Marques Townes (born September 3, 1995) is a Dominican-American

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 for

Kecskeméti TE Kecskeméti Testedző Egyesület, commonly known as Kecskeméti TE or simply Kecskemét, is a sports club based in Kecskemét, Hungary. It is most famous for its football team which competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hu ...

of the

Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A The Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A ( en, National Championship I/A, commonly abbreviated NB I/A) is the highest level league of club men's basketball in Hungary. Format The league comprises 14 teams. A NB I/A season is split into a league stage and a pl ...

, the top division in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. He played college basketball for the

Loyola Ramblers The Loyola Ramblers (also called the Loyola Chicago Ramblers) are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Confere ...

, after beginning his career with

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

. He drew national attention after helping the Ramblers reach the Final Four round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. Entering the college level, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound

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 ...

was a three-star basketball

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

. A native of

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It is ...

, he attended

Cardinal McCarrick High School Cardinal McCarrick High School (CMHS), later known as Cardinal McCarrick/St. Mary's High School, was a Roman Catholic Church, Catholic secondary education in the United States, secondary school located in South Amboy, New Jersey, South Amboy, Ne ...

and St. Joseph High School, where he played both basketball and

american football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Early life and high school

Townes was born in

to Bryant and Luisa Townes but grew up in the nearby city of

Rahway Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

. While in fifth grade, he moved to

South Amboy, New Jersey South Amboy is a suburban city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 9,411.Cardinal McCarrick High School Cardinal McCarrick High School (CMHS), later known as Cardinal McCarrick/St. Mary's High School, was a Roman Catholic Church, Catholic secondary education in the United States, secondary school located in South Amboy, New Jersey, South Amboy, Ne ...

in South Amboy, where he played basketball under head coach Joe Lewis. As a sophomore, he averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, earning first-team All-County honors from ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'' and leading the team to a 22–7 record. At the time, he was being recruited by several major college programs, including

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Before his junior season, Townes announced that he would transfer to St. Joseph High School in

Metuchen, New Jersey Metuchen ( ) is a suburban borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. The borough, along wit ...

, in pursuit of "bigger and better opportunities." He joined a lineup that featured future

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) players

Karl-Anthony Towns Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995), sometimes known as KAT (his initials), is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basket ...

and

Wade Baldwin IV Wade Manson Baldwin IV (born March 29, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. High school and college career Born in the Belle Mead section of Mon ...

. As a senior, he averaged about 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals per game, being a third-team All-State pick by ''The Star-Ledger''. His team, which was ranked the 12th best in the nation by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', finished with a 30–2 record and won the state's Tournament of Champions for the first time in program history. He accumulated 1,863 points, the most in school history behind Jay Williams. Townes also saw success on the football field at St. Joseph, where he played the

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

position. He drew interest from various

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

programs, such as

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and

, but eventually chose to focus on basketball.

College career

A three-star

, Townes decided to start his college basketball career with the

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights refer to the 17 sports teams representing Fairleigh Dickinson University's Metropolitan campus in Teaneck & Hackensack, New Jersey. Fairleigh Dickinson University or (FDU) offers a variety of sports on the Divisi ...

, turning down offers from Saint Peter's,

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and

Charleston Southern Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private Baptist university in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention ( Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern University was ch ...

. In his freshman season for the Knights, he averaged 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. On December 29, 2015, against

Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...

, he recorded 18 points, six rebounds, and five steals, all season-bests. As a sophomore at Fairleigh Dickinson, Townes started in all 33 games, averaging 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He led the team to the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where they lost to Florida Gulf Coast in the First Four round. After his second season in college, Townes announced that he transfer to play for the

. He sat out in the 2016–17 season due to

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 ...

(NCAA) transfer rules. On November 24, 2017, he scored a season-high 23 points to help beat

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...

. At the 2018 NCAA tournament, Townes helped Loyola, an 11-seed, make a

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

run to the Final Four. In the team's Sweet 16 match-up with

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, he made the game-clinching three-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in regulation. With his success in the tournament, he garnered national attention, being featured in the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' and ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. Coming into his senior season, Townes was named to the Preseason Second Team All-MVC. He was named MVC Player of the Year. Townes averaged 15.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game as Loyola won 20 games and earned a spot in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

Professional career

On July 23, 2019, Townes signed with

UCAM Murcia UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as UCAM Murcia, is a professional basketball team based in Murcia, Spain. It plays their home games at Palacio de Deportes. History Founded in 1985 u ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. He averaged 6 points per game during his rookie season. On June 10,2020, Townes extended his contract by one season. On March 11, 2021, he has signed with Kalev/Cramo of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. On September 16, 2021, he has signed with Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

. Townes averaged 11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. On January 3, 2022, he signed with Tours Métropole Basket of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

National team career

In July 2018, Townes was selected to represent the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

at the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...

References

External links

Loyola Ramblers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townes, Marques 1995 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games BC Kalev/Cramo players CB Murcia players American expatriate basketball people in Estonia American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball players Liga ACB players Loyola Ramblers men's basketball players Pan American Games competitors for the Dominican Republic People from Edison, New Jersey People from South Amboy, New Jersey Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Rahway, New Jersey Basketball players from Union County, New Jersey St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, New Jersey) alumni American expatriate basketball people in France