Scouting Report: Marcus Keene
Marcus Keene is the second player that signed for Cedevita Olimpija in this off-season. He was amongst the best scorers in all competitions he played so far in his career so we can get a feeling what is expected from him in Ljubljana.
BACKGROUND INFO
Position: PG
Height: 175 cm (5 ft 9in)
Date of Birth: 6/5/1995
Nationality: USA
Previous clubs:
2017–18 Cagliari Dinamo Academy
2018 Mono Vampire
2018–19 Memphis Hustle
2019 KCC Egis
2019 Formosa Dreamers
2019–20 Yulon Luxgen Dinos
2020–21 Kalev/Cramo
Played his freshman and sophmore years for Youngstown State where he averaged 6.5 and 15.6 points. This were the lowest averages in his career so far. Later he transfered to Central Michingan where he averaged 30.0 points per game in his junior year and had one game where he scored 50 points. He signed with and agent and declared for the 2017 NBA Draft where he went undrafted but lost his collegiate eligibility. Marcus started his professional career in Cagliari in Italian 2nd League. After that he played a few seasons in Asia (in Thailand, Korea and Taiwan) with a short episode in between those seasons playing for Memphis Hustle in the G League. Last season he played for Kalev/Cramo in VTB and Estonian-Latvian League. He was the best scorer in VTB League and also played on the VTB League All-Star match.
VIDEO REPORT:
OFFENSE
Shooting: Shot from distance is one of his main strengths for sure. Always capable of pulling the trigger, even a few feet behind the three point line. His transition into the shooting motion is quick and smooth and even though he lacks size his shots aren’t blocked that often. With his quickness and great ball control he can create a lot of separation for his shots and he is very dangerous as an off the dribble shooter. Also very good in spot up situations so defense always needs to keep an eye on him. He will take his share of shots and probably make them in high percentages.
Slashing: With his quickness he has no problem getting past the first line of defense and to the rim. He has a low gravity point and is explosive in the lower part of the body. I we combine that with his very good ball handling skills, he is really hard to stop when he decides to get to the rim. Also strong in the upper body and can absorb some contact and finish against taller players at the rim. Hopefully he will be able to continue with that in Adriatic League and Eurocup too.
Playmaking: An underrated part of his game is his court vision and passing. His passing game is on a high level and can deliver some difficult passes to all spots. Very good and finding the roller in pick & roll situations or on open court in transition in the 2-on-1 game. Also very good in the drive & dish game and this could be something we will see a lot from him in next season. If the defense gravitates too much to him, he will punish that with some assists.
Transition: Another area where he is strong at is his transition game. With his quickness he doesn’t need much time to bring the ball forward and when he has the momentum, he has enough strength to go all the way till the end. And as mentioned before, he likes to involve his team mates in transition too. A lot of fast breaks are expected from Cedevita Olimpija in next season and Marcus could be really good in this kind of system.
Pick & Rolls: A big part of his offensive repertoire were also pick & rolls. With his scoring abilities and very good court vision he can be really unpredictable in those situations and do a lot of good stuff for his team. Capable of scoring or dishing some assists out of pick & roll actions and I think he won’t have much problems running pick & rolls on this level.
DEFENSE
Perimeter Defense: In my opinion Marcus could have some problems on the defensive end. Obviously he lacks size and bigger and taller players could take advantage of that. With his quickness he should move his feet better on perimeter and play more aggressively in defense. Has the strength in upper and lower body to play with more contact and with his low gravity point he should put more pressure on the ball handler. Sometimes I also miss more effort and aggressiveness from him on that side of the floor.
Pick & Roll Defense: He has some problems in defending pick & rolls too. Not the best at moving around screens and this is an area on what he should work on and improve in next years. A big liability in pick & rolls, especially if we take in consideration that he is not really able to switch on bigger guys.
Steals: He averaged less than one steal per game in last season and this number should be higher. He has the quickness and explosiveness to go for some pocket steals but again too passive and not aggressive enough. I like to compare Marcus Keene with Bobby Dixon but Dixon was way better and more aggressive in defense and that was one of the reasons that he could play in Euroleague too.
SUMMARY
Marcus Keene has the potential to be an impactful offensive player and amongst the best scorers in Eurocup and Adriatic league. Marcus has great offensive talent and is really hard to stop when he gets hot and starts hitting shots from distance or getting to the rim for some easy buckets.
Defensive game on the other hand is something that needs to improve or he needs to be hidden in some defensive schemes. Better teams will try to take advantage of his size and attack him as much as possible and team defense will need to be on a high level to hide this liability.
Overall, he is an interesting player because of his offense but I have a lot of doubts in his defense and I can just hope that he proves me wrong and that he will be at least a decent player in defense too.
