Marcus Keene

Marcus Johnny Rashaan Keene[1] (born May 6, 1995)[2][3] is an American basketball player who plays for the Yulon Luxgen Dinos of the Taiwanese Super Basketball League. He gained national prominence in 2016–17 season as a redshirt junior while at Central Michigan University, having been profiled by Sports Illustrated, the NCAA, and ESPN because of his prolific scoring ability.[4][5][6] Keene is a 5'9" point guard who averaged 30.0 points per game his junior year at Central Michigan, the highest average in NCAA Division I men's basketball that season.[7]

Marcus Keene
No. 20 – Yulon Luxgen Dinos
PositionPoint guard
LeagueSuper Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1995-05-06) May 6, 1995
Germany
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolWarren (San Antonio, Texas)
College
NBA draft2017 / Undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Cagliari Dinamo Academy
2018Mono Vampire
2018–2019Memphis Hustle
2019KCC Egis
2019Formosa Dreamers
2019–presentYulon Luxgen Dinos
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Born in a military hospital in Germany,[8] where his parents were serving in the US Air Force at the time,[9] Keene attended Earl Warren High School in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas.[10] He scored over 1,600 points in his career and graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer.[10] During Keene's sophomore and junior years combined he scored 781 points, and in his senior season alone he scored 869.[11] Keene's junior year saw him get named to the all-state, all-city, and Super-City Team.[10] In Keene's senior season, he averaged 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game.[10] He only had one Division I scholarship offer heading into his senior year, Youngstown State, which he accepted.[4]

College career

Keene's freshman season at Youngstown State (2013–14) saw him have moderate success. He averaged 6.5 points per game in 22 games played, including one start.[10] He totaled 149 points on the year. In 2014–15, his season was "up and down," but he performed well by averaging 15.6 points per game, which led the team and was sixth-highest in the Horizon League.[4] At one point he was suspended for breaking a teammate's nose, and his overall satisfaction was not high; Keene wanted to play point guard but had been designated as a spot-up shooting guard.[4] After a game against Central Michigan, whose up-tempo offense and "free-wheeling" style of play appealed to Keene, he had a conversation with a Central Michigan assistant coach.[4] Keene then chose to transfer shortly thereafter.

In 2015–16, Keene had to sit out his first season at Central Michigan due to NCAA transfer eligibility rules.[4] During that season he played as a scout teamer against the starters but he frequently dominated them. One time, Keene scored 37 points against them in a scrimmage.[4] Fellow guard Braylon Rayson said, "We couldn’t do nothing with him. It was to the point where we just had to live with it."[4]

Keene exploded onto the national college basketball scene when he became eligible in 2016–17. Through YouTube-worthy highlights, SportsCenter Top 10 game-winning shots, and his nation-leading scoring average, sports media have paid attention to him.[4][5][6] On January 21, 2017, Keene scored 50 points against Miami (Ohio), including 10 made three-point field goals.[5] It was the highest single game scoring output by anyone in Division I that season.[5] On February 9, he was named as a top-20 finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, given annually to the nation's best player.[6] Keene finished the 2016–17 season averaging 30.0 points per game, becoming the first player to average at least 30 points since LIU Brooklyn's Charles Jones during the 1996–97 season 20 years earlier.[5] On March 14, it was announced that Keene would test his 2017 NBA draft stock, with him having the option to return to Central Michigan before the NBA draft lottery is set. One month later, Keene signed an agent, thus ending his collegiate eligibility.[12]

College statistics
* Led NCAA Division I
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Youngstown State 22116.3.370.324.7571.92.2.5.06.5
2014–15 Youngstown State 323234.9.449.419.7873.52.81.1.115.6
2016–17 Central Michigan 323236.8.447.368.8194.54.9.8.030.0*
Career 866530.9.440.381.8053.53.4.8.018.6

Professional career

Dinamo Academy Cagliari (2017–2018)

After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, he joined the Washington Wizards for the 2017 NBA Summer League.[13] After failing to be signed to a regular season contract with the Wizards, Keene signed to play in Italy's Serie A2 Basket league for the Cagliari Dinamo Academy.[3] He averaged 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 30 games in his first season.[14]

Memphis Hustle (2018–2019)

On December 7, 2018, Keene signed with the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League.[15]

KCC Egis (2019–2020)

On March 1, 2019, Keene signed with the KCC Egis of the Korean Basketball League (KBL).[16]

Sideline Cancer (2019)

Keene participated in The Basketball Tournament with Sideline Cancer. He started all 3 games leading the team to the Sweet 16 and to The Basketball Tournament 2019 Wichita Regional Championship Game.[17]

Yulon Luxgen Dinos (2019–present)

Keene signed with Yulon Luxgen Dinos of the Super Basketball League in Taiwan. He was named the Player of the Week for January 12–19, 2020.[18]

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See also

References
  1. (in Italian) Stats at Playbasket.it
  2. "Marcus Keene". NBADraft.net. Sports Phenoms, Inc. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  3. "Ex-CMU star, nation's top scorer Keene to play in Italy". Detroit News. August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  4. Greene, Dan (February 7, 2017). "Keenesanity: D-I scoring leader Marcus Keene is 5'9" and fearless". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  5. Cooper, Ryan (February 15, 2017). "College basketball: Marcus Keene and more lethal scorers under 5-10". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  6. Brown, C.L. (February 9, 2017). "Central Michigan's Marcus Keene enters top 20 for Wooden Award". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  7. "Points Per Game – Statistical Leaders". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  8. "Meet Marcus Keene, the nation's leading scorer and Central Michigan star". MLive.com. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  9. "Former S.A. standout Keene to enter NBA draft". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  10. "Marcus Keene Bio". CMUChippewas.com. Central Michigan University. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  11. "Marcus Keene". YSUsports.com. Youngstown State University. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  12. "Keene signs on with agent, ending collegiate eligibility". Rotowire. Roto Sports Inc. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  13. "2017–18 NBA Undrafted Free Agent List: Summer League rosters". CSN Mid-Atlantic. June 23, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  14. (in Italian) Italian league stats
  15. "Memphis Hustle acquire Marcus Keene off waivers". NBA.com. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  16. "KCC Egis sign Marcus Keene". asia-basket.com. March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  17. https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2019/7/28/8933354/marquette-golden-eagles-tbt-basketball-tournament-preview-sideline-cancer-creek-abell-keene
  18. Marcus Keene gets MVP of the Week award for Taiwanese SBL (by Interperformances). January 20, 2020. Retrieved on March 7, 2020.
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