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By Paul Coro, The Arizona Republic

Kendall Marshall’s handle on a basketball is as tight as his grip on life seems to be.

He has yet to play in the NBA, but probably could already tell you something about most players he will face this season as a Phoenix Suns rookie point guard. What he can’t know yet is how to keep his handle on his life tight once he hits the NBA scene.

Marshall was in New Jersey from Aug. 16-20 to work on his life grip along with the rest of the 2011 and 2012 rookie classes. The NBA’s Rookie Transition Program hosted 110 players because last year’s lockout canceled the event.

From new women to old friends, from newfound riches to old stories of bankruptcies and from illegal drugs to social slugs, the program introduced rookies to problems that are more common than they imagined and more issues than they could master.

More than anything, the point was to tell rookies there is a league infrastructure of support with confidential counseling and financial advice from the league. Also, there are hands-on relationships through a representative on each team, such as Suns Vice President of Player Programs Mark West.

“I didn’t know how in-depth we would go and how much it could really apply to me,” Marshall said of the program. “It turns out I’ve really learned a lot.”

Each of the three full days’ itineraries began at 8:30 a.m. and went to 10 p.m. October two-a-days at the Suns’ training camp in La Jolla, Calif., might breeze by for Marshall compared with these days that the NBA packs with videos, pictures, blunt language and players-only talks to keep their interest.

The point is that NBA players are at the center of the business and can positively or negatively affect that business and their careers with decisions they make on and off the court.

“It was a real eye-opener for us,” Marshall said. “You hear the financial stories about guys who go bankrupt and you hear about the relationship stories about guys that have things go wrong with their spouse or girlfriend. You always think that can’t happen to you, but the … [For more on Suns rookie: 'Female species a lot smarter', click here.]