UNC recruit Marcus Paige has stress fracture in foot, will miss Jordan Brand Classic in Charlotte

North Carolina basketball recruit Marcus Paige has a stress fracture in his left foot, but his high school coach expects him to be healed by the time he arrives at UNC in June.

Paige, a standout point guard at Linn-Mar High in Marion, Iowa, first noticed something was amiss with his foot while he competed in the McDonald’s All-American game last week in Chicago, said Chris Robertson, Paige’s coach at Linn-Mar. Paige was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the days after the game.

Robertson said the training staff at Linn-Mar has been in contact with Tar Heels coach Roy Williams, and with the athletic training staff at UNC. Paige is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday at the University of Iowa, Robertson said.

“By the time he leaves in June to head down [to North Carolina], he’ll be fine,” Robertson said.

With the departure of Kendall Marshall, who last week announced he was forgoing his final two  years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft, Paige is likely to enter UNC as the favorite to earn the Tar Heels’ starting point guard job. Robertson said Paige had been hoping that Marshall would remain in school, so that Paige could learn from him.

But with Marshall gone, Robertson said, “I think [Paige] looks at like, ‘Well, now I’ve got to be ready to go and contribute right away.’”

Because of his injury, Paige will not compete in the Nike Hoops Summit on Saturday in Portland, Ore. He will also miss the Jordan Brand Classic, which will be in Charlotte on April 14.

Robertson said Paige was initially disappointed that he’d be unable to compete in the upcoming all-star games, but that he was also relieved to learn that his injury isn’t likely to affect him after his arrival at UNC.
“He’s just so excited to get down to Carolina,” Robertson said.


-- Andrew Carter