Chris Marcus at Western Kentucky is the Answer at the Center

I've heard the knock on Marcus is that he isn't mobile at all. I haven't really seen him enough to judge accurately, however.

Could anyone else give me their assessment?

 

I'm no Cato booster by any means ...however, if you think that our answer at center is some guy who plays in Division 9 college hoops, I think you are sadly mistaken.

 

Western Kentucky is in the Division 1 top 25...

 

I'm well aware of that....i was being sarcastic and my point was that this guy out of some obscure school is not the answer.

 

http://www.ncaabasketball.net/featu...DB9B668DFB1CD82&s=31203&action=story&team=288


Marcus returns - but not yet playing the way he's capable
By Chris Duncan
2/15/2002 (The Associated Press)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - While he was sidelined for two months with a broken ankle, Western Kentucky center Chris Marcus often second-guessed his decision not to enter last year's NBA draft.
"That was the first thing I thought of - that maybe I should've gone," the 7-foot-1, 285-pound Marcus said.
"But I kept telling myself that even if I had gotten drafted, this (injury) might've still been an issue."
Preseason expectations were high for Marcus, who led the nation in rebounding and recorded 20 double-doubles last season. This was supposed to be the year the senior solidified his position as one of the top NBA prospects.
Instead, he spent most of December and January riding an exercise bike, jogging laps in a swimming pool and watching games from the bench with a calf-high boot protecting the injury.
Marcus first hurt the ankle in a scrimmage in late October, and the pain persisted throughout fall practices. Doctors and trainers dismissed it as a slow-healing sprain, and Marcus played in Western Kentucky's first five games, averaging 28 minutes.
But after scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Hilltoppers' 94-91 loss at Creighton on Nov. 27, Marcus could barely make it back to the locker room.
"It was unbearable," he said.
More tests revealed the stress fracture that head basketball trainer Mike Gaddie likened to "a crack in a dinner plate."
"When I first sprained it, I should've gotten off it then," Marcus said. "But somebody my size and weight putting that much pressure on it - it turned a little sprain into something worse."
He was reassured by a doctor's prognosis that he would fully recover as long as he gave his ankle time to heal.
"If they had told me this would've been something that was going to follow me for the rest of my career, I would've been devastated," Marcus said.
Marty Blake, the NBA's director of scouting, said Marcus' stock won't drop because of the games he's missed.
"It would only hurt him if he's too hurt to work out for teams in the spring and summer," Blake said. "But everybody's seen him, and everybody who needs a center will look at him. He's got all the skills."
The Hilltoppers (22-3) learned to win without him, going 15-2 between the Creighton loss and Feb. 3, when Marcus returned to action against Morris Brown.
Marcus had 15 points and 10 rebounds - his 34th career double-double - in his first game back, a 92-53 Kentucky Western win.
But he has had a total of 17 points and 13 rebounds in the Hilltoppers' last two games, and Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton said Marcus is far from the player who led the nation in rebounding last season.
"He doesn't look very good yet, relative to Chris Marcus' standards," Felton said. "He's rusty and his stamina is way off."
Marcus agrees.
"I've still got a way to go," he said. "I spent all summer working on my hook shot and my footwork, and now, it's like I'm starting over."
He hasn't started a game yet, and can barely muster 20 minutes of floor time before he's winded. He's doing extra sprints and spending 40 minutes a day on an exercise bike to build back his stamina.
But Marcus already has overcome the psychological barrier that comes with returning from an injury.
"Down the stretch in the second half of that first game, I felt like I was back in the routine of things. I felt comfortable, because the monkey was off my back, I was finally playing," he said. "Now, it's just a matter of getting back into shape, getting back that confidence in the things I can do."
He expects to be playing soon the way he knows he can.
"It's to going to come," Marcus said. "All I have to do is work."

 

i think cato has become very coachable and also has shown a great attitude. if the new cato is here to stay we don't need a new starting 5. he is also considerably more athletic than marcus.

 

Impressive resume even though it's not against the best competition.

