Marcus Eugene Douthit (born April 15, 1980) is a Filipino-American former basketball player. He graduated from Providence College. After his stint with the Providence Friars, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA draft. Born in Syracuse, New York, he became a naturalized Filipino citizen on March 11, 2011, thus allowing him to play for the Philippines' men's national basketball team.
Early life
Douthit was born in Syracuse, New York to his mother, Melody Douthit. He played high school basketball at Notre Dame Preparatory School, a private, co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The school is primarily known for its basketball program, which has produced notable players such as Michael Beasley, Paul Harris, Lazar Hayward, and Derrick Caracter, 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, the same school that produced Lamar Odom, where he averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks per game.
College basketball career
On November 18, 1999, Providence Friars head coach Tim Welsh announced that Douthit has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Providence College for the 2000–01 school year. Eventually, Douthit would stay at Providence for four consecutive years, taking up a bachelor's degree in Social Science. During his freshman year, he was able to record his first career double-double against Brown University 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. 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, a former member of the Los Angeles Clippers, 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 Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, 56th overall, of the 2004 National Basketball Association draft along with Slovenian basketball player Sasha Vujacic, who was drafted in the first round, 27th overall. However, Douthit decided to play ball in Belgium instead since the Lakers already had 15 players on the roster, and it was still awaiting the decision of Karl Malone 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 Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Los Angeles Lakers
During the 2006–07 NBA season, 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 were all cut by the Lakers before the start of the regular season.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers, on the other hand, signed Douthit and Jamaican professional basketball player Kimani 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 in the NBA Development League, the official minor league organization of the National Basketball Association, during the 2005–06 season. Playing under coach Michael Cooper, he was part of the team's starting lineup along with Tony Bland, T. J. Cummings, Andreas Glyniadakis, and Tierre Brown.
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 NBA Development League 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 Belgium, he played for RBC Verviers-Pepinster and Spirou Charleroi, and averaged 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds while playing for these ball clubs.