While there are several different approaches, it’s fair to say that recruiting has plenty of flaws. Some highly touted prospects are destined to fail while completely overlooked players end up thriving or outperforming expectations. These examples range from all levels and include legitimately every type of player imaginable. That being said, it’s difficult to try and understand how someone like Jordan Marsh goes largely unnoticed by college coaches throughout his high school career. Now at UNC Asheville, he’s quickly transitioned into one of the most productive players in college basketball. Let’s take a deeper dive into how this occurred…
After multiple highly productive seasons of being the focal point for Hickory Ridge, Marsh opted to play the summer with EA Prep before joining Moravian Prep for his senior year. Although he received an offer from Catawba in June, the crafty, explosive lead guard didn’t have a ton of traction with college coaches. Marsh basically played his entire senior season before earning scholarships from South Carolina State and George Mason in late February 2023. Shortly thereafter, he received an Appalachian State offer and committed four days later.
Marsh joined the Mountaineers and quickly proved to be an asset. Although his per-game averages of 6.2 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 1.3 APG (in 11.6 MPG) don’t necessarily pop off the page, anyone who watched this group knows the value he brought to the team. From afar, it appeared Marsh was poised to transition into a leadership role for this group. Instead, he hit the portal and chose to further his playing career at UNC Asheville. The move paid dividends immediately for both sides. The Bulldogs found a young foundational piece and Marsh is putting up insane statistics for a winning team. He’s averaging 17.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 1.4 SPG with 46/30/86 shooting splits. In addition to the raw numbers, Marsh’s advanced metrics are equally impressive. During his last seven games, Marsh has shifted to 24.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 1.3 SPG with 52/37/83 shooting splits (and two 30-point performances). Given everything he’s shown, it feels like Marsh is poised to be one of the more productive players in college basketball over the foreseeable future.