As a Junior (2000-01) ..... NCAA Rebounding Champion ..... Associated Press All-American ..... NABC All-District 7 First-Team ..... USBWA All-District 4 Team ..... Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Year, Defensive Player-of-the-Year, All-SBC Team (unanimous pick), Tournament MVP, All-Tournament Team ..... Led the nation in rebounding with his 12.1 rpg average ..... Was dominate in the Sun Belt Tournament, averaging 25.0 points and 15.0 rebounds in the three games while hitting 25-37 field goals (67.6%) and 25-31 free throws (80.6%). He had three double-doubles — 22 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Florida International, followed by a career-high 33 points and 13 boards in the victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, and then a near "20-20" night (20 points and 18 rebounds) in the title game victory over host South Alabama ..... In four games in South Alabama's Mitchell Center, he totaled 102 points (25.5 ppg) and 64 rebounds (16.0 rpg) ..... Was impressive at South Alabama in the regular season, narrowly missing a "20-20" — hitting for 27 points (10-16 field goals and 7-8 free throws) while also coming up with 19 rebounds (just two shy of his career-high) in a personal best 40 minutes in that OT contest ..... Has started 56 (out of a possible 60) Topper games, including all 31 in ‘00-01 and the last 56 in a row ..... Cranked out EIGHT double-doubles in a row — Dec. 31 (at Denver) through Jan. 25 before coming up short in three games and then breaking out of that "slump" with 27 points (equalling his career high at the time) and 16 rebounds at Louisiana Tech ..... Just shy of a "20-20" again — 18 points & 18 rebounds — in the Toppers' 79-61 home win over Arkansas State, but recorded his 13th double-double of the year ..... Enjoyed his fifth double-double of the year (20 points, 13 rebounds), leading the Toppers to a win at Louisville. That effort earned him Wilson Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Week honors (Dec. 11). His free throw with 0:35 left proved to be the winning point in that contest ..... His other double-doubles came vs. Union (10 points, 14 rebounds); Tennessee State (12-21); Vanderbilt (14-12); Murray State (14-11); Denver (21-14); Asbury (25-14); UL-Lafayette (12-16); Arkansas-Little Rock (18-10) at home; New Mexico State (23-11); Louisiana Tech (11-17) at home; Louisiana Tech (27-16) on the road; Florida International at home (15-17); at Arkansas State (16-11); and vs. Florida (14-16) in the NCAA Tournament. His 20 double-doubles was the third highest total in Division I basketball and improved his career total to 29 in his 56 starts ..... Had 11 twenty-point games (after hitting for 20 just once as a sophomore). He scored in double figures a team-high 28 times — missed that mark against only Akron (Dec. 16 — 7 points), Florida International (Jan. 27 — 9 points) and Middle Tennessee (Feb. 24 — 9 points). And, he was in double digits on the boards in 20 games ..... Narrowly missed the first "triple-double" in the WKU record books vs. Tennessee State, coming up with 12 points, a career-high 21 rebounds (the first 20-rebound effort by a Topper in 13 seasons) and a school record NINE blocks (old mark — eight by Pop Thornton vs. New Orleans in 1995) ..... His four blocks at Murray State made him just the fourth Topper to reject 100 shots. And, his three blocks at South Alabama moved him into second place on WKU's career list. He finished the year with 173 blocks — trailing only Clarence Martin's ('82-83; '84-87) four-year total of 198. Marcus is the only athlete on WKU's Top 10 in career rejections who has played just two full seasons. And, his three blocks vs. Florida International at home improved his season total to 79, beating the school record 76 he rejected last season. More remarkably, his presence alters many more routinely high-percentage shots than he blocks! ..... He scored his 800th career point vs. Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Tournament and completed the season with 862 counters. He scored two more points in just 22 games this season than he tallied in all 29 outings (344) in the ‘99-00 campaign ..... The 12th of his 14 rebounds vs. Florida International in the SBC Tourney was the 600th of his career (he finished the year with 649). The sixth of his 17 boards vs. Florida International at home equalled his total in that category for all 29 games his rookie season (275) ..... His 42 dunks ranked him second on WKU's single season list, 11 back of the leader, Cypheus Bunton (53 in '93-94) ..... with just two full seasons under his belt, Marcus' 69 career slams is also third among all Toppers ..... His hit an impressive 52-84 field goals (61.9%) in the last eight games. And, he was 36-48 (75%) at the free throw line in the final six contests.

