Marble Sparks No. 11 Eagles to Easy Win
MetroSportsReport.com
When your last name is Marble and you play basketball in the state of Iowa, people expect you to be really good.
That's perfectly OK with Carlo Marble, whose father and older brother both starred for the Iowa Hawkeyes during their college careers.
"I think it's a challenge," he said Wednesday night, "and I like challenges."
Marble scored 19 points and played a strong all-around game as the 11th-ranked Kirkwood Eagles rolled by Little Priest Tribal College, 89-58, in a non-conference affair at Johnson Hall.
Roy Marble, Carlo's father, scored 2,116 points for the Hawkeyes from 1985 through 1989 and is the leading scorer in school history. He was an exciting player to watch and a first-round NBA draft pick in 1989.
Sadly, Roy Marble died from cancer in 2015 when he was 48.
Roy "Devyn" Marble, Carlo's older brother, scored 1,675 points during his University of Iowa career and was a second-round NBA draft pick in 2014. He's now recovering from a knee injury after playing pro ball in Greece and Italy.
Carlo Marble, by contrast, is toiling in relative obscurity for the Kirkwood Eagles, coming off the bench for the most part and averaging 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
He's not worried about trying to be the next Roy Marble or the next Devyn Marble, which would be extremely difficult for anyone. He's simply proud of being a Marble and glad he grew up in a basketball family.
"It was great, because it gave me somebody to look up to and see how they played the game," said Marble, a 6-foot-5 sophomore. "I could add to what they did to my game.
"It's great. It was really great," he said. "There's no pressure. I don't feel the pressure."
Devyn Marble grew up in Michigan and Carlo Marble grew up in Iowa, starring at West Des Moines Valley High School. Even though they lived in different states and are about five years apart, they managed to spend time together.
"We still had a close relationship, and when I was younger I used to go to his games over Christmas break," Carlo said. "It was good seeing him."
As Carlo got bigger and stronger, he tried to challenge his talented older brother on the court. "I still haven't beaten him," he said with a smile. "He's a good player."
Roy Marble and Devyn Marble became the first father/son combo to score more than 1,000 points apiece in the Big Ten. That would cast quite a shadow on anyone, especially since they both played at Iowa.
"It's not like his brother and dad were good players at the University of Texas," said Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen. "I think that's a tough situation to be in, but he handles it pretty well."
Marble played some of the best basketball of his college career during the first half Wednesday. He began his flurry with a steal and layup, then made three straight 3-pointers in the space of a few minutes as Kirkwood took control of the game.
His high-arching triples made it 22-10, 25-10 and 31-10 and fueled a 22-0 spurt that gave the Eagles a commanding lead at 36-10. He also excelled on defense, pounded the backboards and dove for loose balls.
"I thought he played with really good energy," said Petersen. "He played hard and was very active. Obviously he made shots, but I was happier with his activity on the defensive end and rebounding. And he got his hands on a few loose balls.
"We need more consistency out of him, but tonight was one of his best games," Petersen added. "When Carlo really plays hard and lets the game come to him, he can be a pretty good player and that's what he was tonight."
Marble has not decided where he'll play basketball next year, saying he'll worry about that later. "I'm just worrying about the season right now and becoming a better team," he remarked.
Kirkwood raised its record to 14-4 with its sixth victory in a row. The Eagles lead the ICCAC conference at 3-0 and will host Southwestern Saturday afternoon.
Doug Wilson collected 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots for Kirkwood. Tajen Ross scored 13 points, Bailey Kale had 11 points and Kyle Arrington grabbed 10 rebounds.
Jordan Oliver scored 18 points for the visitors, who fell to 11-11 for the campaign. Little Priest Tribal College, located in Sioux City, will be joining Kirkwood in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference next season in men's basketball and women's basketball.
LITTLE PRIEST (58): Steinbronn 2 3-4 8, Burnside 1 5-6 7, Dunlap 3 1-2 8, Oliver 7 3-4 18, Yazzie 0 0-0 0, Washington 0 1-2 1, King 1 3-4 6, Brown 1 0-0 2, Gresham 2 4-6 8, Winishut 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 20-28 58.
KIRKWOOD (89): Stansbury 1 3-3 5, Kale 4 1-2 11, Meeker 3 0-0 8, Wilson 6 1-4 13, Arrington 1 2-6 4, Small 1 0-0 3, Ross 3 6-6 13, King 2 0-0 6, Marble 6 4-4 19, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Johnson 2 0-0 4, Storey 1 0-0 3. Totals 30 17-25 89.
Halftime - Kirkwood 51, Little Priest 24. 3-point goals - Little Priest 4 (Steinbronn 1, Dunlap 1, Oliver 1, King 1), Kirkwood 12 (Marble 3, Kale 2, Meeker 2, King 2, Small 1, Ross 1, Storey 1).
