FanPost

Know The Prospect: Marqus Blakely


Who in the world is Marqus Blakely and why should you care?  

Well how's this sound: 7'1 wing span, 3.4 ast/g, 2.4 stls/g, 1.9 blks/g?  Is that something you'd be interested in?  No?  How about 2010 Dunk Champion (fyi, he does a dunk you've NEVER seen before)?  How about a 3 minute dunk montage?  More after the jump.

Marqus Blakely plays for Vermont Catamounts.  He's won the American East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award twice (soph and junior years).  Led his team this year in points, rebs., assists, steals, and blocks AND averaged nearly 9 FTA per game.  He majored in business and in the business of destroying the will's of those who tried to block his dunks.

Before we get to one particular video, let's get the negatives out of the way:

-He has no handle
-He has no shot
-He has no semblance of a decent offensive game

Yeah...but he can do this:

 

So what's everyone saying about this kid?  See the rundown below:

DraftExpress:

Ball handling and shooting are two areas that Marqus will desperately need to improve upon if he hopes of having a chance of making the NBA at his size. Looking uncomfortable handling the ball, he rarely put the ball on the floor more than two times in a straight line going to the basket last season. His shooting is even more of a concern, given that he hasn" />

Blakely has a motor that is non-stop, as shown by his talents in regards to rebounding the basketball. He runs the floor well on both ends and is not afraid to mix it up with bigger foes. As far as work ethic and desire are concerned, we seem to be looking at a player who gives his all every time he steps on the court."

Hollinger's Draft Rater spitted Blakely out as #22 (take this with a huge bag of salt), ahead of many players such as Cole Aldrich (who I like), Ekpe Udoh (who I like), and Pattrick Patterson (ditto).

Chad Ford's Take: (Insider)

Via Chad Ford

Positives:
•Freakish athlete
•Huge 7-foot-1 wingspan
•Explosive leaper
•Excellent rebounder
•Great motor
•Runs the floor well
•Very active around the basket on the offensive end
•Averaged 4 assists per game

Negatives:
•Undersized for his position
•Lacks polished perimeter skills
•Struggles as a ball handler

Summary: Mar 22 Update: Blakely isn't a household name, but NBA scouts like him. He isn't a prototypical anything, but his great athleticism, length and motor along with the fact that he stuffs the stat sheet will give him an extra few looks by NBA scouts.

Hoopsworld links: video/article

Via Hoopsworld:
 "In an after session dunk-off, none of the other IMG players were willing to take on Larry Sanders, except for Marqus, and not only did he he hold his own at the rim with Sanders, he put a few on Larry that you just shake your head at. "

FYI, Sanders = legit 6'10 with 7'5 wingspan.  Marqus is a FEARLESS.

 

So really, you can look at the crazy stats (and they are crazy), but from just what I see/read, he's clearly someone who can compete on the next level as a defensive stopper and potentially grow into legit rotation player.  Could you imagine him and DWTDD wraking havoc for 10 minutes a game?  Anyway, let's get to what really matters..... DUNK MONTAGES

 Dunks and Blocks

 

 

Insane Double Dunk in Dunk Contest