As a Sophomore (1999-00) ..... Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year, Newcomer-of-the-Year, All-Sun Belt Team, All-Tournament Team ..... The Sun Belt's top rebounder and shot blocker, Marcus ranked 14th in the nation in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and was 22nd in blocked shots (2.62 bpg) in the final NCAA stats; and, his field goal percentage (59.6%) would have ranked him 10th in the country, but he did not have enough shots to qualify for the list ..... The Sun Belt's Newcomer-of-the-Year and Defensive Player-fo-the-Year, he was also named the Sun Belt Player-of-the-Week Jan. 31 after his three double-doubles that week ..... His 76 rejections set a new WKU school record. He notched blocked shots in 26 of 29 games and had 46 blocks in the last 15 games (a 3.07 bpg rate) ..... He hit just six of his first 15 field goal attempts (40%), but made good on 127 of his last 108 shots (61.1%), including 75-121 (62%) in the last 14 games. His most notable efforts in that stretch were: 8-9 vs. Denver; 7-9 against Louisiana Tech; 4-6 vs. UL Lafayette at home; 7-11 at New Orleans; 4-5 at South Alabama; 7-11 at Louisiana Tech (7-9 in the second half on his way to a career-high 20 points); 4-5 vs. New Orleans at home; 6-9 against Arkansas State at home; and 9-13 vs. Arkansas-Ltitle Rock at home ..... He hit 93-149 field goals (62.4%) vs. all SBC competition ..... After hitting only 16 of his 1st 30 free throws (53.3%), he hit 62 of his last 84 (73.8%) at the line, including 14-15 (93.3%) in the Toppers' last three home games ..... Averaged nine rebounds as a high school senior and had nine-or-more boards in 18 games including 13 double-figure outings (that includes a string of six in a row versus Sun Belt competition). And, he averaged eight points in high school and had eight-plus counters in 24 games (including a team-high 21 double digit outings — 13 of those in the last 15 games) ..... For the year, he notched 10 of the Toppers' 12 double-doubles ..... Averaged 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds while blocking a team-high nine shots in the Hilltoppers’ European tour in May.

As a Freshman (1998-99) ..... Sat out his first year on the Hill to concentrate on his classwork after coming to Western from Olympic High in Charlotte.

Looking Back ..... Made the most of his one season of high school ball, earning a spot on the Charlotte Area All-Star Team after averaging eight points and nine rebounds an outing while helping to lead the Trojans to a 15-10 mark, runner-up honors in their conference and a berth in the state 4-A championship playoffs where they lost out in first round play ..... Shot a solid 60 percent from the floor for Coach Dave Davis’ squad and was named the Trojan Newcomer-of-the-Year for his efforts ..... Played his first organized basketball in the summer of 1997, taking part in an AAU tournament in Charlotte ..... Did play junior high football as a 6-4 ninth grader, seeing action at both quarterback and tight end.

Up Close ..... Christopher Lee Marcus was born December 11, 1979 in Chicago, Ill. and is the son of James Marcus, Sr., and Louisville Marcus ..... Gets his height from his father’s family. Both his father and grandfather stood about 6-4 while his mother is a petite 5-5. From a big family (four brothers and two sisters), Marcus’ older brother Michael stood 6-8 and played college football (as a tight end) at South Carolina State ...... Marcus is majoring in Sociology/Criminology.

 

LoL...how is playboys record at picking talent ?

I swear honey ..it's just for the basketball article
------------------------
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky University senior center Chris Marcus will be a member of the 2001-02 PLAYBOY Preseason All-America Basketball Team.

Officials with the national magazine notified Marcus earlier this week that he was selected as one of the nation's top 10 collegiate basketball athletes for the coming year. The PLAYBOY Preseason All-America Team, which will be formally announced in the magazine's December issue, also honors a preseason Coach-of-the-Year and a Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year.

"Obviously, this is another outstanding honor for Chris," Hilltopper Head Coach Dennis Felton said. "The legacy of PLAYBOY All-Americans includes the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal. We are extremely proud to have a Hilltopper listed in the company of these great players."

The 7-1, 285-pound Marcus is the first Hilltopper in the 25-year history of the PLAYBOY Preseason All-America Team to be selected for the honor by that organization.

He and the others similarly honored will spend a weekend next month in Chicago conducting a clinic for local youngsters and having a team photo made.

Marcus -- an Associated Press All-American following the conclusion of the 2000-01 season (and already being touted as perhaps the top big man in the college game for the coming year) -- led the nation in rebounding (12.1 rpg) and the Hilltoppers in scoring with his 16.7 ppg average, pacing the Toppers to a 24-7 mark, Sun Belt Conference Tournament and regular season titles and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

For his efforts, he was named the SBC Player-of-the-Year, the MVP of the league tourney and, for the second season in a row, the SBC Defensive Player-of-the-Year. He also ranked among the nation's leaders in double-doubles (he was third with 20) and blocked shots (11th). And, he was one of only three athletes who recorded 19-plus rebound performances on more than one occasion last year.

He is one of four starters and 12 letterwinners returning for Coach Felton's '01-02 edition Hilltoppers, who have recently been recognized by FOXSports.com as one of the Top 35 teams in the nation heading into the new season.

