Markel Starks (born February 21, 1991) is an American professional basketball for Darüşşafaka of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replace ...

(BSL). Born in

Accokeek, Maryland Accokeek (), "at the edge of the hill" in Algonquin, is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The CDP is located on the Potomac River, borders Charles County and is approximately 17 miles from ...

, he played for

Georgetown Prep Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit board ...

before enrolling at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and playing for the Hoyas.

High school career

Starks attended

Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit boar ...

North Bethesda, Maryland North Bethesda is an unincorporated, census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located just north-west of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 50,094 as of the 2020 census. Among its neighb ...

where he played for coach Dwayne Bryant. As a freshman in 2006–07, he averaged 10 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds per game as he led Prep to a 15-10 record, the IAC Tournament Championship and he was named the conference Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore in 2007–08, he averaged 15 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds per game as he led Prep to an 18-7 record and the IAC Tournament Championship for the second straight year. He subsequently earned All-IAC and first-team All-Montgomery County honors. On September 25, 2008, Starks committed to nearby

. As a junior in 2008–09, he averaged 22 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds per game as he earned first-team All-Met, All-Montgomery County and All-IAC honors. As a senior in 2009–10, he averaged 25 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds per game as he led Prep to an 18-7 record. He subsequently earned first-team All-Met honors, was named to the All-Decade Team in Montgomery County (Md.), was named the county Player of the Year and the IAC Player of the Year. Starks was a top one-hundred recruit out of Georgetown Prep as he was ranked 76th by ''ESPN 100'' and 80th by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. He officially signed with Georgetown University on March 29, 2010.

College career

After an outstanding high school career, Starks joined the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National ...

for his freshman season in 2010–11. He appeared in 30 games while averaging 1.5 points, 0.7 assists and 0.6 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game. As a sophomore in 2011–12, Starks appeared in 31 games with 25 starting assignments. He was fifth on the team in scoring with 7.1 points per game while he connected on 45.5 percent of his field goals (80-of-176) and 36.7 percent of his three-point field goals (36-of-98). He also averaged 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.4 minutes per game. As a junior in 2012–13, Starks stepped up his game as he averaged 12.8 points per game which earned him third-team All-Big East honors. In 32 games (all starts), he also averaged 1.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.1 minutes per game. During Starks′ senior season in 2013–14, head coach John Thompson III gave him 37.0 minutes per game. To Starks' credit, he improved once again, increasing his scoring average to 17.3 points per game despite his field goal percentage dropping from 45.7% as a junior to 41.2% as a senior. He subsequently earned first-team All-Big East and second-team NABC Division I All-District 5 honors. In 33 games (all starts), he also averaged 2.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, style="text-align:left;", Georgetown , 30 , , 0 , , 9.7 , , .283 , , .257 , , .600 , , .6 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Georgetown , 31 , , 25 , , 24.4 , , .455 , , .367 , , .697 , , 1.6 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Georgetown , 32 , , 32 , , 34.1 , , .457 , , .417 , , .731 , , 1.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Georgetown , 33 , , 33 , , 37.0 , , .412 , , .326 , , .870 , , 2.3 , , 4.1 , , .9 , , .1 , , 17.3 , -

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, Starks joined the

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 L ...

for the Orlando Summer League and the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League. On July 30, 2014, he signed with FMC Ferentino of Italy for the 2014–15 season. In 34 games for Ferentino, he averaged 14.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. On August 12, 2015, Starks signed with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The ...

for the

2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featuri ...

. On September 28, he was named the joint MVP winner of the 2015 Pre-season Blitz tournament alongside Stephen Holt of

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 a ...

. Both players were awarded the Ray Borner MVP Medal for leading their clubs to clean sweeps in the NBL's annual pre-season tournament. Starks helped the Taipans finish the five-day tournament with a 3–0 win–loss record, and over those three games, Starks averaged 13.7 points per game. On October 31, Starks had a season-best game with 27 points and a buzzer beating game-winning three-pointer to lift the Taipans over the line against the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

, winning the contest 104–101. He bested that performance on December 11, scoring a season-high 33 points in a 103–101 double overtime win over the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

. Starks appeared in all 16 games to begin the season before a hamstring injury suffered on December 17 ruled him out for two straight games. He returned to action on January 6, 2016, but limped through the rest of the season. Having averaged a serviceable 14.5 points over his first 15 games, his points per game average dropped to 9.7 over his final 11 contests. The Taipans finished the season outside the top four, thus missing the playoffs with a 12–16 win–loss record. Starks appeared in 26 games for the Taipans, averaging 12.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. On February 25, 2016, Starks signed with

Vanoli Cremona Guerino Vanoli Basket, also known as Vanoli Cremona, is a professional basketball team of the city of Cremona. The team played in the LBA, the top Italian basketball league, for 12 years until 2021. From 1999 to 2011 the society had the name of ...

for the rest of the

2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A The 2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A, known for sponsorship reasons as the Serie A BEKO, was the 94th season of the Lega Basket Serie A, the highest professional basketball league in Italy. The regular season started on 4 October 2015 and finished o ...

season, returning to Italy for a second stint. On August 17, 2019, Starks signed with Avtodor Saratov of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

. He averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Starks re-signed with the team on June 23, 2020. On June 20, 2021, he has signed with Igokea of the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mac ...

. Starks averaged 12.6 points, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. On January 22, 2022, he signed with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

(BSL). On June 18, 2022, he has signed with Darüşşafaka of the Turkish

(BSL).

Personal

Starks is the son of Anthony and Rae Starks, and has a brother, Renard, who attended Virginia Military Institute.

References

External links

Cairns Taipans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starks, Markel 1991 births Living people ABA League players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basket Ferentino players Basket Zielona Góra players Basketball players from Maryland BC Avtodor Saratov players Cairns Taipans players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Georgetown Preparatory School alumni KK Igokea players Koroivos B.C. players People from Accokeek, Maryland Piratas de Quebradillas players Point guards Skyliners Frankfurt players Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Vanoli Cremona players Yalovaspor BK players