WKU Basketball: Former All-American Chris Marcus, Passes Away at 40
Chris Marcus, the 7'foot former All-American center for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, has passed away at the age of 40. Younger fans and current students at Western Kentucky University may not be as familiar with the name, but for many, Chris Marcus was an integral part of the foundation that our love for Western Kentucky athletics is built on.
Marcus played for Coach Dennis Felton from 1999 to 2003. He signed with WKU on the heels of 4 straight losing seasons for the Hilltoppers and was a freshman during a losing season in 1998–1999, sitting out due to academic issues. He was a vital part of the rebuild of WKU basketball program that would be ranked nationally and play in multiple NCAA tournaments during his time on the Hill.
The 2000–2001 season was the pinnacle of Marcus’s career, a year in which he averaged 16.7 PPG, 12.1 RPG, and had a school-record 97 blocks on the season. His efforts in the 2000–2001 season earned him Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year (for a second consecutive year), and AP All-American honorable mention. He also garnered preseason All-American honors leading up to the 2001–2002 season.
Marcus was a member of the Hilltopper squad that upset the #4 ranked Kentucky Wildcats in November 2001. Unfortunately, a nagging foot injury suffered in October 2001 would eventually cut his ’01-’02 season short and made him a non-factor for the team in his final campaign with the Tops in 2002–2003 as he appeared in just four games.
Marcus did not find success on the court after leaving WKU, something no one would have predicted following the ’00-‘01 season. An article published by ESPN in 2005 outlined that his struggles with alcohol that prevented his professional career from getting off the ground.
While Chris Marcus’s career may have been limited by injuries and personal issues, his success at WKU had a lasting impact on the fan base and brand of WKU basketball. Having grown up locally in Logan County, Kentucky (roughly 20 minutes from campus), and an adolescent during his time on the Hill, Chris Marcus is the first WKU basketball player I remember following. The WKU teams with Chris Marcus reached heights I did not know WKU was capable of reaching at that time.
It has been nearly 20 years since Marcus’s most memorable season as a Hilltopper. While some of my memories of Marcus’s time on the hill are a little blurry, there are plenty of things that I will never forget. I will always remember the NCAA tournament game against Florida in 2000–2001, the year after they were the national runner-up. I could never forget the win over Kentucky in 2001, a win that was especially sweet for those of us who were not fans of the team in the blue. I also remember wishing he could have been on the floor for the 8 vs. 9 match-ups with Stanford in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament.
Western Kentucky basketball had a rich tradition before Chris Marcus, but the big man from Olympic High School in Charlotte, North Carolina bridged the gap between the tradition-rich past of WKU basketball and more recent success. With his 7-foot frame, Marcus rescued the WKU program from a forgettable run in the late ’90s and delivered the Tops to an era with numerous NCAA tournament appearances. An era that WKU would see enough success to have multiple coaches poached by bigger programs (the mark of a successful mid-major program). You could argue that the turn-around of the WKU program starting with the 2000–2001 season, after 5-straight losing seasons, probably would not have happened if not for Chris Marcus.
Despite all the “what ifs” surrounding Chris Marcus’s career, one thing is certain, he was one of the best to ever wear the red and white. His name will be held in high regard and bring back fond memories for members of the WKU family and community. Thank you, Chris Marcus, and rest in peace.
