Marqus Blakely

Marqus Blakely
No. 23 Purefoods Star Hotshots
Position Shooting guard / Small forward
League PBA
Personal information
Born October 22, 1988
Metuchen, New Jersey
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight 230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school Metuchen (Metuchen, New Jersey)
College Vermont (2006–2010)
NBA draft 2010 / Undrafted
Pro career 2010–present
Career history
2010–2011 Bakersfield Jam (NBA D-League)
2011–2012 Iowa Energy (NBA D-League)
2012 Sioux Falls Skyforce (NBA D-League)
2012 B-Meg Llamados (Philippines)
2013 Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg (Germany)
2013–2014 San Mig Super Coffee Mixers (Philippines)
2014-present Purefoods Star Hotshots (philippines)
Career highlights and awards
  • 2x America East Player of the Year (2009–2010)
  • 3x First-team All-America East (2008–2010)
  • 3x America East Defensive Player of the Year (2008–2010)
  • 3x America East All-Defensive Team (2008–2010)
  • America East Men's Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player (2010)
  • PBA Governors' Cup Best Import (2013)
  • 2x PBA Governors' Cup champion (2013-2014)

Marqus Austin Blakely (born October 22, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Purefoods Star Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

College

Blakely gained a reputation at Vermont by winning the Kevin Roberson America East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year twice and the America East Defensive Player of the Year Award three times. He earned national recognition by winning the 2010 State Farm Division I College Basketball Slam Dunk Contest.[1] He performed a dunk invented by then teammate Evan Fjeld that had never been done before. The dunk is now widely known as the "Double Dunk" where Fjeld dunked the ball from the right side and Blakely caught the ball out of the bottom of the net and dunked it back in mid-air. He also performed three dunks that appeared on ESPN SportsCenter's Top Plays.

He finished his senior season at Vermont by leading the America East in steals (2.6 pg) and blocks (1.9 pg), finishing second in points (17.4 pg), rebounds (9.1 pg) and field goal percentage (54.1%), and came in fourth in assists (3.7 pg). He finished his career with the Catamounts ranked fifth all-time in scoring (1,875), second in rebounding (1,044) and steals (226), third in blocks (254), and 10th in assists (304). He helped lead Vermont to a 25-10 record as a senior and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Following the season Blakely was also one of only 64 seniors in the nation to take part in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, helping lead his team to a championship.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft,[2][3] Blakely joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2010 NBA Summer League. On July 26, 2010, he signed with Clippers on a reported two-year partially guaranteed contract worth $473,604 per year. He was later waived by the Clippers on October 25, 2010.[4]

Bakersfield Jam (2010–2011)

After his release from the Clippers, Blakely was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam with the 12th overall pick in the 2010 NBA D-League Draft. He appeared in 25 games for the Jam, before a mid-season trade with the Iowa Energy.

Iowa Energy (2011)

In January 2011, Blakely was traded to the Iowa Energy.[5] Blakely averaged 17.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Energy.[6]

Houston Rockets (2011)

On April 13, 2011, Blakely signed with the Houston Rockets.[7] He suited up for the Rockets in their final game of the regular season, but did not play. Blakely entered training camp with the Rockets following the resolution of the NBA Lockout for the 2011–12 preseason, but was released on December 19, 2011.[5]

Returned to Iowa Energy (2011–2012) / Sioux Falls Skyforce (2012)

On December 27, 2011, Blakely was re-acquired by the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League, appearing in 14 games before being traded to the Sioux Falls Skyforce in February 2012, where he averaged 16 points per game and 7 rebounds per contest while also being named an NBA D-League All-Star.[8]

B-Meg Llamados (2012)

After the NBA D-League season was completed, Blakely signed as an import player for the B-Meg Llamados of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup.[9] While with B-Meg, Blakely averaged a double-double (22.3 points per game and 13.3 rebounds per game), guiding the team to the Governors Cup final, falling 4-3 in a seven-game series.

Los Angeles Clippers (2012)

In September 2012, Blakely signed with Los Angeles Clippers. He appeared in three preseason games, but failed to score a point. On October 27, 2012, Blakely was waived by the Clippers.[5]

Telekom Baskets Bonn (2012)

On December 26, 2012, Blakely signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn of the Basketball Bundesliga.[10] After failing some medical tests, he was waived on January 1, 2013.[11]

Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg (2013)

In January 2013, he signed with Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg of Germany.

San Mig Coffee Mixers (2013)

After his season in Germany ended, Blakely signed to play as an import in his return to B-Meg (now San Mig Coffee Mixers). Blakely helped the San Mig Coffee Mixers defeat Petron Blaze Boosters in the 2013 Governor's Cup finals. He was expected to return the following year as the import for the Mixers.

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers (2014)

Blakely signed as an import of the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers, a replacement name from San Mig Coffee Mixers for the third time. He led the Mixers to clinch a historic Grand Slam. It is also their 4th consecutive championship. Along with the Mixers' big 3, James Yap, Marc Pingris and PJ Simon, they defeated the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on a do or die game at a best-of-5 championship series of the 2014 PBA Governors' Cup.

Purefoods Star Hotshots (2015)

He comeback as the import for the fifth time for this franchise, he signed with the Hotshots for the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup, a re-replacement name from San Mig Super Coffee Mixers, serving as their temporary import while Coach Tim Cone finds a suitable fit.

Basketball career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012 B-Meg 22 41.00 .437 .362 .641 13.36 3.27 2.73 2.55 22.36
2013 San Mig Coffee 22 42.55 .499 .234 .459 15.23 4.55 2.14 2.18 23.95
2014 San Mig Coffee 20 39.35 .483 .080 .547 15.65 3.85 1.80 2.40 19.20
2015 Purefoods Star Hotshots 3 40 .483 .080 .547 15.65 3.85 1.80 2.40 25
Career 67 40.725 .4755 0.1890.548514.97253.882.11752.382522.6275

References

External links