Marcus Eugene Douthit (born April 15, 1980) is a Filipino-American former

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 graduated from

Providence College Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the local diocese, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs. It requires all of its undergraduat ...

. After his stint with the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference ( NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they co ...

, he was drafted by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the 2004 NBA draft. Born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

, he became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

Filipino citizen on March 11, 2011, thus allowing him to play for the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

' men's national basketball team.

Early life

Douthit was born in

to his mother, Melody Douthit. He played high school basketball at Notre Dame Preparatory School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, co-educational

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

. The school is primarily known for its basketball program, which has produced notable players such as

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...

, Paul Harris,

Lazar Hayward Lazar Miller Hayward (born November 26, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a college standout for Marquette University. High school career Hayward went to Buffalo Traditional High School where he was an outstandin ...

, and

Derrick Caracter Derrick Eugene Caracter (born May 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Capitanes de Arecibo of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He played college basketball for Louisville and UTEP. Caracte ...

, to name a few. Before transferring to Notre Dame Prep for his senior year, Douthit played at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wi ...

, the same school that produced

Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named the NBA Si ...

, where he averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks per game.

College basketball career

On November 18, 1999,

head coach

Tim Welsh Tim Welsh (born October 4, 1960) is an American college basketball coach and the former head basketball coach at Providence College. Previously, he served as the head coach at Iona College. He also served briefly as head men's basketball coach ...

announced that Douthit has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend

for the 2000–01 school year. Eventually, Douthit would stay at Providence for four consecutive years, taking up a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

Social Science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of s ...

. During his freshman year, he was able to record his first career double-double against

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

by scoring a career-high 22 points and collecting 11 rebounds. As a junior in Providence, Douthit finished 11th in the NCAA Men's Division I with an average of 3.0 blocks per game. The following year as a senior, he improved to seventh with an average of 3.2 blocks per game, third in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

. He finished his college career ranking second all-time in blocks at his school with 295. Douthit spent four years playing for the Friars. Along with teammate

Ryan Gomes Ryan Anthony Gomes (born September 1, 1982) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Cold Hearts of Overtime Elite (OTE). He was named a First Team All-American power forward at Providence Colle ...

, a former member of the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, he was a member of the 2003–04 Providence Friars team that finished with an 11–5 conference record, 20–9 overall. During his junior and senior years playing for Providence, Douthit was awarded the team's Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award.

Professional basketball career

National Basketball Association

Douthit was selected by the

in the second round, 56th overall, of the 2004

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

draft along with

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

basketball player Sasha Vujacic, who was drafted in the first round, 27th overall. However, Douthit decided to play ball in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

instead since the Lakers already had 15 players on the roster, and it was still awaiting the decision of

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone sp ...

if he would join the team. Although he never played in the NBA, Douthit had several close stints in signing with a couple of ball clubs, specifically the

and the

Los Angeles Lakers

During the

2006–07 NBA season The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The first NBA draft under the ne ...

, the Lakers announced that they would sign Douthit after playing professional ball in Europe. Shortly after, the team placed him on waivers. Douthit along with other aspirants such as J. R. Pinnock, Mamadou N'diaye, and

Devin Green Devin Green (born October 25, 1982) is a former American professional basketball player who last played for GS Pétroliers in 2020, winning the Basketball Africa League's (BAL) inaugural pre-qualification championship in Yaounde, Cameroon. He pl ...

were all cut by the Lakers before the start of the regular season.

Los Angeles Clippers

The

, on the other hand, signed Douthit and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n professional basketball player

Kimani Ffriend Kimani Ffriend (born 29 July 1977) is Jamaican former professional basketball player. He played at the center position. College career Ffriend played NCAA college basketball with the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1999 to 2001. Prior that, Ffriend ...

in the 2007–08 NBA season, including them in the team's training camp roster. After not playing in the first two preseason games of the team, Douthit was waived by the Clippers.

NBA Development League

Douthit played for the

Albuquerque Thunderbirds Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

, the official

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

organization of the

, during the 2005–06 season. Playing under coach

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning ...

, he was part of the team's starting lineup along with Tony Bland, T. J. Cummings,

Andreas Glyniadakis Andreas Glyniadakis (alternate spelling: Gliniadakis) (Greek: Ανδρέας Γλυνιαδάκης; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He played center at a height of tall. His professional club playing caree ...

, and

Tierre Brown Tierre Brown (born June 3, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Career Brown graduated from McNeese State University and began his career with the NBA's Houston Rockets in 2001. He played fifteen games for the Cleveland Cav ...

. While playing for the Thunderbirds, Douthit averaged 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. Douthit also helped the team defeat the Fort Worth Flyers, 119–108, to win the 2005–06

Championship, scoring 11 points and collecting 15 rebounds during the championship game.

European career

Belgium

Before playing in the NBA D-League, Douthit played in the Basketball League Belgium, also known as the Ligue Ethias, which is the highest professional basketball league in the country. In

, he played for

RBC Verviers-Pepinster Royal Basketball Club Pepinster is a Belgian basketball club that is located in the Verviers-Pepinster area of Liège Province, Belgium. The club currently competes in the Belgian Fifth Division, the fifth tier of Belgian basketball. Before, the ...

and

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Charleroi, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome wh ...

