Former Tarheel legend Marcus Paige joining UNC basketball coaching staff

Former North Carolina legend Marcus Paige is coming back to Chapel Hill. The former second team All-American decided to join Hubert Davis and the UNC men’s basketball coaching staff on Wednesday afternoon. Paige will be working as the Director of Player and Team Development with North Carolina. He will be replacing the void left by Jackie Manuel, who recently left the staff to become an assistant with American University. Manuel’s responsibilities included video services, career development, and coaching the UNC junior varsity basketball team.

Marcus Paige played for North Carolina under Roy Williams from 2012-2016, immediately starting as a freshman. He wrapped up a prolific career at UNC with 139 career starts. He still ranks as the Tarheels’ all-time leader in three pointers made (299), attempts (798), consecutive games made with a made three-pointer (41), and three-pointers made in the NCAA Tournament (39). The last three-pointer he made during his time at UNC was undoubtedly one of the most unforgettable images of Carolina basketball history; a double-clutch three in the final seconds of the 2016 National Championship game against Villanova. The shot tied the game, even though Villanova ultimately won the game on a buzzer-beater by sharpshooter Kris Jenkins.

Paige’s No. 5 jersey is hanging in the rafters at the Dean Smith Center due to earning second team All-American honors during his sophomore year. An excellent student, he also earned Academic All-American honors three times. Paige also won the Skip Prosser Award, given to the ACC’s top scholar-athlete in basketball, two times.

His sophomore season at North Carolina when he earned second-team All-American honors, he averaged 17.5 points per game and 4.2 assists per game. He led UNC in scoring and ranked fourth in that stat category. Paige also led the ACC in free throw percentage (87.7%), becoming the first player in UNC basketball history to do so since Shammond Williams did it in 1998.

His junior season in 2014-2015, Paige led the team in scoring (14.1 points per game), three-pointers (career-high 94), assists (career-high 170), and steals (career-high 65). He also ranked second on the team in free throw percentage.

Coming out of Lin-Marr High School in Marion, Iowa, Paige was one of the most highly regarded prospects in the nation in the 2012 cycle. He earned McDonald’s All-American honors and was also named Mr. Basketball for the state of Iowa in 2012. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, he was rated as the No. 34 overall prospect in America and a four-star recruit.