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Former Pitt guard K.J. Marshall recently decided to continue his collegiate career at the junior college level, as he completed a transfer to Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, on Tuesday. Cole Dewey, the JUCO program’s head coach, announced that Garden City had signed Marshall in a message posted on Twitter, and the guard was removed from Pitt's roster on Wednesday morning.
Excited to announce the signing of 5’10 PG KJ Marshall!@kjthegeneral is a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh. KJ also started for NC powerhouse Trinity Christian Academy all 4 years and won 2 state championships.
— Cole Dewey (@CoachDewey0) May 26, 2020
Welcome to #BusterNation KJ!https://t.co/bbREcapAGZ pic.twitter.com/BqeTrI55eq
Marshall spent the 2019-20 season at Pitt and played a limited role on the team as a backup guard. During his lone season in Pittsburgh, Marshall saw action in six games but was only on the court for a total of nine minutes. As a result, he only managed to log two points, one rebound and one steal during his time at Pitt.
The 5’9”, 165-pound athlete joined Jeff Capel’s program as a walk-on after a standout high school career in which he scored over 1,000 points and won two state championships at Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. However, despite his success at the high school level, Marshall drew little interest from high-major programs and opted to attend Pitt without a scholarship offer.
Upon his arrival at Pitt last July, Marshall appeared to have opportunities ahead of him, as Xavier Johnson had expressed an interest in going pro and Ithiel Horton had yet to transfer from Delaware. However, Johnson remains Pitt’s starting point guard, and Horton is set to join him in the Panthers backcourt next season along with 2020 signee Femi Odukale. So Marshall was highly likely to remain in a backup role if he stayed in Pittsburgh.
At Garden City, Marshall should have a significantly better shot at playing time, as the program went 9-22 last season and is being rebuilt by Dewey, who is in his first year as the Broncbusters' coach. Dewey has two years of head coaching experience and recently posted two 20-win seasons as the coach at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado.
The exact role Marshall will serve in Dewey’s system has yet to be made clear, but given his status as a two-time state title winner and a former walk-on at an ACC program, he may be looked to as a leader at the JUCO level.