, and averaged 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds while playing for these ball clubs.

Turkey

Douthit has played for basketball club Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

during the 2007–08 season. That year, the team finished sixth in the league with a total 18 wins, qualifying them to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. The club was eventually eliminated by Turkish team Fenerbahçe Ülkerspor. While playing for

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

in Turkey's top men's professional basketball league, Turkish Basketball League, Douthit averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Russia

After several stints in a number of professional leagues in Europe, Douthit suited up for

BC Krasnye Krylya Samara BC Krasnye Krylya (russian: БК Красные Крылья, en, BC Red Wings) was a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Samara, Russia. History Krasnye Krylya played in the 2009–10 season of the Russian Super League 1, as ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Based in the city of

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

, the club plays in the

Russian Basketball Super League The Russian Basketball Super League 1, or Super Liga 1, (russian: Баскетбольная Cуперлига 1), formerly known as the Russian Basketball Super League A or the Russian Basketball Super Liga A, is a men's professional basketball ...

. During the 2009–10 season, the club also participated in the 2010 EuroChallenge, organized by

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...

. Douthit averaged 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 11 games in that year's EuroChallenge.

Asian career

South Korea

To cap the 2006–07 season, after playing in the NBA D-League, Douthit joined the Daegu Orions in 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 ...

, which is the professional basketball league of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Philippines

In May 2010,

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas () or the SBP is the national sport association for basketball in the Philippines, formed from the merging of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and Pilipinas Basketball (PB). It was formed ...

announced that Douthit has been invited to try out for a spot in the

Philippines men's national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilip ...

, Smart Gilas. He suited up for the team, spearheaded by former Iran national team head coach Rajko Toroman, in the 2010 MVP Invitational Champions' Cup. Douthit joins notable Filipino basketball players

Marcio Lassiter Marcio Tsongo Sandio Eshabarr Lassiter (born May 16, 1987) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He had a stint with the Philippine national basketball ...

, J.V. Casio,

Japeth Aguilar Japeth Paul Cabrera Aguilar (born January 25, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He first played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of ...

, Dylan Ababou, and Chris Tiu, who are members of the Gilas squad. On February 25, 2011, he scored 16 points and collected 26 rebounds in his debut game with Gilas in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

against the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. He played for the Air21 Express as an import during the 2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

China

In October 2011, it was reported that Douthit has come to terms on a five-month contract to play for the

Foshan Dralions The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). History The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...

, a club based in

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

that plays in the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. The team is coached by former NBA player Jay Humphries.

Back to the Philippines

In January 2015, he signed for

Blackwater Elite The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise began as one of the founding teams in the PB ...

as an import and replaced Chris Charles who was injured. His team got their first win for the

2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2015 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup, also known as the 2015 PLDT Home TelPad-PBA Commissioner's Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second conference of the 2014–15 PBA season. The tournament began on January 2 ...

against the defending champions,

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

, in a score of 88–77. In September 2016, Douthit was signed in by Mighty Sports to play for the club in the 2016 Merlion Cup in Singapore where the team finished second. and in February 2017 he was re-signed in by Mighty Sports to play for the club in the 2017 Dubai International Basketball Championship.

Thailand

On January 3, 2017, it was reported that Douthit signed a contract to play for the Hanoi Buffaloes, a Vietnamese ball club which will compete at the Thailand Basketball Super League.

Basketball career statistics

''Correct as of 10 May 2012''

Regular season

, - , 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. ...

, align="left" , Smart Gilas , 12 , , 39.25 , , .540 , , 0.000 , , .521 , , 17.67 , , 2.17 , , 0.92 , , 3.25 , , 22.33 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" , Air21 Express , 9 , , 42.00 , , .365 , , 0.000 , , .639 , , 20.33 , , 3.78 , , 1.22 , , 2.22 , , 20.33 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29.40 , , .522 , , 0.000 , , .751 , , 10.70 , , 2.00, , 1.50 , , 1.60 , , 19.80

International tournaments

, - , align="left" , 2012 Jones Cup , align="left" , Smart Gilas , 8 , , 29.13 , , .630 , , 0.000 , , .725 , , 10.87 , , 1.75 , , 1.38 , , 1.38 , , 16.13 , - , align="left" ,

2012 FIBA Asia Cup 2012 FIBA Asia Cup was the 4th FIBA Asia Cup, the basketball tournament of FIBA Asia was held at the Ota City General Gymnasium, in Ota, Tokyo, Japan from September 14–22, 2012. The winner of this year's FIBA Asia Cup automatically qualifies ...

, align="left" , Smart Gilas , 6 , , 31.00 , , .655 , , 1.000 , , .581 , , 11.30 , , 1.20, , 0.83 , , 1.66 , , 15.20 , - , align="left" ,

2013 FIBA Asia Championship The 2013 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the intercontinental championship for basketball organized by FIBA Asia that served as the qualifying tournament for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. The tournament was held from August 1–1 ...

