Marcus Johnny Rashaan Keene (born May 6, 1995) is an American basketball player for

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. He gained national prominence in 2016–17 season as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

junior while at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

, having been profiled by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

because of his prolific scoring ability. Keene is a 5'9"

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

who averaged 30.0 points per game his junior year at Central Michigan, the highest average in NCAA Division I men's basketball that season.

High school career

Keene born in a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where his parents were serving in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

. Keene attended

Earl Warren High School Earl Warren High School is a public school located in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Northside Independent School District. As with all Northside ISD high schools, it is named for a former United States Supreme Court justi ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, where scored over 1,600 points in his career and graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer. During Keene's sophomore and junior years combined he scored 781 points, and in his senior season alone he scored 869. Keene's junior year saw him get named to the all-state, all-city, and Super-City Team. In Keene's senior season, he averaged 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game. He only had one Division I scholarship offer heading into his senior year,

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

, which he accepted.

College career

Youngstown State

Keene's freshman season at Youngstown State (2013–14) saw him have moderate success. He averaged 6.5 points per game in 22 games played, including one start. He totaled 149 points on the year. In 2014–15, his season was "up and down," but he performed well by averaging 15.6 points per game, which led the team and was sixth-highest in the

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

. At one point he was suspended for breaking a teammate's nose, and his overall satisfaction was not high; Keene wanted to play

but had been designated as a spot-up

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

. After a game against

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

, whose up-tempo offense and "free-wheeling" style of play appealed to Keene, he had a conversation with a Central Michigan assistant coach. Keene then chose to transfer shortly thereafter.

Central Michigan

In 2015–16, Keene had to sit out his first season at Central Michigan due to NCAA transfer eligibility rules. During that season he played as a

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

er against the starters but he frequently dominated them. One time, Keene scored 37 points against them in a scrimmage. Fellow

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Braylon Rayson Braylon Rayson (born December 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for BK Ogre of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Central Michigan Chippewas. In 2019, he was named NBL Canada Playe ...

said, "We couldn’t do nothing with him. It was to the point where we just had to live with it." Keene exploded onto the national college basketball scene when he became eligible in 2016–17. Through

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

-worthy highlights, ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'' Top 10 game-winning shots, and his nation-leading scoring average, sports media have paid attention to him. On January 21, 2017, Keene scored 50 points against Miami (Ohio), including 10 made three-point field goals. It was the highest single game scoring output by anyone in Division I that season. On February 9, he was named as a top-20 finalist for the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

, given annually to the nation's best player. Keene finished the 2016–17 season averaging 30.0

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...

, becoming the first player to average at least 30 points since

LIU Brooklyn LIU Brooklyn is a private university in Brooklyn, New York. It is the original unit and first of two main campuses of the private Long Island University system. Campus LIU Brooklyn is located at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenu ...

's Charles Jones during the 1996–97 season 20 years earlier. On March 14, it was announced that Keene would test his

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

stock, with him having the option to return to Central Michigan before the NBA draft lottery is set. One month later, Keene signed an agent, thus ending his collegiate eligibility.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" ,

, 22 , , 1 , , 16.3 , , .370 , , .324 , , .757 , , 1.9 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .0 , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 34.9 , , .449 , , .419 , , .787 , , 3.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 15.6 , - , align="left" , 2016–17 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 36.8 , , .447 , , .368 , , .819 , , 4.5 , , 4.9 , , .8 , , .0 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 30.0* , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 86 , , 65 , , 30.9 , , .440 , , .381 , , .805 , , 3.5 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .0 , , 18.6

Professional career

Dinamo Academy Cagliari (2017–2018)

After going undrafted in the

2017 NBA Draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, he joined the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

for the 2017 NBA Summer League. After failing to be signed to a regular season contract with the Wizards, Keene signed to play in Italy's

Serie A2 Basket Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pro ...

league for the Cagliari Dinamo Academy. He averaged 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 30 games in his first season.

Memphis Hustle (2018–2019)

On December 7, 2018, Keene signed with the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers Ce ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

KCC Egis (2019–2020)

On March 1, 2019, Keene signed with the KCC Egis of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...

(KBL).

Sideline Cancer (2019-Present)

Keene participated in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 201 ...

with Sideline Cancer. He started all 3 games leading the team to the Sweet 16 and to

The Basketball Tournament 2019 The Basketball Tournament 2019 was the sixth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament broadcast by the ESPN family of networks. The tournament, involving 64 teams, started on July 19 and contin ...

Wichita Regional Championship Game. Keene returned to Sideline Cancer in 2020 and was the catalyst behind it advancing to its first TBT championship game. He was named to his first ever All TBT team. In 2021, Keene advanced his team as a #1 seed to the Elite 8 and he earned his 2nd All TBT selection.

Yulon Luxgen Dinos (2019–2020)

Keene signed with

Yulon Luxgen Dinos The Yulon Luxgen Dinos are a basketball team in the Super Basketball League in Taiwan. It was founded in 1965 by Yulon Motor's (or the Taiwanese Car Manufacturer Luxgen) Chairman as a First Division amateur basketball team. It has also been membe ...

of the

Super Basketball League The Super Basketball League (超級籃球聯賽), often abbreviated as the SBL, is a semi-professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Taiwan. Current clubs Currently, there are four teams competing in the SBL. They are ...

in Taiwan. He was named the Player of the Week for January 12–19, 2020.

Kalev/Cramo (2020–2021)

On August 27, 2020, Keene signed with Kalev/Cramo in the top tier

Latvian–Estonian Basketball League The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League is the highest professional men's club basketball league in Latvia and Estonia; it has been organised since 2018, run by the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association. History ...

Cedevita Olimpija (2021)

On July 4, 2021, Keene signed with

KK Cedevita Olimpija Košarkarski klub Cedevita Olimpija ( en, Cedevita Olimpija Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Cedevita Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the ABA Le ...

in the top tier

Slovenian Basketball League The Premier A Slovenian Basketball League ( sl, 1. slovenska košarkarska liga), abbreviated as 1. SKL and known as the Liga Nova KBM due to sponsorship reasons, is the top-level professional men's basketball league in Slovenia. The league, opera ...

. After playing in 11 games in which he averaged 11.6 points and 3.1 assists per game, he parted ways with the team on November 14.

Pallacanestro Varese (2021–2022)

On November 16, 2021, Keene signed with

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

SIG Strasbourg (2022–present)

On July 1, 2022, Keene signed with