Hall looks to make most of his senior season
12/9/2009 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
 |
Every kid loved their favorite afterschool past times. For senior men’s basketball player Marquis Hall, what he loved, turned into a long lived, successful collegiate career.
“Growing up basketball was something to do outside in the neighborhood,” Hall said. “Whether it was at the park or out in front of someone’s house, I was always having fun playing against and trying to beat all the kids that were older than me.
Hall continued, “Around fourth grade it got pretty serious and I realized that it was something that I wanted to try and pursue for as long as I could,” Hall said.
And with his senior year approaching, Hall has his last season to put the icing on his “cake.”
Before Hall came to Lehigh, he took home numerous honors at Jefferson High School in Oregon. During his high school career Hall earned Third-Team All-State and Second-Team All-State Tournament Team selections as well as First-Team All-League accolades. Hall led Jefferson to the Portland Interscholastic League championship with an overall record of 21-6, and a league record of 17-1. He received the MVP of the Oregon/Washington All-Star Game after scoring 29 points and was his class’ valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average.
For any senior athlete, the final season of your colligate career can be a bittersweet time. Hall said regardless the experience that comes with senior year, he knows what lies ahead.
“It will be bittersweet,” Hall said. “It’s always nice to be a senior because you have been through everything already, but you know that this is the last time you will be playing collegiate sports. You also know that the real world is waiting for you when the year is over.”
Hall, originally from Portland, Oregon, knew Lehigh was a good choice for him for all the right reasons. “I knew I would have the opportunity to play and get time on the court,” Hall said. “I felt like I fit in with the team and the academics here at Lehigh speak for themselves.”
Hall took to the Lehigh court with force his freshman year having a great first season. He appeared in all 31 games and started in 30, totaling 339 points during the year, which were the third most-ever by a freshman in school annals. Hall’s most prestigious award came later that season when he earned Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year, after earning eight straight Rookie of the Week awards over the season. This was Lehigh’s first time having a player receive the Rookie of the Year award in men’s basketball.
His next two years at Lehigh would only get better as Hall continued to be a star performer on and off the court. His sophomore year Hall earned a second team All-Patriot League mention along with starting all 29 games for the Mountain Hawks, as well as becoming a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. The following year Hall received a spot on the All-Patriot League first team as well as 2009 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year accolades, another first in school history.
For his senior year, Hall is leading the way for the Mountain Hawks on their quest of a Patriot League championship. With all his achievements over the past couple of years, Hall exhibits experience, leadership, personality and dedication. With the stresses of academia and the rigorous long season the team goes through, he is ready for his perseverance to pay off this season.
“We’ve appeared in the Patriot League tournament three times,” Hall said. “Playing with the team, especially the seniors for the last time, it would be great to get that championship this year.”
Being across the country to attend college, Hall had to adapt to his new environment and find a new family. “Our class has been real close since freshman year, and now we have lived together for two years. It’s been hard being away from my family sometimes but this senior class is like my family.”
Senior teammate Dave Buchberger says Hall is a strong offensive threat for the Mountain Hawks. Buchberger said because Hall is so dangerous to opponents, they focus so much attention on him, and the offensive productivity of the team as a whole increases.
“The best aspect of Marquis’ game is his ability to score the ball,” Buchberger said. “Marquis is one of our primary scoring threats, and he has a great knack for creating his own shot and putting the ball in the basket. He can score in almost every possible way, and because of this versatility he receives a lot of attention from opposing defenses.”
Although his teammates are quick to give him praise, Hall said he is always looking to improve.
“I am going to try and improve defensively this year,” Hall said. “I also want to help capitalize for the team more by getting on the free throw line and executing.”
Buchberger comments on what a truly great experience it has been to know Hall. “We have lived and played together all four years, and when you interact with someone for an extended period of time you really get to know them,” Buchberger said. “I can honestly say that developing a relationship with Marquis has been one of the highlights of my Lehigh experience, and I know that our friendship will be something that I cherish for the rest of my life.”
While he has many achievements on the court, Hall, a Finance major, has many achievements and makes plenty of contributions that do not make it onto the stat sheet, especially his leadership abilities.
“I definitely see Marquis as a leader both on and off the court,” Buchberger said. “Marquis’ talent puts him in a position where he is relied upon under pressure circumstances and in must-win situations to lead the team to victory. His skill as a basketball player also carries over into off the court settings, where, because of his abilities, he is respected and looked up to by his peers. Marquis does a good job of using this pedestal to positively influence his teammates.”
With all his success in the past, we should only see great things come from this senior in the 2009-10 season. “Marquis is one of those people that always seem to be on the winning end of things - he has a natural aptitude for getting victories,” Buchberger said. “As a senior Marquis is in a great position to make this competitive fire the defining feature of this year’s team.”
Story written by Kaitlin Dean ‘10
