Marcus LoVett Jr.

Marcus LoVett Jr. (born March 4, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Tianjin Pioneers of the Chinese Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm.

Marcus LoVett Jr.

LoVett with Morgan Park High School in 2015
No. 77 – Tianjin Pioneers
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
League	Chinese Basketball Association
Personal information
Born	(1996-03-04) March 4, 1996 (age 28) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Providence (Burbank, California) San Gabriel Academy (San Gabriel, California) Morgan Park (Chicago, Illinois)
College	St. John's (2016–2018)
NBA draft	2019: undrafted
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018–2019	Sloboda Užice
2020	Semt77 Yalovaspor
2020–2021	Ovarense Basquetebol
2021–2022	Vilpas Vikings
2022–2024	Sporting CP
2024	Henan Golden Elephants
2024–present	Tianjin Pioneers
Career highlights and awards
Big East All-Rookie Team (2017)

High school career

LoVett grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana but moved to California prior to high school.^[1] LoVett began his high school career at Providence High School. As a freshman, he led all freshmen in scoring average at 31.7 points per game, while also averaging 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game. LoVett posted six 40-point outings, including a season-high 57-point game in a win over St. Joseph. He was named All-Area Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year as well as Liberty League and CIF Southern Section Division V-A Player of the Year honors.^[2] Prior to his junior season, he enrolled at San Gabriel Academy after considering attending Orangewood Academy.^[3]

LoVett transferred to Morgan Park High School in Chicago for his senior season. He led the team to the Class 3A state semifinals, losing to Althoff despite posting 45 points.^[4] LoVett averaged 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game as a senior.^[5] He was considered a four-star recruit ranked 62nd in the nation by Rivals.com. On May 21, 2015, LoVett signed with St. John's, choosing the Red Storm over offers from Memphis, Illinois, DePaul, Pittsburgh, UNLV, Kansas, and San Diego State.^[6]

College career

LoVett was forced to redshirt his true freshman season as a partial academic qualifier.^[7] He scored a career-high 32 points against Xavier on January 7, 2017.^[8] As a redshirt freshman, he averaged 15.9 points and 3.8 assists per game, and helped St. John's to a six-win improvement.^[7] LoVett was a unanimous selection to the All-Big East rookie team. He contemplated turning professional after the season but decided to return to school.^[1] On November 26, 2017, LoVett sustained an MCL sprain in his left knee but was listed as day-to-day. However, on January 10, 2018, he announced he was sidelined for the remainder of the season, without playing since the injury. LoVett averaged 14.9 points and 2.1 steals per game in seven games.^[7] In February 2018, LoVett announced he was leaving St. John's to pursue a professional career.^[9]

Professional career

LoVett joined Aquila Basket Trento of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) for training camp and played five preseason games for the club. On September 18, 2018, he moved to another LBA club, Dinamo Sassari, for the remainder of the preseason.^[10] On November 9, 2018, LoVett signed with Sloboda Užice of the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS).^[11] In 18 games, he averaged 20.6 points, 4.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game, ranking second in the league in scoring. LoVett was an All-KLS honorable mention selection by basketball website Eurobasket.com.^[12]

On July 6, 2020, LoVett joined Semt77 Yalovaspor of the Turkish Basketball First League (TBL).^[13] He subsequently joined Ovarense Basquetebol of the Portuguese Basketball League and averaged 21.7 points, 4.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. On June 9, 2021, LoVett signed with the Vilpas Vikings of the Korisliiga.^[14]

LoVett played 17 games for Henan Golden Elephants in 2024 National Basketball League (NBL) season. He joined Tianjin Pioneers for 2024–25 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season.^[15]

Personal life

LoVett's father, Marcus LoVett Sr. played basketball at Oklahoma City University and helped the team win the 1996 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament.^[2]

References

1. Braziller, Zach (March 9, 2017). "St. John's super freshman Marcus LoVett might go pro". New York Post. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
2. Shortall, Andrew (April 21, 2012). "LoVett definitely an attention-getter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
3. Sondheimer, Eric (September 12, 2013). "Boys' basketball: Marcus Lovett Jr. enrolls at San Gabriel Academy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
4. Inghram, Jim (March 20, 2015). "Goodwin's game doesn't get lost in LoVett's hype". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
5. Braziller, Zach (December 9, 2015). "St. John's Marcus Lovett Jr. may be eligible earlier than expected". New York Post. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
6. Braziller, Zach (May 21, 2015). "St. John's coup: Mullin lands highly touted 'Bright Lights'". New York Post. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
7. Braziller, Zach (January 10, 2018). "Marcus LoVett drama and season end with odd dad announcement". New York Post. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
8. "No. 16 Xavier wins 6th straight, 97-82 over St. John's". CBS Sports. Associated Press. January 7, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
9. Birdsong, Nick (February 17, 2018). "St. John's G Marcus LoVett leaving school to turn pro". Sporting News. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
10. Lupo, Nicola (September 18, 2018). "Marcus LoVett joining Dinamo Sassari for remainder of preseason". Sportando. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
11. Lupo, Nicola (November 9, 2018). "Marcus LoVett signs with KK Sloboda Uzice". Sportando. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
12. "Marcus LoVett Jr". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
13. Skerletic, Dario (July 6, 2020). "Marcus LoVett Jr joins Yalova Basket". Sportando. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
14. "Vilpas land Marcus LoVett Jr., ex Ovarense". Eurobasket. June 9, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
15. 李蓓 (24 August 2024). "天津男篮三外援敲定". 天津日报. Retrieved 29 September 2024.

External links

• St. John's Red Storm bio