NCAA Men's And Women's Basketball Tournaments -- `Other' Marshall Joins Big Dance -- When Donny Marshall Arrived At Connecticut From Federal Way, He Was Uncertain If He'd Fit In With The High-Powered Big East Team. He Adjusted, Then Thrived. `He Is The Soul Of This Team,' Says Uconn's All-American Donyell Marshall.

STORRS, Conn. - As far back as he can remember, Donny Marshall has had to be the man. Ready to rebound, willing to accept responsibility, able to adjust.

Even now, Marshall, a junior forward at the University of Connecticut, doesn't mind.

"Roles change," Marshall, 21, said last week. "People come and go. It never occurred to me I was in this for myself. I'm here to help."

Marshall, a prolific scorer at Federal Way High School from 1987-90, starts and averages 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds for the other Huskies, the Big East Conference regular-season champions and the No. 2 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. More important to UConn (27-4), he is a hard-working player able to instill his own self-assurance in those around him.

"He is the soul of this team," said junior forward Donyell Marshall, himself the Big East player of the year and a possible lottery pick if he enters the NBA draft in June. "We were down, so was the school. So was he. But he kept his head up. For us."

When Donny Marshall (not related to Donyell) signed with Connecticut, he was convinced he would quickly become a starter. He also vowed not to be outworked. Good thing.

"When I got here," he said, "and watched these guys play, I was worried. I'd been playing a different position (center) at a different level and saw I had to start over. So I did."

What impressed people was how fast Marshall made good on his first mandate.

"He's had a remarkable development," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun, whose club plays Rider tomorrow morning. "He came here with a two-foot jump shot, and he wasn't a good jumper. Now he's a focal point."

Marshall, who with Donyell Marshall, guards Kevin Ollie and Brian Fair, forward Rudy Johnson and center Nantambu Willingham made up one of the nation's top recruiting classes of 1991, started only once as a freshman. He averaged only 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 8.9 minutes. Even off the court he struggled, a West Coast kid dealing with an East Coast mentality. No one knew who he was. Worse, he was convinced, no one cared.

"It was rough," Marshall said. "I was so used to meeting people and saying hi. You walk down the street here, and you get that `What are you looking at?' look. I wasn't doing anyone any good. I had to get out."

Marshall left before summer session (he is on schedule to earn a marketing degree in the summer of 1995). He figured he could be more help to his mother in Federal Way. He was wrong. That summer, Bobbi Marshall married Al Alston, a longtime friend, and moved into Alston's home in Kent. Donny, who'd been calling Alston "Pops" for years, was happy for his mother - and for himself.

"I guess Donny always felt he had to look after his mom," said UConn assistant coach Howie Dickenman, who recruited Marshall away from Washington State. "Even though he was mature for his age, you could see it weighed on his mind."

Marshall's father left his mother soon after Donny was born. She raised Donny and his brother Buddy by herself, at times holding multiple jobs. But Buddy, seven years older, moved to Delaware when Donny was beginning high school. And his father, Donny said, never re-entered his son's life.

"It's OK," Marshall said. "Dealing with my dad taught me a lot about how pride can get in the way of what's important. Besides, Al's a beautiful man. A gift. He's really shown me we must all go on."

Early that summer, Marshall, helping teach at a basketball camp, was invited to watch the SuperSonic rookies prepare for an exhibition against the Brazilian national team at the Pro Sports Club in Bellevue. There, Marshall was asked if he wanted to work with the rookies. He did.

Soon, he was spending five hours a day, six days a week at the club. He practiced with the pros - Shawn Kemp, Detlef Schrempf and Xavier McDaniel.

Marshall took so much from the sessions, he returned last year. He plans to go back this summer.

"When he came back that first fall," Ollie said, "we knew something happened. He came alive."

Marshall started 22 of 28 games as a sophomore, averaging 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds. But despite its coveted recruiting class, UConn looked lost on its way to a 15-13 record, dropping its last five games. No one, it seemed, wanted to step up. Until Marshall spoke up.

"He told us we were afraid," said Fair. "Afraid to sacrifice our identities for the good of the team."

Marshall has started 33 straight games, and has played more minutes this season (29.2 average) than anyone else except Donyell Marshall and guard Doron Sheffer. Having improved his shot dramatically from last season, he has established career highs in nearly every offensive category. All this while banging inside against opposing teams' power forwards, which at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds he is not necessarily suited for, and which might not be his best path to a professional career.

"He's done everything they've asked of him," Georgetown Coach John Thompson said. "And done it well. My question? How good could he get if they saw him as a prospect rather than a solution?"

Marshall often has wondered about that, yet has done little - save for shooting 58 three-pointers this season - to force his fate.

He is content to go unnoticed, to tend to the little things that free the other Marshall to take the attention.

He doesn't see a change next season, even if Donyell leaves for the NBA.

"I do what the people around me need me to do," Donny said. "It may not always be fair to me, but good things happened when I focused on family first. I believe it will continue by putting my team first. My time will come. I'm willing to wait."

-------------------------------------------------------. Marshall Law.

The more Donny Marshall has played, the better a shooter he has become. .

'91-92 '92-93 '93-94. GP/started 27/1 28/22 31/31. . FG pct. 37.0 46.6 52.6. . 3-ptrs. 0-0 1-3 23-58. . 3-pt. pct. 00.0 33.3 39.7. . FT pct. 70.8 76.1 76.5. . . UConn W L Pct. . 1991-92 20 10 .667. . 1992-93 15 13 .536. . 1993-94 27 4 .871. .

62 27 .697.