Clemson Basketball Great Grayson Marshall Is An ACC Legend
Former Clemson Tiger point guard Grayson Marshall is an ACC Legend. Marshall was selected to be in the ACC 2016 Legends Class.
About a month ago, the ACC announced the 2016 Legends class and Grayson Marshall(1984-88) was selected along with the others on the list below.
Derrick Coleman, Syracuse
Adrian Dantley, Notre Dame
BJ Elder, Georgia Tech
Rowland Garrett, Florida State
Darrell Griffith, Louisville
Jim Hooley, Boston College
Norman Nolan, Virginia
Dave Odom, Wake Forest
Howard Pardue, Virginia Tech
John Salmons, Miami
Charles Smith, Pittsburgh
Anthony “Spud” Webb, NC State
Jay Williams, Duke
James Worthy, North Carolina
On Friday, March 11th during the ACC tournament, Marshall and the other Legends were honored with a luncheon and introduced at halftime of the North Carolina vs Notre Dame semifinal game. Marshall is a Washington, DC native, who played at St. John’s College High School, so being honored at the Verizon Center in DC was very special to him.
During his junior year at Clemson, he missed out on playing in the ACC Tournament which was held at the Capitol Center(Washington, DC) that year, because of a sprained ankle. Although he will never forget that missed opportunity, the timing and family members in attendance on Friday more than made up for it. He said,
“My dad died in 2007, so obviously he couldn’t be there, but my mom and sister were there. My mom and my sister are my biggest fans and they walked that whole thing with me. It was unique and fitting for them to be there, because they kind of saw it all. My wife and kids-I’m just dad and husband to them, so it was kind of neat for them to be there and see it too.”
Marshall really enjoyed the recognition on Friday and also being recognized with such great players of the ACC and the NBA.
"There is Dr. Dunkenstein(Darrell Griffith). You have me going in with Jay Williams, who was an unbelievable player at Duke, and it was unfortunate what happened with him when he got to the pros. But what a great college basketball player. You have me going in with Spud Webb, who went on to NBA fame and Slam Dunk fame. You got me going in with Adrian Dantley. Dantley and I used to play full court one-on-one at my high school gym. His Mom lived right across the fence from the school. James Worthy, a four time champ with the Lakers. And all of these guys have had storied careers."
Although he didn’t play in the NBA, Marshall left his mark at Clemson, in the ACC, and nationally. Here is a brief look at Grayson Marshall’s career via theacc.com:
Marshall remains the Tigers’ all-time career assist leader with 857, a total that is the fifth-most in ACC history and still ranks among the top 25 in the NCAA’s all-time record book. The Washington, D.C., native helped Clemson earn spots in postseason play each of his four seasons with the team, and he was a key member of the 1987 squad that set a school record for ACC wins in a season.
Marshall’s career included a 20-assist performance in a win over Maryland Eastern Shore during the 1985-86 season that ties for the most by an ACC player in a single game. He finished that season with 262 total assists, yet another Clemson all-time mark.
A 2009 Clemson Hall of Fame inductee, Marshall averaged a remarkable 7.0 assists per game during his 122-game career and is the Tigers’ career leader with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.47. Since his collegiate playing days ended, Marshall has enjoyed continued success as a high school basketball coach and an inspirational speaker.
Grayson Marshall is an ACC Legend, and he worked hard to earn that title through his play and believing in himself. He wants kids to know that, “Anything is possible.
I’m a living testimony to someone, because I was probably never believed by many to be able to be successful at Clemson. But that was my dream.
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That door opened and a door can open at any given time, don’t ever shut in. But it has to come from the faith and power that is inside of you. I think it’s the one thing, we have to get back to is believing in ourselves.”