Q&A with Marquis Teague

Jeff’s younger bro has got big plans.

by DeMarco Williams

Stephen Baldwin, Jamie Lynn Spears and Nas’ younger brother, Jungle, will be quick to tell you: Being a younger sibling of a famous bro or sis definitely has its downfalls. If you do a respectable job at your craft like, say, Solange, you’re still never quite good enough. If you fall flat on your face like a Marcus Vick, you’re a douche for even trying.

Thankfully, Marquis Teague doesn’t care about any of that. Yes, his big brother, Jeff, finished last season as Wake Forest’s leading scorer. Yeah, he was also the Atlanta Hawks’ first-round draft selection. But no, none of that bothers the younger Teague, a 6-1 rising junior from Indianapolis who had a sparking showing at adidas Nations last week in Dallas. The spunky guard got to the hole, pulled up for short floaters and dished the ball with Jeff Teague-like ease. No. 2 on Rivals.com’s list of 2011 prospects, few basketball authorities worry about Marquis getting lost in Jeff’s shadow. And after SLAM’s one-on-one with the poised teen down in Texas, we aren’t much worried about discovering the next Gerald Wilkins either.

SLAM: When you see your brother play, what are you trying to take from his game?
MT: I respect him as a player. That’s my brother. I watch him all the time. He tries to help me get my shot better. I gotta get it off quick in college. Guys in college are long. In the League, they’re long. He’s just showing me all the moves he uses to get his shots off.

SLAM: I’m guessing there are countless games you all have played against each other. Give me a guess of how many times you won one-on-one.
MT: Really, I only beat him one time.

SLAM: Really?
MT: Yeah, he beat me every time. He don’t wanna give me nuthin’. He’ll foul me. He’ll push me. He doesn’t wanna give me nuthin’.

SLAM: You made a college decision yet?
MT: I got a top five: Louisville, Ohio State, IU, Wake Forest and Kentucky.

SLAM: You said Wake. A lot of cats wouldn’t want to follow a sibling’s huge footsteps. That doesn’t bother you?
MT: It don’t bother me. When I look at Wake, their coach lets them play. They let’em run and do all of that, and that’s how I play.

SLAM: When you read about yourself, do you notice something that the scouts don’t? Is there an aspect of your game you wish more folks recognized?
MT: They say when I play I’m not really into the game. But I really be into it. I’m passionate about it. They say I really don’t wanna be there. But I be passionate. I be like, “What?!”

SLAM: Give me a couple of things you hope improve this junior year.
MT: We went 15-9. I wanna get my team to win a lot more games. I wanna try to get to the state [tournament] and win that. I just wanna lead my team better. I’ve been scoring a lot and all that. I’m not worried about that. I’m just tryin’ to get my team involved more and lead them better.

SLAM: Looking back at those nine loses, could you have done anything more?
MT: I could have did a lot more if I could have helped rebound. My team is small. We don’t rebound well. I could have picked up on the defensive intensity.

SLAM: You have any personal goals for the season?
MT: I wanna be a junior all-star in Indiana. That’s the only thing you can really do as a junior.

SLAM: Eric Gordon is a counselor at Nations and a fellow Indianapolis native. You talk much to him about things?
MT: Yeah, I talk to him a lil’ bit. We go to the same trainer and stuff. We talk.

Be sure to remember Marquis’ name as he will do big things.