, align="left" , Philippine National Basketball Team , 8 , , 25.62 , , .432 , , 0.000 , , .758 , , 9.38 , , 1.62, , 0.5 , , 2.0 , , 11.80

International basketball career

Philippine national team

Douthit first suited up as an import for Gilas at the 2010 MVP Invitational Champions' Cup, which was held from June 24 to 27 at the

Ninoy Aquino Stadium The Ninoy Aquino Stadium, now known as PSC Multipurpose Gym, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. Originally built in the 1950s, it was renovated and renamed for Philippine senator B ...

. He helped the nationals beat the

Jordan national basketball team The Jordan national basketball team is the official basketball team of Jordan in international competitions. The Jordanian team achievements in recent years beside qualifying to World Cup for two times (2010 and 2019), won the William Jones Cup ...

in the championship game, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Toroman, a former assistant coach of the national squad of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

from 1991 to 1995, was impressed with Douthit's performance and recommended him to be Gilas’ top prospect for naturalization. In June 2010, the

announced that Douthit agreed to sign a one-year contract and undergo the

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

process. After the process, he would be allowed to represent the Philippines as a full-fledged Filipino in international competitions such as the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, a qualifying tournament of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Douthit's represented the

at the

2010 William Jones Cup The 2010 William Jones Cup was the 32nd tournament which took place in Taipei from 14–20 July. Men Standings Results All-tournament team * Lee Hsueh-lin * Yuta Tabuse * Samad Nikkhah Bahrami (MVP) * Takuya Kawamu ...

, an international basketball tournament held from July 14 to 22 in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. Smart Gilas finished third in the tournament, improving the country's sixth-place finish from the previous year. In the tournament, Douthit was named a member of the All-Tournament Team along with Yuta Tabuse (Japan), Lee Hsueh-lin (Taiwan),

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami Mohammad Samad Nikkhah Bahrami ( fa, محمدصمد نیکخواه بهرامی, born 11 May 1983) is an Iranian professional basketball player. Pro career He previously played for Saba Battery as a subsidiary player, teaming with his since-dece ...

(Iran), and

Takuya Kawamura is a Japanese professional basketball guard currently signed to the SeaHorses Mikawa. In 2005, he skipped college and started playing professional basketball, following Kazuo Nakamura's advice. In 2009, he decided to leave the Japan Basketball L ...

(Japan). Because he and Gilas teammate Chris Lutz have not secured a Filipino

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

in time for the competition, Douthit did not suit up for the team at the FIBA Asia Stanković Cup 2010, held from August 7 to 15 in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

. Douthit first represented the Philippines as a naturalized Filipino in the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, which was held in

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the ...

, Philippines from May 28 to June 5, 2011. Douthit also represented the Philippines in both the 2011 William Jones Cup and 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. In that year's FIBA Asia Championship, he averaged 21.9 points and 12.2 rebounds for Smart Gilas, which finished fourth overall in the tournament.

Filipino naturalization

In February 2011, former

executive director

Noli Eala Jose Emmanuel "Noli" M. Eala is a Filipino sports executive and disbarred lawyer who served as the 11th chairperson of the Philippine Sports Commission from August 30 to December 28, 2022. He previously served as the sixth commissioner of the P ...

announced that Douthit's application for Filipino naturalization has already been transmitted for signature to the office of

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

. Thirty days after February 9, the day the application reached the president's office at Malacañan Palace, Douthit would secure his Filipino citizenship with or without Aquino's signature. On March 11, 2011, Republic Act No. 10148 introduced by

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the ...

Second District

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Robbie Puno, which grants Filipino

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

to Douthit, lapsed into law after

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Aquino failed to sign it. Douthit's eligibility to play for the Smart Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team was confirmed by FIBA Sport and Eligibility committee head Ivanka Toteva in June 2011. With the confirmation, Douthit will be allowed to represent the Philippines as a naturalized player in all FIBA sanctioned events.

Player profile

Douthit is 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) tall, and is usually tasked to play the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and power forward positions. He is often described as a versatile big man who loves to crash the boards and score off garbage points, with a steady perimeter shot. With his 7-4

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

, Douthit has incredible reach as well, which makes him a prolific shot blocker. Tim Welsh, Douthit's former

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

at Providence, once said that, "Marcus runs the court very well and handles the ball well for a big man. He's not a back-to-the basket player, he's a face-up player which is what makes him perfect for our style of play... He's also a tremendous shot blocker who has great timing and makes it difficult for people to score over him." Douthit is also often compared to

Haitian Canadian Haitian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Haitian descent or Haiti-born people who reside in Canada. As of 2016, more than 86% of Haitian Canadians reside in Quebec. Haitian Migration to Canada Immigration 1960-1980 Immigration from Haiti ...

professional

player Samuel Dalembert.

Awards and honors

* William Jones Cup Champion: 2012 * SEABA Champion: 2011, 2012, 2015 * William Jones Cup Third Place: 2011 * William Jones Cup All-Tournament Team: 2010, 2012 * 2x Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award: 2003, 2004

References

External links