bd811
06-03-2002, 01:18 AM
The need for surgery on his left foot forced Western Kentucky Chris Marcus to withdraw from the NBA draft and return for his fourth season of eligibility, fifth in school.
"I've decided to pull my name out of the 2002 NBA draft because of my foot,'' Marcus said at a news conference Friday. "I am physically unable to perform up to my capabilities right now.''
Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton said following Marcus' news conference announcing his decision to return that Marcus will have surgery in the next three weeks. He said he would have pins put in to stabilize a foot injury that forced him to miss all but 15 games this past season.
"I was certain he was going to the NBA but he was still having trouble getting to the point where he was pain free,'' Felton said. "He couldn't get ready for the draft and the timing was starting to become an issue. The crack in the foot continues to close but it's not as tight as they would like and the screws would help.''
The 7-foot-1 Marcus, who was a potential late lottery pick, didn't sign with an agent and hadn't conducted any predraft workouts. Marcus has one class to take this summer to graduate and be eligible for a fourth season after being ineligible as a freshman. The NBA failed to get Marcus to return phone calls as to whether he would accept an invitation to play in the Chicago pre-draft camp next week at the Moody Bible Institute. NBA teams had been waiting for a chance to watch Marcus.
"I have mixed emotions,'' Felton said. "Ultimately I want to see him as the No. 1 pick in the draft. I'd be just as excited if he went high this year, so call me weird. I wasn't one of the coaches dragging him and saying he should come back. I was the biggest proponent and I started to change my opinion when it became evident that he wasn't able to work and perform and like he could in the NBA.''
Marcus will be in a hard cast and his recovery could be up to three months, but Felton said, "there won't be any rush. All he needs to do is get back to his pre-injury form and he'll be one of the top picks in the draft.''
Marcus was considered the top senior in the 2002 draft, and his departure would mean that either Fresno State fifth-year senior power forward Melvin Ely and/or Gonzaga fifth-year senior point guard Dan Dickau could be the first senior drafted. But neither is projected to be selected until the mid-to-late teens in the first round or lower. The first senior taken in the 2001 draft was at No. 6 when the Grizzlies selected Duke's Shane Battier. Only four seniors were selected in the first round of the 2001 draft.
Marcus' departure would leaves Stanford junior Curtis Borchardt, who hasn't determined that he is staying in the draft, as the top American center. Borchardt is projected as a lottery pick behind China center Yao Ming at what would become one of the weaker positions in the draft. Marcus' absence would help frontcourt players like UCLA's Dan Gadzuric, Duke's Carlos Boozer, USC's Sam Clancy, Arkansas State's Jason Jennings and foreign players like Turkey's Fatih Solak, Georgian national Zaur Pachulia and Yugoslavian Nenad Krstic move into or higher in the first round.
Marcus played sparingly during the 2001-02 season, participating in only 15 games because of a stress fracture in his foot. He's still the school's all-time leader in blocked shots with 212. He averaged 15.9 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky lost to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as Borchardt outplayed Marcus in the highly touted matchup. But a Marcus return could mean a preseason top 25 ranking for the Hilltoppers next season, especially with point guard Patrick Sparks and forward David Boyden back. The Hilltoppers will compete with Lafayette and its center Michael Southall for the Sun Belt title.
Marcus wasn't in his best playing shape when he returned to the court for the final 12 games. Concerns had risen over the health of his foot and his playing condition.
Marcus didn't play much basketball prior to arriving at Western Kentucky and played in only 100 games in high school and college. He has been compared to the Clippers' Michael Olowokandi, who didn't play much basketball before going to the University of the Pacific from England.
"I've decided to pull my name out of the 2002 NBA draft because of my foot,'' Marcus said at a news conference Friday. "I am physically unable to perform up to my capabilities right now.''
Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton said following Marcus' news conference announcing his decision to return that Marcus will have surgery in the next three weeks. He said he would have pins put in to stabilize a foot injury that forced him to miss all but 15 games this past season.
"I was certain he was going to the NBA but he was still having trouble getting to the point where he was pain free,'' Felton said. "He couldn't get ready for the draft and the timing was starting to become an issue. The crack in the foot continues to close but it's not as tight as they would like and the screws would help.''
The 7-foot-1 Marcus, who was a potential late lottery pick, didn't sign with an agent and hadn't conducted any predraft workouts. Marcus has one class to take this summer to graduate and be eligible for a fourth season after being ineligible as a freshman. The NBA failed to get Marcus to return phone calls as to whether he would accept an invitation to play in the Chicago pre-draft camp next week at the Moody Bible Institute. NBA teams had been waiting for a chance to watch Marcus.
"I have mixed emotions,'' Felton said. "Ultimately I want to see him as the No. 1 pick in the draft. I'd be just as excited if he went high this year, so call me weird. I wasn't one of the coaches dragging him and saying he should come back. I was the biggest proponent and I started to change my opinion when it became evident that he wasn't able to work and perform and like he could in the NBA.''
Marcus will be in a hard cast and his recovery could be up to three months, but Felton said, "there won't be any rush. All he needs to do is get back to his pre-injury form and he'll be one of the top picks in the draft.''
Marcus was considered the top senior in the 2002 draft, and his departure would mean that either Fresno State fifth-year senior power forward Melvin Ely and/or Gonzaga fifth-year senior point guard Dan Dickau could be the first senior drafted. But neither is projected to be selected until the mid-to-late teens in the first round or lower. The first senior taken in the 2001 draft was at No. 6 when the Grizzlies selected Duke's Shane Battier. Only four seniors were selected in the first round of the 2001 draft.
Marcus' departure would leaves Stanford junior Curtis Borchardt, who hasn't determined that he is staying in the draft, as the top American center. Borchardt is projected as a lottery pick behind China center Yao Ming at what would become one of the weaker positions in the draft. Marcus' absence would help frontcourt players like UCLA's Dan Gadzuric, Duke's Carlos Boozer, USC's Sam Clancy, Arkansas State's Jason Jennings and foreign players like Turkey's Fatih Solak, Georgian national Zaur Pachulia and Yugoslavian Nenad Krstic move into or higher in the first round.
Marcus played sparingly during the 2001-02 season, participating in only 15 games because of a stress fracture in his foot. He's still the school's all-time leader in blocked shots with 212. He averaged 15.9 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky lost to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as Borchardt outplayed Marcus in the highly touted matchup. But a Marcus return could mean a preseason top 25 ranking for the Hilltoppers next season, especially with point guard Patrick Sparks and forward David Boyden back. The Hilltoppers will compete with Lafayette and its center Michael Southall for the Sun Belt title.
Marcus wasn't in his best playing shape when he returned to the court for the final 12 games. Concerns had risen over the health of his foot and his playing condition.
Marcus didn't play much basketball prior to arriving at Western Kentucky and played in only 100 games in high school and college. He has been compared to the Clippers' Michael Olowokandi, who didn't play much basketball before going to the University of the Pacific from England.