ROCHESTER, Mich. — With another NBA Draft in the books, we continue to remind everyone of Oakland's rich history of producing basketball players who have played at the highest level.
Our final spotlight goes to Rawle Marshall, the first-ever Golden Grizzly to suit up in the NBA.
After a standout career at Mackenzie High School in Detroit, Marshall took his talents to Ball State in the Mid-American Conference. However, he transferred to Oakland after his freshman season, leaving him with three years of eligibility with the Golden Grizzlies.
Despite sitting out the 2001-02 season due to transferring, Marshall showed no rust in his debut year at OU, averaging 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.9 steals, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 34.8 minutes per game. His all-around play led to Mid-Continent Conference Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, along with First Team all-conference honors. In a tight-knit 71-65 loss at Texas A&M (12/2/02), Marshall proved his defensive prowess with a school-record 10 steals, the most by a Division I player during the year. Marshall also tallied a team-leading 41 blocks on the year, which stands seventh in single-season school history.
Marshall continued to excel on the court during the 2003-04 season, as he averaged 17.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. For the second-straight year, the junior tabbed All-MCC honors and became the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. He achieved the 1,000 point mark versus Purdue Fort Wayne (2/25/04).
As a senior, Marshall made history by leading the Golden Grizzlies to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in the Division I era. Marshall totaled 18 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in Oakland's upset victory over No. 1 seed Oral Roberts (3/8/05) in the Mid-Con Championship game. He was named Mid-Con Tournament MVP after OU's win. His top-notch play continued in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, where Oakland defeated Alabama A&M, 79-69. Marshall scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help OU to its first-ever NCAA Division I tournament victory.
Marshall improved in nearly every statistical category during the 2004-05 season, averaging 19.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 36.2 minutes per game. For the third-straight year, Marshall collected All-MCC honors. He ended his three-year career with 1,671 points, 199 steals, 208 assists, and 101 blocked shots. He currently ranks second in total steals, third in blocks per game (1.12), fifth in blocked shots, fifth in scoring average (18.57), sixth in minutes per game (35.3), and seventh in free throws (423) inside the OU career record book.
While Marshall did not hear his name called at the 2005 NBA Draft, he had the opportunity to showcase his talent in the NBA Summer League, which led to an eventual one-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
In his first year with the Mavericks, he appeared in 23 games, starting nine, and averaged 3.1 points and 1.3 rebounds for the Western Conference champions. He also spent time with Fort Worth Flyers in the NBA Development League, averaging 17.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 21 games.
During the 2006 offseason, Marshall was involved in a four-player trade that sent him to the Indiana Pacers. As a second-year pro with the Pacers, Marshall averaged 2.5 points in 40 games. Following the 2006-07 season, the lengthy forward continued his playing career overseas, where he competed for 14 different teams over 10 years. He was named league scoring champion on two occasions and won the Kazakh League Championship twice with BC Astana.
