More than a blip on CSUB's radar
| Thursday, Apr 30 2009 11:08 PM
Last Updated Friday, May 01 2009 10:01 AM
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Michael Fagans / The Californian Bakersfield Christian's Marcus Hall gets interviewed at Tony's Pizza while a video of a playoff game plays behind him before he signed his national letter of intent to play basketball at CSUB Thursday afternoon in Bakersfield.
It probably was the best workout Marcus Hall ever had, and he never even lifted a weight. That was at Bakersfield Christian last week, when Hall received a call from Cal State Bakersfield men's basketball coaches and learned that the Roadrunners did indeed have a scholarship ready for him.
"I just smiled; I couldn't believe it," said Hall, who signed his national letter of intent Thursday at Tony's Pizza on California Avenue. "I was too excited to work out. I just started calling and telling everyone."
Hall, a two-time Californian first-team All-Area player, averaged 20.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals a game last year in leading BCHS to the Division IV Central Section title.
He's a 6-foot-3 shooting guard whom CSUB coach Keith Brown said can play multiple positions.
"He's very quietly flown under the radar a little bit on the West Coast," Brown said. "But I think he's a very, very talented young man. He's got great strength. He has the ability to evolve into a very good shooter. He can really defend on the perimeter."
Brown and his staff first noticed Hall at one of CSUB's camps last summer, then followed him during his senior year. BCHS coach Pete Rivera said they had promised Hall a walk-on spot on their roster but that they had no scholarships available.
At that point, Hall was thinking about junior college and trying again next year.
"I was very nervous," Hall said. "I didn't know what was gonna happen. Waiting around was tough."
But CSUB found room. Rivera said the 'Runners freed up a scholarship held by another player.
"They really wanted (Hall)," Rivera said. "They were trying to get him."
And that's the way Hall joined Garces' Stephon Carter, who signed in November, to form CSUB's backcourt of the future.
"Maybe someday we'll have an all-local starting lineup," Brown said. "Our intent is to go out and get the best players we can, and we start right here in Bakersfield. ... These are guys the community can get behind and will get behind."
