said.
“I think that helped my jump shot improve.”
Moore also agrees Marshall’s jump shot has shown improvement.
“When we have three-point contests in practice he will win eight out of 10 times,” he said. “He has really good form, he is one of our best free-throw shooters.”
Moore thinks Marshall has most improved in his passing and rebounding. According to Moore, Marshall’s season average is 15 points and 15 rebounds.
With all of that said, the only obstacle left between Temple and Wayne Marshall is his SAT score.
With the next available time for the SAT in March, the campus should hope that Marshall will place high enough to play for Temple next year.
Marshall enjoyed his visit with Chaney and hopes that his relationship with Chaney will continue.
“[Chaney’s] funny. He just likes telling stories about his coaching through the years and talking about his players,” Marshall said.
It’s only a matter of months until Marshall finds out if he will be talked about as one of his players.
David Cargin can be reached at I3AKDRAF@hotmail.com
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