 

Chris Marcus is the last thing this team needs. We need to run faster, harder, and more often. Putting Chris Marcus in our line-up would be like attaching an anchor to a Motorcycle.



The C's in this upcoming draft aren't worth crap. Maybe Jerry Krause isn't so stupid AFTER ALL.

 

A very large center with foot and ankle problems . . . .

Yeah, that should set of warning bells from here to timbuktoo.

 

I'll pass....Poodle gives the best reason.

Marcus has looked ok to me...but if we get something similar to the recent Cato, he's unneeded. Marcus has a big body, but he's already having lower body problems that typically come with that.
He also lacks mobility as it is...I see him becoming something similar to what Ewing is right now.

If we're going to pick a college center, give me Borchardt over Marcus every day. If Borchardt continues to show those were fluke injuries, he'll be a Raef Lafrentz with more toughness, therefore a better ability to play center. I'd still trade the pick for a top flight SF like Odom.

Cato's hands have been serviceable since a little before the all-star break, and seem to be getting better. He has been working on a mid-range shot, too.

 

The future Wooden Award Winner Eric Gooden would be a lot better choice than Chris Marcus. Gooden may be the next Tim Duncan.

 

Do you mean Drew Gooden? Is eric his evil twin, or are you implying that eric chenowith will come back and try to get another year of eligibility by claiming his last name is now gooden? I'm confused....

 

I think you mean Drew Gooden, and yes he is a much better player than Chris Marcus. The problem is that Gooden will be off the board by the time the Rockets make their selection, and the fact that they already have Griffin (whom Gooden's game looks alot like).

Even though http://www.nbadraft.net isn't that reliable on its mock drafts, they have great player information, and they compare Chris Marcus to Bryant "Big Country" later "Big Continent" Reeves. Not to mention the fact that the guy is huge, can't run, and has a suspect ankle now. This guy is not the answer for Rockets. Cato has played decent lately, and if he showed this much heart after he signed that contract, I'm pretty sure he'd have a fan club on this site.

The Rockets need a low-post threat, I think Melvin Ely of Fresno St. is a player the Rockets should look at. Considering the fact that we're getting Toronto's 1st round pick this year, I think they should look at another 4 or 5. Hell it doesn't hurt to draft for depth later in the round. However, this idea is a all for not if the Rockets swing the kind of offseason deal I think they may pull, and are due for.

 

Last I heard, the Rockets were going to draft the best 3 available assuming they don't trade for one. Each of the past 2 drafts, they have tried to get a 3. Two years ago, guys like Darius Miles were already gone. Last draft, they were able to land Griffin.

Everything I've heard leads me to believe they'll take another shot this year. Obviously, a lot could change between now and then.

 

Jeff I think you're right because that would explain the Rockets inquiring about Odom. I hope they get a stud SF, but IMO the jury is still out on some of the SF college prospects. Sorry I'm not a big Mike Dunleavy Jr. fan, I think he is overrated and so is his team.

 

I graduated from that "obscure school". Watch your mouth, beotch!!


Old School Hilltopper

 

They should draft Qyntel Woods....

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/qyntelwoods.htm

 

To get either Woods or Dunleavy we're going to either have to A) lose more games than we are now or B) make a trade to move up. There are 5 or 6 really good prospect possibles for this draft. The guys are Williams, Ming, Wagner, Dunleavy, Gooden, and Woods (in no particular order). I would say those guys stand out above anyone else as far as what teams would really want. Right now Dunleavy says he isn't coming out, Ming will need to get through the Chinese government, and Wagner also might now come out. This means that there can be anywhere from 3-6 really solid prospects.

Right now we would be at 7 or so picking (assuming we don't move up because of those magic ping pong balls), which means we're right outside where we would want to be. We would probably need to move up to 5 in order to get one of Dunleavy or Woods. Which would I prefer? I can't say now because I haven't seen Woods play, but I can say that I've seen Dunleavy several times and I don't see how anyone can't be impressed with the guy. Is he gonna blow you away with his athleticism? Absolutely not, but he is one of the most fundamentally sould ballplayers, he plays hard team ball, can rebound as a 3, and has a great stroke (looks like Nowitzki shooting the ball). If Woods is anywhere near the comparison to McGrady then he definitely needs a look, but I can say that we don't need another guy that needs 18 shots a game and we need a guy with an outside shot (which I've heard that Woods is a better shooter than McGrady).

Marcus isn't somebody we'd consider where we have our first pick and I doubt he'll last to Toronto's pick. If he were there at our 2nd 1st round pick then he would get a serious look just based on talent, but foot injuries on big men are definitely something to be concerned about (see the Big Z in Cleveland).