Jared Cohen
When Jermaine Marshall came to Arizona last off-season on a recruiting trip to decide where he would spend his final year of eligibility, ASU basketball head coach Herb Sendek had his star point guard Jahii Carson present there with him.
Sendek wanted Marshall to meet Carson, and see first hand what the two of them in the backcourt could do for each other.
Fast forward to Saturday night in the Sun Devils’ 76-62 win over Texas Tech, that combination looked just like they drew it up back over the summer as Marshall finished with his career high as a Sun Devil, 27 points and seven threes.
“That’s how I envisioned those seven threes,” Sendek said after the win. “He (Marshall) plays with a lot of confidence. He has kind of been there and done it. And I think he provides a good steadiness, a sense of stability for our other players.”
“Coach Herb gives us the freedom to shoot them,” Marshall mentioned. “I think we are just confident behind the line and we look for each other, find each other on the perimeter and knock them down.”
Carson finished the game with a career high 13 assists. They most he had since he was at Mountain Pointe during his sophomore year of high school. Carson like to score but mentioned how it takes a lot of pressure off of him when the other players like Marshall are knocking down shots from the outside. He gets more satisfaction out of wracking up the “dimes” in a game then he does the points.
“They can’t stop me from getting into the paint so if they help off of him, he is knocking down threes,” explained Carson who had 16 points in the win over Texas Tach as well. “Its easy for me to get to the basket knowing that sometimes they have to deny him which is good and when Jon (Gilling) and him are knocking down shots, I can fill up the assists stat line pretty well.”
“I knew he was a great point guard when I was being recruited they talked about Jahii,” Marshall added. “When I finally got to meet him and see how hungry he was and how dedicated to the game he was, I wanted to join that.”
Sendek knew that the two of them could compliment one another well on the floor based on how they both play the game. Marshall without a doubt that consistent outside presence that ASU was lacking on a consistent basis last season. But what Sendek couldn’t be happier with is how the two have built such great chemistry both on and off the floor.
“These guys genuinely like each other,” Sendek said. “Jermaine and Jahii are like really good friends and you can see them playing that way. They are connected in a good way.”
