By: Josh Brown
Before Marcus Keene became the nation’s leading scorer & one of the best players in TBT history, he only received a single Division 1 college offer .
Keene was a star at Earl Warren High School in San Antonio, scoring over 1,600 points and earning all-state, all-city, and Super-City Team honors. Despite this, because of his 5’9 height, Youngstown State was the only school to offer Keene a D1 scholarship. He accepted it going into his senior year.
After a quiet freshman season at Youngstown, Keene started his ascension to stardom in 2014-2015, averaging 15.6 points per game. Still, despite the big jump in Year 2, Keene knew he had bigger things in store.
After two years as spot-up shooting guard at Youngstown, Keene transferred to Central Michigan. He wanted to play point guard and the Chippewas gave him an opportunity to flourish in their up-tempo offense.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the most prolific scorers to ever come through college Basketball<br><br>At 5’9 Marcus Keene <a href="https://twitter.com/Marcus3Keene?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Marcus3Keene</a> <br>Showed the world it’s ❤️ over height <a href="https://t.co/yckX2jsr0d">pic.twitter.com/yckX2jsr0d</a></p>— College Hoops Throwbacks (@CampusThrowback) <a href="https://twitter.com/CampusThrowback/status/1367427366788677635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>In his first and only season at Central Michigan in 2016-2017, Keene became a certified superstar. He led the nation in scoring at 30 points per game, had a SportsCenter Top 10 play almost every night, and even dropped 50 in a game against Miami (Ohio).
Following the season, Keene signed with an agent, ending his collegiate eligibility. He’s since put together an awesome five-year career in the G-League & Europe, winning an Estonian Cup, Estonian League Championship, and becoming the VTB League scoring champion last season. He’s currently with Cedevita Olimpija, which competes in both EuroCup & Slovenian League play.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MARCUS ELAM KEENE DOES IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!<br><br>SIDELINE CANCER IS GOING TO DAYTON!!!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/OVe4nag7ST">pic.twitter.com/OVe4nag7ST</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1418012724764753921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Keene has also become one of the best players in TBT history, leading Sideline Cancer to the 2020 Championship Game and 2021 Quarterfinals. He’s a 2x TBT All-Tournament Team selection and one of the greatest Elam Ending closers in the world.