Marcus Paige eyes spot among UNC greats

During the North Carolina’s men’s basketball team’s media day on Oct. 12, Coach Roy Williams made it very clear how important it was to have a healthy Marcus Paige.

The senior point guard battled through plantar fasciitis for much of his junior year and underwent ankle surgery immediately after the season. By August practices, it appeared Paige and UNC were in the clear.

“Knock on wood,” Williams said. “He’s healthier than he’s been in a while.”

But for Paige, Williams and the top-ranked Tar Heels, knocking on wood didn’t pay off.

Just over three weeks later, during a Nov. 3 practice, Paige fractured the third metacarpal on his right, non-shooting hand — forcing him to sit out the first two to three weeks of the season.

That’s no minor loss. The ACC Preseason Co-Player of the Year is UNC’s unquestioned leader, on and off the court.

“I’m just trying to do all the little things that he did as a leader,” said senior forward Brice Johnson. “I’ve been paying attention for the past couple of years, and I know I’m not the best leader on the team, but I’m just trying to fill that void until he gets back.”

During the 2014-15 season, despite a slow start and nagging injuries, Paige managed to lead the team in scoring (14.1 points per game), 3-pointers (career-high 94) and assists (career-high 170). He was the team’s MVP for the second consecutive year and the team’s defensive player of the year for the third straight year.

It’s certainly not a stretch to say the Tar Heels revolve around Marcus Paige.

But they are going to have to start the year without him. And that means everyone else is going to have to be a little bit better, something Paige is expecting and something the Tar Heels will need in order to make it to the Final Four — anything less is, according to Paige, “Just not meeting what we think we’re capable of.”

“This team has talent and experience,” Paige said. “And we did last year, but this year I feel like our core guys that were freshmen aren’t freshman anymore, so that kind of helps. And everybody else is a little bit better too.”

The good news is Paige will be back and that a fractured hand should linger less than his injuries did a season ago.

And once he does come back, we could see the best version of Marcus Paige we’ve seen yet — because this is his last year to run the Smith Center floor.

“I’m old now,” Paige said. “So there’s no next year at Carolina for me ... It would mean a lot (to win some championships). It would complete a lot of what I came here to do. Just be a part of something bigger than myself.”

“It would be weird to come back and not see myself as a part of one of these team accomplishments that hang around the gym. I feel like we kind of need to — I know I need to, or else I’m going to drive myself crazy after I graduate.”

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com