Mountain West Basketball Countdown: #8 - Marcus Marshall

Former Missouri State transfer Marcus Marshall is ranked #8 in the Mountain West Basketball Top 25 Countdown.

Marshall, who spent his first three seasons at Missouri State, transferred to Nevada and sat out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA eligibility rules. Now with the Wolf Pack, head coach Eric Musselman will hope the talented guard can help guide Nevada into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

What Marshall brings to Nevada is elite perimeter scoring, a facet of the Wolf Pack’s game that was appalling last season - 342nd in three-point shooting percentage (29.1%) and 341st in total point distribution off of three-pointers (20.4%). Marshall scorched the nets as a Bear, converting 45.6% off his triples in 2014-15. He also averaged 19.5 points per game in his junior season.

The biggest question mark this season for Marshall is whether or not he will be able to stay on the court. Marshall played in 32 of 33 games as a freshman at Missouri State, but a torn meniscus as a sophomore and a season-ending suspension as a junior prompted Marshall to miss 38 games in his last two years at Missouri State. The suspension was officially reported as “conduct detrimental to the team,” which most believe was an argument with head coach Paul Lusk. As a result of these two season-enders and last year’s transfer, Marshall hasn’t played a game later than January 11 since 2013.

This is a boom-or-bust season for Marshall the Wolf Pack. Nevada has the potential to compete for a Mountain West title if Marshall can produce on the perimeter, but an ineffective or distracting season from Marshall would be costly to UNR. On pure talent alone, Marshall is a top 10 player in the conference.

Running Order:

• 8: Marcus Marshall, Nevada
• 9: Jeremy Hemsley, San Diego State
• 10: Nick Duncan, Boise State
• 11: Jason McManamen, Wyoming
• 12: Hayden Graham, Air Force
• 13: Malik Pope, San Diego State
• 14: D.J. Fenner, Nevada
• 15: Brandon Clarke, San Jose State
• 16: Karachi Edo, Fresno State
• 17: Lindsey Drew, Nevada
• 18: Cullen Russo, Fresno State
• 19: Zylan Cheatham, San Diego State
• 20: Trevor Lyons, Air Force
• 21: Chandler Hutchison, Boise State
• 22: Alan Herndon, Wyoming
• 23: Paris Austin, Boise State
• 24: Shane Rector, Utah State
• 25: Koby McEwen, Utah State