Marcus Liberty
Marcus Liberty (born October 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Liberty played college basketball for the University of Illinois. 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 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 Player of the Year. In 2007, Liberty was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament. He was considered the top senior prep player in the nation by Sports Illustrated. College and NBA Liberty played collegiately at the University of Illinois, and was a member of the team that advanced to the 1989 NCAA Final Four. That Fighting Illini team gained the moniker "Flyin' Illini" by Dick Vitale while broadcasting a game during the 1988–89 season. Along with Liberty, the other members of that team included Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, Stephen Bardo, Kenny Battle, and Lowell Hamilton. He was then selected by the Denver Nuggets in the 2nd round (42nd overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. A 6'8" (2.03 m) and 205 lb (93 kg) small forward, Liberty played for the Nuggets and Detroit Pistons 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 Marcus Liberty NBA statistics, basketballreference.com IHSA All-State List 1968 births Living people AEK B.C. players Alaska Aces (PBA) 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 Basketball players from Chicago 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) Small forwards Philippine Basketball Association imports Polluelos de Aibonito players Pop Cola Panthers players Rapid City Thrillers players