Published: May 04, 2008 12:00 am            

Sunday Special: ISU basketball's Marshall taking on leadership role

TERRE HAUTE — Harry Marshall was never a men’s basketball recruit at Indiana State University. Not in the usual way thinks of a freshman being recruited anyway.

Marshall, who starred at Owen Valley High School, was never considered for a basketball scholarship by ISU or any other Division I program. He came to ISU with little fanfare, having been brought in by then-coach Royce Waltman without any promise of playing time or realistic hope of attaining an athletic scholarship.

In the summer of 2006, when Marshall was accepted into the Sycamores’ fold, he was just another walk-on trying to carry his load. It’s important to keep that in mind when you flash forward to the 2008 off-season.

As ISU transitions into coach Kevin McKenna’s second season in charge, Marshall is positioning himself as one of the leaders of the program. It’s a role he desired and sought out as soon as former guard Gabe Moore’s eligibility expired.

“I felt like it was important [to demonstrate a leadership role] as soon as the conference tourney was over. We graduated our seniors, I felt like when Gabe and Todd [McCoy] stepped off for the last time in St. Louis, it was my time to be the leader,” Marshall said.

“I’ve told the recruits I want to be a leader, I want to show everybody involved with this team that I can lead.”

It’s a role befitting one of the most intelligent players on the ISU roster. So far, Marshall’s leadership has been most felt in recruiting.

Even though Marshall was never recruited by any school himself, he is now the go-to player when it comes to hosting ISU’s would-be recruits on campus visits. Even though no Division I program deemed him worthy of an athletic scholarship, he is the player ISU trusts to convince would-be Sycamores their name should be on the dotted line of an ISU letter of intent.

“He’s meant a lot to us in terms of leadership. We had a lot of freshman last year and he had a lot of influence on them. He’s a good host when we do have recruits on campus,” McKenna said. “And he’s a fun guy to be around.”

Marshall has hosted several visits this spring. It’s a role he said he was comfortable with right away because he was used to having a leadership role when he played at Owen Valley. Marshall said he’s worked his pitch down to a science.

“We’re trying to do something here, we’re trying to turn this university and basketball program. You have to believe in the coaching staff and believe in each other” said Marshall, when asked what he tries to impart to recruits. “I tell them about the coaches, I tell them about the way we want to give up ourselves on the defensive end. I tell them it isn’t going to be easy, we have a tough preseason schedule (Louisville, DePaul and Purdue) and it doesn’t get any better in the conference, it’s going to be hard, but if you’re ready to work hard and give up yourself, you can do well here.”

It’s no coincidence that Marshall’s pitch echoes his own experiences in a Sycamore uniform. Waltman might not have offered Marshall an athletic scholarship — he enrolled at ISU on a 21st Century academic scholarship — but it didn’t take long for him to catch on to Marshall’s work ethic and defensive ability. Marshall found himself in ISU’s rotation in short order, playing mostly as a defensive specialist his freshman season, Marshall averaged 15.7 minutes and 3.1 points per game.

The performance helped Marshall earn an athletic scholarship for one season when McKenna took over last March and Marshall’s scholarship status was briefly revisited again at the end of the year. ISU’s coaches quickly embraced the notion that Marshall’s progression as a player not only warranted Marshall keeping his scholarship, but that his leadership skills demanded it.

“He’s earned that. He’s worked hard, he’s developed into a solid player at our level because of his hard work,” McKenna said.

For Marshall, the athletic scholarship was validation for his hard work and it boosted his pride knowing that he had proved wrong those who ignored his abilities in high school.

“It’s a goal I wanted from the start since I didn’t go to a junior college and I came here as a walk-on and not knowing whether I’d play or even dress. It’s motivation for me to show everyone I can do more than what people thought I could,” Marshall said.

Even so, Marshall still felt there was plenty of room for improvement in his game. He shot just 20.8 percent from 3-point range and 53.3 percent from the line his freshman year.

After some early season tweaking, McKenna’s spread offense ended up suiting Marshall’s talents perfectly once he was teamed with Moore in the backcourt against Purdue on Dec. 1. Marshall befuddled the Boilermakers’ defense, scoring a season-high 20 points to help the Sycamores remain competitive into the final minutes.

Marshall became ISU’s go-to penetrator, creating opportunities for his teammates when help defense closed on him or creating shots for himself.

Never was this more evident than ISU’s 64-62 double overtime victory over Southern Illinois on Jan. 12 at Hulman Center. The Salukis led by 10 early in the second half, and against SIU’s suffocating defense, that’s often a fatal margin to overcome. Marshall took it upon himself to break the Salukis down and create shots off penetration. Ironically, his 1 of 9 shooting from the field was his worst of the season, but his willingness to drive gave him the chance to make 14 of 19 at the line, sparking the Sycamores in what became a thrilling upset.

“That’s really my coaches seeing what I can do. They put me in a position every game to drive and make things happen,” Marshall said.

The defense has always been there. And Marshall, just 6-foot-0, was often the go-to defender against anyone from the one-to-the three position, despite Marshall giving up inches to most of his opponents.

“I think Harry’s best attribute is he was really steady. I told guys all year that they’d play if they were a good defender. He’s guarded Gabe in practice and I felt as we went on, he blossomed offensively. He was attentive, vocal, a good leader and as he went along, he got more confident. That’s what good guys do for a team,” McKenna said.

Marshall ended up starting 25 games and averaged 10.1 points, good for third on the team behind Moore and Stinson. He was also third in minutes at 29.4 per game.

Marshall also drastically improved both his 3-point shooting (32.3 percent) and free throw shooting (74.4 percent), getting to the line more than all of the other Sycamores save Moore.

As he moves from surprise to expected contributor next season, Marshall has even bigger goals in mind. He will very likely move into Moore’s starting spot at point guard, but will also still get time at the two-spot when Rashad Reed and Tyler Cutter see action.

“Defensively my role will be the same, I’m the communicator, I’m the person at the center of the full-court pressure,” Marshall said. “On offense, as far as me playing the point, I’m not as good as Gabe yet, but after playing with Gabe and [former ISU guard Michael] Menser in some open gyms, I’ve learned some tricks of the trade. I know I have to work on my ball-handling and 3-point shooting — I’m trying to get to where I shoot 40 percent from 3-point range and 45 percent overall. When I move over to the two, I’ll go back to last year, I’ll drive and make plays, but really I want to be unselfish for my teammates.”

Marshall’s rise from walk-on to scholarship athlete to team leader is a Cinderella story of sorts, but Marshall has never felt like he wore a glass slipper or that the clock would ever strike midnight so long as he worked hard.

“Getting here was the goal for me. It surprises me, but it doesn’t surprise, because I know the work ethic I have and I know where I want to go with it. I know that I’m well-rounded, and I just feel like I’m good for this team,” Marshall said.

        

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