Coach Bill's EYBL Evaluations: Marcus Paige & Archie Goodwin

Posted Apr 12, 2011
Basketball recruiting analyst/evaluator and Tar Heel Times correspondent Coach Bill spent the weekend at the Nike EYBL basketball event in Hampton, Va. over the weekend and sent in the following report:

Marcus Paige was definitely affected by a recent but not major knee injury (meniscus). I talked with him multiple times this weekend after games and he was admittedly tentative at times, but made no excuses. While he didn't make jumpshots (3-pointers and pull-ups) with his normal high percentage, he once again showed the capacity to get those shots off at anytime and against any defender. He showed one impressive clutch burst up the court for a buzzer-beating layup to pullout a win for his All-Iowa Attack team, along with one very athletic/acrobatic finish on a drive a physical New York City-based team.

Through the weekend he also continued to display advanced competency for running a team and creating scoring opportunities for teammates, although he had a couple more turnovers per game than is his norm. He is usually elite level in that area.

Many UNC message board fans are already aware of my affinity for Archie Goodwin, and he's continually getting better, imposing his will and consistently proving to be impossible to keep out of the lane and away from the rim. Archie is simply one of the best in the country in the open court with his athleticism, almost assured of a layup/dunk, foul or nifty drop-off pass to a teammate. He is the perimeter version of Tyler Hansbrough as far as volume of trips to free throw line...and relentlessly attacks the rim no matter how many times he gets punished (fouls, knocked down, etc).

I also really like the development of his shooting stroke (mechanics) and fully expect more consistency to come with more time and reps. Once he gets more maturity in adding more pull-ups and a few less forced drives. He should be a true offensive force as a wing scorer.