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Q– With my previous interview with EJ, I started to ask him if he was on a private island with any of his teammates who would he choose.
Marcus- “He chose me.”
Q- He did.
Marcus- “And I choose him. “
Q – He said he hoped that you’d pick him. Why would you pick him?
Marcus – “Because he’s my best friend!”
Q – As a returning player and leader for the new freshmen, how do you plan on promoting positive energy for your team through both the good and bad situations that usually goes along with the season?
Marcus – “I feel that the first thing you got to do is just like enjoy the moment. Once they see you having fun and not really stressing about things they kinda feel like they can relax and start getting things done.”
Q – Tell us a little bit about what you’ve done in the off-season to help prepare for this season?
Marcus – “I’ve tried to get this team together, we’re kinda young, we don’t have that many returning players so being able to be together at once in such a fast way is something we have to stress.”
Q – Going in as a young team what are you expecting?
Marcus - “We expect the same thing as every other year, which is to do great things and nothing less.”
Q – I’d say it’s been an adjustment for you coming from California to the Bluegrass. Is there anything that you’ve done or got to experience in Kentucky that you never thought you’d do or try?
Marcus – “I’ve definitely seen a lot of things that I’m not used to seeing. I think one thing that I’ve started to love is going to the Derby and stuff like that because we don’t have anything like that in California.
And also just being in college in general you get to enjoy things that you don’t really understand at first, so it’s really a good experience.”
Q – Have you been horseback riding since you’ve been in Kentucky?
Marcus – “No, I don’t think I ever will.
It kinda freaks me about about being on a horse.”
Q – Can you describe your typical pre-game routine?
Marcus – “We usually have a pre-game meal and then I head to the gym maybe an hour earlier than the rest of my team just to kinda relax and not be in a rush. And then I have a specific schedule of how I put my clothes on, how I get things done in the locker room and then I go on the court to do my specific routine and that’s how I get myself ready for that game.”
Q – What about halftime?
Marcus – "At halftime I’m in game mode so there’s no real routine. it just depends on how we’re playing.”
Q – Can you talk a little bit about the relationship that you have with your teammates and how that’s played a role in the success of the past seasons?
Marcus – “Our relationship together in previous years is what got us there, us being so tight-knit as a family has bonded us to get where we wanted to go.
There were times when we could have fell apart and just abandoned each other but we’ve gotten closer and worked through it and that’s what family does, they work through things and that’s what makes people great.”
Q – What do you consider your biggest struggle on the court to be and how are you improving this?
Marcus – “I think our greatest struggle so far, just being at Kentucky, is us trying to come together and that’s just something that you have to stress this year.
That’s something we need to stress every year because we have so many people from different parts of the world so it’s a little bit harder this year because we don’t know how everybody is or how people are going to react to things so being able to bond with each other is something that really helps us out.”
Q – I’ve noticed your involvement with Kickin It for Kelly. When did you first meet him and talk a little bit about your role off the court with him.
Marcus – "I met Kelly my freshman year, middle of my freshman year, and the craziest thing is that when I met him, when you think about you’re going to see a kid in the hospital you think of somebody just sitting around as a sad thing but I walked in the first time and there was water guns squirted at me, this kid didn’t know who I was but he was chasing me with a water gun, with nerf-guns, so at this point it’s not so much me trying to help him out, but it’s him trying to help me out and that’s what I see and I walk in there and I could have a bad day and he makes me smile so it’s more of me having a friend instead of me trying to help somebody out.”
Q – I know your 21st birthday is coming up pretty soon. Do you have any big plans for this year?
Marcus – “21st birthday, I will be…. I really don’t know what I want to do but most likely we’ll have a workout or something here, so I would do that first and then… I don’t know what I’m going to do for my 21st birthday.”
Q – No trips to Vegas?
Marcus – “Noooo… If I could I would but I can’t….”
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