Kendall Marshall, the University of North Carolina's most recent basketball recruit, was ranked the top fifth-grade basketball player in the country by Sports Illustrated a few years ago.

"Whatever that means," Arlington (Va.) O'Connell coach Joe Wootten said, laughing as he mentioned it.

The meaning is unclear, but it does point out that potential college players are being identified earlier and earlier.

UNC took a commitment from Marshall, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound point guard at O'Connell, on Wednesday.

N.C. State accepted a verbal commitment from 6-foot-8 15-year-old C.J. Leslie of Raleigh last June.

When they committed, both players were lacking their final three years of high school basketball, not to mention their driver's licenses.

But they are unusual talents.

Leslie is tall and runs and jumps well. Scout.com ranks him No. 19 in the Class of 2010.

Marshall already is an established floor leader. Scout.com has him at No. 5 in the Class of 2010.

"You'd never guess that Marshall was a freshman last year," said Dave Telep, national recruiting director for Scout.com.

"You look at him on the floor, and he looks very polished."

O'Connell, which started two freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors last year, won 17 games and played for the Virginia independent schools state championship.

Marshall was a big part of the team's success, although Wootten said Marshall looked like a freshman for much of the early season.

"He was learning to play with his new body," Wootten said. "He was 5-11 as an eighth-grader and shot up."

Telep said Marshall did a different kind of growing from the end of his freshman year.

"Kendall had a phenomenal summer," Telep said. "He knows how to lead a team."

Wootten said Marshall has a point guard's mentality. If his team needs a basket, Marshall is trying to get someone an easy shot, not necessarily finding a shot himself.

"He still has things to work on, of course," Wootten said. "He's just a sophomore. He needs to play lower, he is too upright now.

"There's other things, too, but he has worked very hard and can be very good."

Marshall was a well-known commodity by January. Coaches who scouted O'Connell to see other players, like 6-2 Georgetown recruit Jason Clark, often talked about Marshall.

One coach saw him in the spring of 2006 and couldn't believe he was an eighth-grader.

North Carolina has been Marshall's favorite school for quite a while, and the Tar Heels' Marcus Ginyard played a role in Marshall's decision.

Marshall recently showed Wootten a picture of Ginyard while he played at O'Connell. Marshall is sitting in the background.

"Kendall grew up as an O'Connell fan," Wootten said.

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