#25 Marquis Teague
6’2 189
Freshman – Point Guard
Pike High School
Indianapolis, Indiana
Senior High School Season Stats:
PPG: 23
APG: 6
RPG: 4
Marquis Teague is a player that has been followed by the Kentucky faithful for a few years now. He has been on UK’s radar for only one reason: he was on Louisville’s radar first.
Rick Pitino and his staff had been recruiting Teague since 2009, right before Calipari came to Lexington. Teague’s father, Shawn, played for Pitino at Boston University, and living in Indianapolis he had close proximity to Louisville. But Calipari and Kentucky came into the picture shortly thereafter, and many believed that Teague was indeed going to be a Louisville Cardinal in 2011. But the tide started to change and Calipari worked some last-second magic, and eventually Teague committed to Kentucky in April 2010. This was one of the big steals for Calipari overall in his time so far at Kentucky. He took a player that was on board and nearly committed to Louisville at one point, and turned the tables in bringing him over to Lexington and indirectly in the process dismantled Louisville’s 2011 class, which had many talented players as well.
Teague has long been considered one of the best players in his star-studded class. He was the top-rated point guard according to Rivals, and has competed with the likes of Tony Wroten Jr. and Austin Rivers for that spot. He comes to Kentucky at a time where the point guard position plays a vital role in Calipari’s famed dribble-drive motion offense. Teague follows in the footsteps of those before him: Rose and Evans at Memphis, Wall and Knight at Kentucky. He fits the position perfectly: he has a knack for scoring at will, can distribute the ball well, knows how to penetrate and attack the basket, and he is a legitimate threat to his defenders.
With the talent that surrounds him this upcoming season at UK, he only adds to the picture in making this offense better. Unlike in the past few seasons where UK shaped their offense around their post players with Wall as a scorer (2009), or in 2010 where UK had a semi-dribble drive motion offense, UK will have the players this season to complete the full offense; those players who have learned under Calipari’s tutelage, and those who fit the offensive mold perfectly, like Teague.
What To Expect This Year
Without a doubt, you can expect Teague to start this season and get in valuable minutes. If he is to be the next elite point guard in line to the throne, he will need all the experience he can get this year, especially at a school like Kentucky, where he will have to be in the limelight often. However, since UK has such a young yet deep roster, you can expect him to be splitting time with Doron Lamb, who will most likely start but be a sixth man at other times. Lamb has great ball handling and has asked to play the point, which he did a few times last season. Teague will have the opportunity to rack up points since he is such a quick player with great handles and ball handling, and he is great at distributing the ball. Expect him to get a few double-doubles this season.
Calipari on Teague
“As is the case with all of my point guards, Marquis is a different player than my last four lead guards. He possesses incredible speed and he’s a physical finisher. Marquis may be the best pick-and-roll guard we’ve ever had, so we may use more pick-and-roll sets this year. He also has the ability to be a lockdown defender.”
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