Marcus Liberty (born October 27, 1968) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played four seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Liberty played college basketball for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

High school

After leading Chicago's Crane High School Cougars to a city title as a freshman, Liberty transferred to Chicago's

King College Prep High School Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Preparatory High School (commonly known as King College Prep or locally as King) is a public 4-year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Kenwood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illi ...

for his sophomore through senior seasons from 1984 to 1987. During his time at King, Liberty led his basketball teams to an IHSA State Championship in 1986 and a second-place finish in 1987. During the 1987 tournament run, Liberty scored 41, 23, 38 and 41 points consecutively. His 143-point effort during that tournament stands as a ''class AA'' record in the state of Illinois. He was named a McDonald's All-American in 1987, as well as the ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' Player of the Year. In 2007, Liberty was voted one of the "

100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) celebrated 100 years of the IHSA State Tournament in the 2006-07 season. A list of "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament" was assembled on December 14, 2005. Throughout the state, 281 ind ...

," recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament.IHSA – Legends of Boys Basketball
/ref> He was considered the top senior prep player in the nation 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 ...

''.

College and NBA

Liberty played collegiately at the

, and was a member of the team that advanced to the 1989 NCAA Final Four. That

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

team gained the moniker "'' Flyin' Illini''" by

Dick Vitale Richard John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster fo ...

while broadcasting a game during the 1988–89 season. Along with Liberty, the other members of that team included Nick Anderson,

Kendall Gill Kendall Cedric Gill (born May 25, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who now works as a television basketball analyst. Early life Gill was born in Chicago and attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinoi ...

, Stephen Bardo,

Kenny Battle Kenneth R. Battle (born October 10, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. High school career In 1984, Battle led Aurora West High School to third place in the Illinois High School Association Class AA state basketball tourn ...

, and

Lowell Hamilton Lowell Hamilton (born May 3, 1966) is an American former basketball player. High school Hamilton was a dominant high school basketball player at Chicago's Providence St. Mel, where he led the Knights to four consecutive IHSA boys' sectional ch ...

. He was then selected by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in the 2nd round (42nd overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft. A 6'8" (2.03 m) and 205 lb (93 kg)

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

, Liberty played for the Nuggets and

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

in 4 NBA seasons. His best year as a pro was during the 1991-92 NBA season when he appeared in 75 games for the Nuggets, averaging 9.3 ppg.

References

External links

basketpedya.com
''basketballreference.com''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty, Marcus 1968 births Living people AEK B.C. players American expatriate basketball people in Chile American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Jämtland Basket players Las Vegas Silver Bandits players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Rapid City Thrillers players Small forwards Basketball players from Chicago Alaska Aces (PBA) players Philippine Basketball Association imports Pop Cola Panthers players Polluelos de Aibonito players