Former WKU basketball star dead at 40
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- Chris Marcus, a former basketball player at Western Kentucky University, has died.
Marcus was just 40 years old.
Warren County Magistrate Doug Gorman, who is also the public address announcer for the WKU men’s basketball team, confirmed the news Saturday to WNKY after speaking with Dennis Felton, who coached Marcus at Western. According to Felton, Marcus was experiencing tightness in his chest and collapsed while at his home.
Marcus played Center for the Hilltoppers and was over 7 ft. tall. He attended Western from 1999-2003.
During the 2000-2001 season, Marcus led the NCAA in rebounds. That same year, he was honored as the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Marcus is Western Kentucky’s all-time leader in blocks.
After college, Marcus worked out for the Denver Nuggets, but the two sides eventually parted ways.
Felton’s wife, Melanie, took to Twitter Saturday morning and posted this tweet:
RIP Chris Marcus- a gentle giant, humble and a hell of a basketball player! We have so many great basketball memories of Chris and his teammates @wku! A true champion on and off the court. God bless! #champion #sunbelt pic.twitter.com/UDeV64yZrl
— Melanie Felton (@MelanieFelton) April 25, 2020
