Over the years, Metuchen High School graduate Marqus Blakely has turned into a local hero of sorts. The 2006 graduate was not heavily recruited, despite lighting up crowds across Middlesex County with one highlight reel dunk after another.
Metuchen High School graduate Marqus Blakely is headed to the NCAA basketball tournament this week with his University of Vermont Catamounts. Vermont won the America East Conference title and Blakely was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Vermont will take on top-seeded Syracuse University on Friday in the West Regional first round. BRIAN JENKINS What local colleges missed out on, University of Vermont has reaped the awards from.
Blakely led the 2009-10 Catamounts into the NCAA Tournament with an 83-70 victory over Boston University in the America East Conference finals. He was named the Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after a 24-point, 18-rebound and five-assist performance in the title game. No New Jersey schools are headed to the Big Dance.
Blakely’s Catamounts landed the No. 16 seed in the West Region and will take on No. 1 Syracuse University in the opening round at 9:30 p.m. Mar. 19. The Catamounts are making their first trip to the tournament since the 2005 season, when it knocked off Syracuse in the first round.
Heading into this season, Blakely was the America East Conference Player of the Year for the 2007- 08 and 2008-09 seasons. He returned to Middlesex County this season when his Vermont Catamounts visited the RAC to beat Rutgers University, 77-71, in November. Blakely finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and four steals in just 24 minutes of work.
“The game at Rutgers is something I will never forget,” Blakely said. “There were a lot of Metuchen fans at the game, and it was amazing to see how much they supported me. Standing on the floor after winning the game gave me chills.”
Should Blakely and the Catamounts pull off an upset in Buffalo this Friday, chills will be had by many. Syracuse comes into Friday night’s match-up 28-4 on the season after suffering a first-round loss to Georgetown in the Big East Tournament. The Orange’s Jim Boeheim and Wes Johnson were recently named the Big East Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.
Blakely will be making his first, albeit well-deserved, trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s crazy how everything worked out,” Blakely said. “Boston University was picked to win our conference in the preseason, but we were able to beat them on our home court to advance to the tournament. To win the conference on our home court in my last game at Vermont was pretty special.”
Considering that Syracuse was upset by Vermont just five years ago in the tournament, the Orange will likely have an extensive file on Blakely. In addition to the back-to-back America East Player of the Year awards, Blakely is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner and a fixture among Vermont’s all-time leaders. With 1,858 points, Blakely ranks fifth on the school’s all-time list. He’s currently second in rebounds (1,035) and steals (222) and third in blocks (253). Last season he finished sixth nationally in field goal percentage (61 percent) and eighth in blocks, and averages 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. As if that wasn’t enough, Blakely adds two steals and two blocks per game.
“He’s improved at the foul line, which means teams can’t just foul him anymore,” Metuchen head coach Rich Stoner said. “He was always a scorer, even for us at Metuchen, but now he can contribute in so many other ways. If he’s double teamed, he finds the open man. He can also take over a game defensively. He had one game for us where he finished in double digits in five categories — points, steals, blocks, rebounds and assists. That’s pretty amazing.”
While the Garden State is sending no collegiate teams to the Big Dance, the state is well represented by local talent on 20 of the 65 teams.
“New Jersey produces a lot of great student athletes,” Blakely said. “To be able to represent the state from a small school in Metuchen is something that I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do.”
Regardless of Vermont’s result in the tournament, Blakely will be in Indianapolis for Final Four weekend to take part in the dunk contest. If Blakely’s hits on YouTube are any indication, fans who watch the dunk contest are in for a real treat.