Rawle Marshall had a long journey to the NBA. Born in Guyana, he began his college career at Ball State before transferring to Oakland University. He was named MCC Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2003, MCC conference tourney MVP in 2005, and graduated as the school’s all-time leader with 101 BLK. He later played a couple of years in the NBA before heading overseas to play pro basketball for a decade. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with former Oakland SID Max King about Rawle being a great defender and making the NBA. Today is Rawle’s 41st birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
(photo credit: draftexpress.com)
In 2003 Rawle was named conference DPOY: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? Coach Greg Kampe’s teams are typically known for their offense so to be a DPOY is not something that was talked about a lot but it still had a pride factor. It showed how good a player he was on both sides of the ball.
He led the conference in SPG in 2003 and in PPG in 2005: how was he able to balance his offense with his defense? Just using his size: he had great length. He was not the strongest player but had a great motor, which really helped him.
He graduated as the all-time leading shot-blocker in school history (101) despite only playing 90 games: what was his secret for playing good defense? He was a great athlete who could get above the rim. He also had good timing/recognition to block shots.
Take me through the magical 2005 MCC tourney:
Despite entering the tourney as the #7 seed with a record of 9-18, the Grizzlies had a 4-PT win over UMKC, a 3-PT win over Chicago State, and a 1-PT win over #1 seed Oral Roberts in the title game thanks to a 3-PT shot by Pierre Dukes with 1.3 seconds left (his only shot of the 2nd half): how big a deal was it to win the 1st-ever MCC tourney title in school history? It was a wild couple of days for Oakland basketball. Pierre actually left the team at 1 point because he did not feel like playing any more but Coach asked him to come back because they needed the depth. Thank God he did because he hit 1 of the biggest shots in school history!
Marshall scored 18 PTS in the title game en route to being named conference tourney MVP: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? Big-time players make big-time plays when they need to. He was a leader of that team and helped us string together some good wins. It just snowballed and it was contagious as they tried to continue that momentum.
He finished his college career at the 2005 Final 4 as part of the NCAA Dunk Contest: how good of a dunker was he back in the day? I remember that he was not afraid to attack the rim and did not back down from anyone. You need to have that mindset if you are a great dunker.
He was not selected during the 2005 NBA Draft but played so well in the summer league that Dallas eventually signed him to a 1-year contract: what did it mean to him to become an NBA player? It was huge! He is a player of many “firsts” for Oakland: 1st NBA player, 1st NCAA tourney, 1st tourney win, etc. He helped put Oakland on the map.
He spent most of the following decade playing pro basketball overseas: how proud are you of all that he has accomplished? He is a great ambassador for the team and paved the way for the guys who came after him. He is a great example that putting in the work can pay off.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As a trailblazer: his list of “firsts” is so long. They had only been in D-1 for a couple of years before he arrived and he helped put a stamp on the program.