UNLV’s Marshall has renewed confidence in jump shot

“At the same time,” Marshall said, “if I were them and saw some of my shooting percentages, I would, too.”

Meet commonplace in today’s world of baskets. Marshall is an ultra-athletic junior guard for UNLV, a player who is quick and fast and strong and grew up with a mindset of getting to the rim.

He is like countless players who are so good off the dribble, so able to create for himself and others, so at ease with attacking the basket, that such an aggressive nature over time has led to a jump shot rarely described as reliable.

The Rebels are ranked 17th nationally and end their nonconference portion of the schedule tonight at Cal State Bakersfield, where you figure the Roadrunners might adopt similar tactics as others who have defended Marshall this season and in past ones.

Which is to say respect the drive first, close out short and dare him to make jumpers.

Texas-El Paso did so, and Marshall scored 20 on 6-of-12 shooting; California did, and he scored 22 on 9-of-16 shooting; Hawaii did, and he scored 19 on an 8-of-15 effort. Others have done so and also been burned.

Some haven’t been burned at all.

It’s not disrespectful. It’s smart coaching.

You can’t deny everything when defending a UNLV team that averages nearly 81 points, and when a senior such as Chace Stanback is shooting 50 percent on 3-pointers and a sophomore such as Mike Moser averages 14 points and 11 rebounds, allowing Marshall to shoot long jumpers becomes a necessary risk for opponents.

His career numbers — 45 percent from the field but just 19.8 percent on 116 attempts from 3-point range — dictate such a sagging approach. He can get by most anyone off the dribble and has improved his midrange game each season at UNLV, so why wouldn’t others allow him space from distance?

“He’s a mentally tough kid who is grasping (coach Dave Rice’s) philosophy of if you’re open shoot it, unless someone is wide open, and then pass it,” Rebels associate head coach Justin Hutson said. “When I was (an assistant at San Diego State) we would play the drive first (against Marshall). But if he hit a couple shots, all bets were off.

“He has worked a lot on his shot, put in a lot of time. He’s not going out there just hoping they’ll go in. It’s all about time and confidence, and the confidence comes from being in the gym and putting in the time. That will lead to people having to play him more honest. He’s a pretty good shooter. Good hand-eye coordination, pretty good form, nice touch. He has a chance to become a real good shooter.”

And yet if he misses six straight jumpers but is open the next time down court?

“Then he better shoot it,” Hutson said, “or (Rice) is taking him out of the game.”

Marshall thinks back to his freshman season, to when he was 1 of 23 on 3s, and remembers all that wasn’t right with his shot. His feet were a mess, his elbow out of place, his shooting hand not placed correctly on the ball, his mechanics all off. There was no rhythm to his jumper, no sense of flow.

He’s much better now, convinced that when he rises to shoot, good things will happen. He has found more of a balance between not falling in love with jumpers should a few go in early to not forgetting that when he attacks the basket, things like him getting to the free-throw line as an 81 percent shooter or finding teammates for one of his 82 assists this season occur.

“I can’t even tell you how many shots (in practice) I’ve put up since being here,” said Marshall, averaging 10.5 points this season. “Before practice. After practice. By myself. With someone rebounding for me. Days worth of shots. I’ve really struggled with my 3-point shot, but I’ve become a smarter player in terms of mixing the (drive) and shooting it.

“I can get a lot better. I’ve never let (missing shots) get in my head, because I know there are a lot of other things I can do to help my team. I believe I’m a good shooter. I know I am. I believe I can be a great one. I know I can.”

So does UTEP and Cal and Hawaii and others who played drive first, closed out short and dared him to shoot.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday on “Monsters of the Midday,” Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.