Marcus Ali Dwayne Wilson (b. August 8, 1977) is a retired professional basketball player, who played his career in a variety of places across the world including South America, several countries in Eastern and Western Europe and the United States. Before starting his professional career, Wilson set and still holds several Men's Division 1 basketball records while playing for the Purple Aces from 1995-1999. In 2008 was inducted into the University of Evansville Hall Of Fame. In 2007, Wilson "secured an amazing honor" joining the likes of Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Hersey Hawkin, and Xavier McDaniel by being voted to the Missouri Valley Conference Top 50 Greatest Players in the history of the conference. In 2005, Wilson was named to the University of Evansville's All Time Greastest Players a list which honored the top 15 players in school history, including retired Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and ex-Chicago Bull, Don Buse.

Early life

Wilson is the youngest of 11 children, and was born in Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

. At the age of two, he moved to South Bend, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

] where he was raised. Graduating from James Whitcomb Riley High School

James Whitcomb Riley High School

-Location:James Whitcomb Riley High School is a secondary school in South Bend, Indiana. Its address is 1902 Fellows St, South Bend, IN 46613. The school is run by the South Bend Community School Corporation.-History:...

, he distinguished himself as an elite high school basketball player before graduating in 1995 and earned a scholarship to play at the University of Evansville

University of Evansville

The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...

 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wilson graduated from the University of Evansville in 1999, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration.

Collegiate career

Wilson is the 2nd leading scorer in the history in the University of Evansville, with 2053 points scored, making him the top scorer in the history of the school since they joined Division I athletics (Evansville went to Division I athletics in 1977 while the top scorer in UE, Larry Humes, played when Evansville was still Division II). Wilson's senior year, he lead the Missouri Valley Conference in free throw percentage and 3 point percentage. Wilson finished 3rd in the nation in ft% and 12th in 3pt%. He finished 9th in the country in total points scored with 682. He also set an NCAA men's baskteball division I record for most 3 point shots made without a miss in a game, going 9 for 9 from behind the arc against the University of Tennessee Martin. He led the team in scoring all four years and was named the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 1999. He also led the Purple Aces to their first and only Missouri Valley Conference title in 1999. The Purple Aces faced the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA, tournament, where Wilson made a name for himself in front of a national audience by scoring 34 points against the Jayhawks in the SuperDome in New Orleans, La. After "Marcus Wilson put on an absolute show in the first half", scoring 18 points in the first 8 minutes, the Aces eventually fell to the Jayhawks, however this game brought him to the attention of NBA and professional teams that would give him the catapult needed to play professionally.
During the 1996-97 season, Wilson's sophomore season, he made 48 consecutive free throws which places him tied for 14th in the history of the NCAA Division I men's basketball. Wilson's percentage of 90.1% was 4th in the nation. Wilsons career free throw percentage while playing in college was 88.7%, placing him 9th in that category in the history of college basketball.

