Kendall Marshall, nearly recovered from broken wrist, also suffered elbow fracture

Former North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall is training for the NBA draft at the IMG Basketball Academy in Florida, and he has some good news: He has nearly fully recovered from the broken wrist he suffered during the Tar Heels’ victory against Creighton in the NCAA tournament.
In an interview posted on the academy’s website earlier today, Marshall said, “My wrist is almost 100 percent.”

And then came this revelation: “What people didn’t know is that I also fractured my elbow. That’s been the toughest thing for me to deal with, still not being able to go full contact. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to go by the [NBA scouting] combine.”

You can read the full interview right here on the IMG site.

Among other things of interest, Marshall said he began to think about his professional career when people started asking him at the end of his freshman season whether he was considering leaving. The thought of leaving early for the NBA had never occurred to Marshall before then, he said.
Marshall, who has a large following on Twitter (@kbutter5), also spoke of some of the social-media hate that he sometimes receives.

He said:

“In season, I get anywhere from 15-25 Tweets per day of just pure recklessness. Keeping it PG, it’s stuff like, ‘You suck,’ and, ‘You can’t shoot.’ Now, it’s, ‘You’re overrated,’ and, ‘You’re not going to get drafted high.’ Even some Carolina fans come at me sideways now because I left school early. Maybe one every couple days I’ll give them a sarcastic response.

“You have to be able to laugh because these people don’t understand that you’re human and not on a pedestal.”

LSU guard Ralston Turner to transfer to N.C. State

LSU guard Ralston Turner will transfer to N.C. State, he said Monday. Turner, a 6-6 shooting guard, averaged 10.5 points per game in two seasons at LSU.

Under NCAA rules, he will have to sit out the 2012-13 season but will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried recruited Turner out of Muscle Shoals, Ala. when he was the coach at Alabama.

"I felt like I knew coach Gottfried and I was comfortable with him," Turner said.

Turner gives the Wolfpack some experience and outside shooting for the 2013-14 season. He started 59 games in two seasons with LSU and made 99 of 286 of his 3-pointers. With four available scholarships, and seniors Richard Howell and Scott Wood leaving the program after this season, Gottfried needed to get to work on the '13-14 roster. After taking a visit this past weekend, Turner realized the opportunity to make an impact.

"I saw where I could fit in," Turner said. "I want to come in and help the team any way that I can, that's what me and coach talked about."

Turner said Gottfried's success in his first season with the Wolfpack, 24 wins and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, also helped his decision.

Turner said Gottfried orginally recruited him to Alabama, when Turner was a junior in high school. Turner ended up choosing LSU over Alabama and Notre Dame. He averaged 12.3 points per game for coach Trent Johnson in 2010-11 and 9.1 last season. Johnson left LSU for Texas Christian after the season, which left Turner exploring his options.

LSU hired Johnny Jones, a one-time assistant of Gottfried's at Alabama, to replace Johnson. Turner said the coaching change wasn't the reason he left the SEC school.

"It wasn't the coaching change that ran me off," Turner said. "I just had a change of heart about LSU."

- J.P. Giglio