Is he really comparable to Tim Duncan?? How big is he??? What's he like??
http://espn.go.com/ncb/columns/katz_andy/1267086.html
Marcus' game growining into 7-foot-1 frame
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By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Chris Marcus wasn't a myth. He wasn't Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster or literally any other tall tale. He was real. There he was running up the E.A. Diddle Arena, all 7-foot-1, 285-pounds of him, getting the ball in the post, grabbing the basketball like it was an orange and stuffing it in the basket. He blocked a few shots, altered a few others and made the rumors of the big man in college basketball being a dinosaur -- an extinct breed -- far fetched.
There was at least one left.
Marcus is closer to Michael Olowokandi, the former Pacific center and struggling L.A. Clipper who played only four years of basketball before he was the No. 1 draft pick, than Tim Duncan. Like Olowokandi, Marcus is still learning the nuances of the sport and hasn't had a chance to pick up poor habits. He's only played competitive hoops for three seasons.
Chris Marcus' game still has room to grow, but his size and raw skills make him a dominating force on the college level.
He's still not as laterally quick in the lane as he'll need to become. But he can move from the weak or non-ball side of the lane to the strong, or ball side, in a step. His size and raw skill should and could make him one of the top five picks in the 2002 NBA draft, let alone lead Western Kentucky back to the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, he was the top rebounder in the nation (12.1 a game) and was dominant in the Sun Belt tournament, averaging 25 points and 15 boards a game. He makes 65 percent of his shots, and amazingly, he has committed only 124 fouls and has fouled out only twice in two seasons of college basketball. Oh, and get this: He's got range near the 3-point line and, in all likelihood, has more potential than Olowokandi.
"I just want to develop," Marcus said. "I don't want to be a nobody in the NBA. A lot of guys get drafted and that's it. I want to have an impact. That's all. I want to do something that a team needs. I don't expect to be a superstar."
Marcus is the product of dedication and desire. He had no interest in playing basketball growing up in Charlotte. It took pestering from his Olympic High School coach Dave Davis to get him to play as a senior. Academics kept him from qualifying as a freshman in college, yet he stayed with the sport, because he eventually couldn't live without it.
"I had the size but it just wasn't something I wanted to do," Marcus said. "My coach asked me what I planned on doing after high school and I said probably get a job. But he told me that I could probably get a partial scholarship somewhere if I played."
A full ride came from Western Kentucky.
Marcus said he wasn't that bad when he got to Bowling Green, just lacked fundamentals. But that wasn't the way senior Tremain Rowles remembers Marcus' game.
"He's gone 180 percent," Rowles said. "He was this close (fingers tight together) from being terrible. But his game and his character have evolved. When he got here, he didn't even talk. Now we've got him laughing and telling jokes. And his game? It's fun watching him play, unless you're the opposing team."
Especially in the Sun Belt, where the majority of teams, save Arkansas State 7-foot Jason Jennings, throw an undersized power forward at Marcus like an early-evening snack.
"There just aren't a lot of back-to-the-basket players," Marcus said. "I love playing with my back to the basket. The game is more rugged down there. Everyone else wants to be more like Kevin Garnett (a shooting power forward/center). But the easy way to score is close to the basket."
Felton said Marcus picked up the game faster than anyone he's been around. While he hasn't mastered the steps, Felton said his center has been quick to improve his footwork and scores in a variety of ways. But Marcus lacks that go-to move, the one that can't be stopped whether it's a hook or a drop-step shot that would be his ticket to a basket each trip down court. But he compensates for his missed shots with determination. He may clank a shot or two, but he doesn't stop going after the rebound until he gets the bucket.
"He's still got to improve his savvy, his passing and recognition and touch with the ball," Felton said. "But the first year when he would get trapped, he would turn the ball over. That hasn't happened as much.
"Chris gives us a big advantage," Felton adds. "He only scores 16.5 points a game, so we can win without him. But he influences the game. He covers up defensive breakdowns and so many shots trickle to him. He's such a vacuum on the glass. He's the single reason we're such a strong rebounding team."
“ There just aren't a lot of back-to-the-basket players. I love playing with my back to the basket. The game is more rugged down there. Everyone else wants to be more like Kevin Garnett. But the easy way to score is close to the basket. ”
— Chris Marcus,
Western Kentucky's 7-1 center
Western Kentucky reached the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 1995. Marcus is joined by three other returning starters, making the Hilltoppers a clear favorite to get back to the NCAAs and they could be among the toughest early-round outs come March.
But Felton couldn't market Marcus or his Hilltoppers this season. Western Kentucky struggled to get high-profile, non-conference games, forced to play home-and-home series with Creighton and Austin Peay to fill the schedule. The marquee game is the first one at Kentucky in the NABC Classic Nov. 15. While Marcus stayed home this summer to attend summer school and graduate on time in May, he missed out on playing for the World University Games team in China. The exposure would have helped his name recognition even more, with only one Hilltoppers game -- against Sun Belt West Division favorite New Mexico State on Jan. 13 -- will be on ESPN. No other Western Kentucky game is on a national network.
"It's very frustrating that we couldn't showcase Chris," Felton said. "Chris never had anyone tell him how great he is and didn't come from that culture. He can see clearly and while he has a ways to go, he wants to warrant that high pick. He knows that the draft is just one day."
Felton expects, and in fact, thinks Marcus should declare for the draft in the spring, even though he will have likely earned back a fourth season of eligibility by graduating. Marcus said he could see coming back if when the season ends the Hilltoppers fell short of their expectations -- an NCAA Tournament berth.
But that shouldn't happen. The Hilltoppers are more than just Marcus. David Boyden (7.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg) gives Western Kentucky another scorer inside. Guards Derek Robinson (8.9 ppg), Rowles (6 ppg), Filip Videnov (5.2 ppg) and freshman Patrick Sparks can all put the ball on the floor, drive and shoot from the perimeter. Matching a 14-2 Sun Belt record isn't a reach.
"We've got the depth and the talent to go two-deep at every position," Felton said. "But so far it's been frustrating that we won big last year and our players were overshadowed by Chris."
It's understandable. A dinosaur at his position makes him a must see.