Professional career

After being name Missouri Valley Conference Player Of the Year, Wilson's first stop in his 11 year professional career began with the Utah Jazz* in the Rocky Mountain Review Summer League. Wilson then played 1999-2000 season in the top league in Poland for Komfart Stargard where he average 17.9 points per game in his rookie season in Europe. He then played in the Venezuelan summer league before starting the 2000-2001 season in Israel with Hapaol Holon in a suburb outside Tel Aviv. After violence erupted, Wilson returned to America for a short time before signing a 1 month contract in Italy with the team Banco Ragusa, in Ragusa, Sicily. After the 1 month contract he then moved to France and signed for the remained of the 2001 season with the club in the suburbs of Paris, France called AS Bondy where his career took off as he led Pro B France league in scoring the last 2 months of the 2001 season and the entire 2001-2002 season. In 2002-2003 Wilson played in northern Germany, just outside of Bremen in the German Bundesliga with the club Bremerhaven and led his team to a second place finish in the league while averaging 23.7 points per game. He also earned the name "Mr. Perfect" by going 15-15 from the field (11-11 from 3's, 4-4 from 2's, and 2–2 ft's) tallying 43 points in only 20 minutes. In 2003-2004 season, Wilson returned to France, this time in the top division Pro A France,LNB(Ligue Nationale de Basket) in the city of Reims, about an 1 from Paris with Reims Club Basket where he finished 3rd in the league in scoring at 19.6 points per game. Next season, 2004–2005, he played in northern France with Gravelines, also in the top Pro A league, where he averaged 16.4 points per game. That season, Gravelines played in the ULEB CUP, where Wilson averaged 15.7 points per game, while shooting 44% from behind the arc, highlighted by a 30 point performance in Podgorica, Montenegro against KK Buducnost. Also at the end of the 2004-2005 season, Wilson signed a contract with another ULEB team, Spirou Charleroi in Belgium to finish the remaining 8 games where he helped them secure the league title while averaging 18.9 points per game. In 2005-2006, Wilson then moved to another top league in FIBA where he played in first division Turkey in the city of Izmir, Turkey for Tuborg Pilsener Spor Kulubu where he averaged 13.9 points a game while shooting 50.5% from the field. In 2006-2007, Wilson returned to Pro A France again with JL Bourg, in the city of Bourg En Bresse], France. In injury plagued season, Wilson averaged 15.1 points and shooting 40-40 from the free throw line. In the 2007-2008 season, Wilson returned to the country where he started his European career, this time in Ostrow Wiekelpolski, Poland, signing with Atlas Stal. After a dispute in terms of the contract, Wilson left the team and signed in the Ukrainian Superleague, with BC Odessa

BC Odessa

BC Odessa is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Odessa that competes in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague . It is one of the most distinguished basketball clubs in the country and has won the UBSL championship 4 times. It was founded in 1992 under the name BIPA-Moda after its...

 where he helped save the team from falling out of the first division by averaging 20.5 points per game and 5.0 rebounds during his stint with the team to finish the season. The following season, 2008–2009, Wilson signed in Tarragona, Spain, with CB Tarragona where he led his team in scoring averaging 15.1 points a game. Wilson then led his team to the league finals and moving up to LEB Oro Spain. After a brief retirement, Wilson returned the following season in February 2010 to Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

, Spain with Beirasar Rosalia averaging 15.8 points a game and shooting 50% from 3. In his final season of 2010-2011, Wilson returned to northern Spain, this time to the coastal city of Coruna, signing with Basquet Coruna. In December 2010, Wilson announced his retirement from professional basketball and returned to the United States where he now resides in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

Outside basketball

Wilson embarked on a music career working with several artists in the Midwest and Atlanta. He combined with music producer Kwame James, and American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

 contestant Stevie Flockhart to record the single "Dreamin". Wilson, wrote and performed his verse on "Dreamin" under the music alias 'Thermostatt'.
Wilson also devoted much of his time during his 11 year European career to volunteer and charitable work. In 2005 and 2006 while playing in Izmir, Turkey, Wilson joined leukemia specialist Hale Ören, MD to sponsor children suffering from Leukemia in the local hospital of Dokuz Eylül University.

Accomplishments

Named to the Missouri Valley Conference All Newcomer Team while leading his team in scoring as a freshman,
Ranked 4th nationally in free throw percentage,(90.1%)
Made 48 consecutive free throws which is 14th longest in NCAA history,
3-time all-Missouri Valley Conference; 2-time First Team; All-American (1999,)
1999 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year,
In 1999 Led MVC Conference in free throw and 3 point percentage, ranking 3rd and 12th respectively nationally,
Tied the NCAA record for most 3 pointers made in a game without a miss, going 9 for 9, from behind the arc
Led Evansville to their first Missouri Valley Conference Championship and first NCAA tournament birth since 1993,
University of Evansville team captain,
Ninth best career free throw percentage in the history of Division 1 NCAA Men's Basketball,
Named to the University of Evansville All Time Team,
Named to the Missouri Valley All Time Greatest 50 Greatest Team,
Inducted into the University of Evansville Hall of Fame