Louisville Gets Their Shooter
The tale of Louisville’s season has been told from behind the three-point line. When the Cardinals shoot it well they can play with anyone in the nation. When the shots aren’t falling they can lose to teams far less talented. In fact, in the Cardinals 21 wins on the season they are shooting over 38% from behind the arc. But in their 6 losses they are shooting 26%.
With those types of numbers, it is no surprise that Rick Pitino and his staff went looking for a shooter. What they found was New England’s best.
It began last July when Richard Pitino (Rick’s younger son and assistant coach) watched Mike Marra knock down ten three-pointers as his Rhode Island Hawks AAU team defeated the New York Panthers at the Reebok Summer Classic East. Since that time the younger Pitino and Walter McCarty, another Louisville assistant and former NBA player, have been frequent visitors at Northfield Mount Hermon where Marra has shined every time they have been in the gym.
Louisville officially offered the sharp-shooter a scholarship earlier this season and then had him down around Christmas time for a visit. But Marra was still hesitant to officially commit to Louisville and end his recruitment because Head Coach Rick Pitino had yet to see him play in person.
“I’ve had the offer for a while,” Marra said. “But I wanted to get Coach Pitino to see me play before I did anything drastic.”
On Wednesday that happened, as Rick Pitino was in the Northfield Mount Hermon gym and saw NMH score an upset victory over Winchendon. Marra, who had gone for 10 three-pointers in a single game on two different occasions in recent weeks, was solid but not spectacular as he went 4 of 10 from behind the arc. Nevertheless, Louisville’s Head Coach was still impressed.
“He told me I have the best form that he’s seen in years, because it is natural and fluid,” Marra told the New England Recruiting Report. “They have a void that they think I can fill and I’m hoping to step in and make a big difference as a freshman.”
But Wednesday was simply icing on the cake for Marra as his relationship with Pitino has been growing rapidly as of late.
“I’ve only known him for a little while, but I have so much trust in him and know he’s the guy for me,” he said. “It just seems right because I know he will get the most out of me.”
That process has already begun as Pitino wasted no time in giving his future zone buster a to-do list.
“I need to continue to improve my upper body strength and lateral quickness on defense.” Marra said.
Marra is a reclassified junior at the Northfield Mount Hermon School who arrived this fall after having previously attended his hometown high school in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Mike Marra