Dec. 22, 2011
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Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in the University of Iowa’s Hawk Talk Daily, an e-newsletter that offers a daily look at the Iowa Hawkeyes, delivered free each morning to thousands of fans of the Hawkeyes worldwide.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Players say when the game “slows down” their production tends to go up. University of Iowa sophomore men’s basketball player Roy Devyn Marble is seeing the effects of the game coming to a standstill.
Marble has emerged as one of Iowa’s top players over the past month. He has reached double figures in scoring in 8-of-9 games, averaging 11.8 points and 3.4 assists per game.
“I feel like people are playing at my pace now, and I am using that to my advantage,” said Marble, a 6-foot-6 combo guard from Michigan. “I am making them play at my pace, whether I want to speed them up or slow them down.”
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“If he makes a mistake, he plays through it, and that’s probably the best quality he has. He doesn’t rattle when things aren’t going well for our team or him. He comes back and tries to impact the team in a positive way and that rubs off on everyone else. There’s definite confidence on behalf of the other players that he can run our club.”
UI head coach Fran McCaffery
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Since being inserted into the starting lineup on Dec. 6 at Northern Iowa, Marble’s production has been even better. He is averaging 16.0 points on 20-of-35 shooting, while averaging five assists per game.
Marble scored 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting in his first start at Northern Iowa. He followed it up with a career high 21 points, making 5-of-12 field goals and 10-of-11 free throws at Iowa State, and he finished with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with six assists and three rebounds in 23 minutes against Central Arkansas.
Over the past three games, Marble has made 23-of-26 free throws to improve his season free throw percentage to 77.8 percent. As a freshman, he shot just 53 percent from the charity stripe.
“We saw last year what he’s doing now,” said UI head coach Fran McCaffery. “He’s taken that step and he’s much more consistent. What you’re seeing is a much more mature player. It’s good for us, good for him.”
Marble’s calmness, even in times of adversity, is one of the traits that impress McCaffery the most.
“If he makes a mistake, he plays through it, and that’s probably the best quality he has,” said McCaffery. “He doesn’t rattle when things aren’t going well for our team or him. He comes back and tries to impact the team in a positive way and that rubs off on everyone else. There’s definite confidence on behalf of the other players that he can run our club.”
McCaffery isn’t surprised by Marble’s production, and he sees Marble playing with the confidence of a player that expects performances on a night in, night out basis.
“He sort of expects it from himself,” said McCaffery. “That’s the critical part that I think every player has to get to at some point.”
Marble and the Hawkeyes return to action tonight on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, hosting Boise State at 7:30 p.m. (CT). The Broncos are 9-3 overall, but 0-3 in road games on the year.
The UI women’s basketball team hosts Mississippi Valley State in the opening game of the doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. (CT).