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3/29/12

Roy Williams loves Iowa

McDonald's All-American notes | Paige keeps Iowa pipeline going for Roy Williams

 

Marcus Paige joins a short, but highly successful line of players who have been a big part of Roy Williams' success at Kansas and North Carolina.

The 6-foot-1 Paige isn't from Chicago or hotbed recruiting states like California or New York. He's from Iowa and he is Williams' fifth signee from the state.
"(Coach Williams) has got a lot of big-time guys coming out of Iowa," Paige said. "Hopefully I can follow in the steps that these guys have taken with Harrison (Barnes) soon going to the NBA. They'll all have played in the NBA then. That would be a dream of mine some day."

Those footsteps include the likes of Raef LaFrentz, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich at Kansas, and Barnes at North Carolina. LaFrentz, Collison and Hinrich all had their jerseys retired at Kansas.

"I don't think people (in Iowa) like him very much," Paige said of Williams. "I see how well Coach has done with Iowa kids. We're kind of underrated as a basketball state. We get overlooked."