MAKING IT COUNT

Marcus Kinzer is Determined to Get the Most Of His Senior Season.

By John Sudsbury, Tulane Athletic Media Relations

Marcus Kinzer is frustrated. The Tulane basketball team is HIS team. He is the veteran point guard who worked tirelessly to make himself a leader. While the Green Wave is young with three freshmen starting and another serving as the sixth man, it is Kinzer who expected to direct the team. And he had high hopes. He was determined to make his senior season the best of his career.

“I wanted to win every game; I wanted to go to the NCAA Tournament,” Kinzer said. “I wanted to play to the best of my ability every game.”

However, for the past few weeks, the speedy 5-10 dribbling maestro has found himself sitting on the sidelines when he should be on the court. An injury to his right ankle has left the Nashville product hobbled; it has stolen his trademark quickness and his ability to change direction. Most grievous of all, it has taken away Kinzer’s biggest asset, the joy with which he has always played, the smile he displayed while dribbling and dodging around and through defenders. Sometimes, he reached such a high gear, that he would nearly run himself out of his own sneakers. But he has always enjoyed his time on the court.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I always had fun playing basketball; I guess it is just in me,” Kinzer said. “I used to love to practice and go to the gym with my father, play some one-on-one. Now that I’m injured, it doesn’t feel like I’m part of the team like I was before. I don’t know how the guys feel, but this is how I feel. It may not be like that, but when you are on the side and can’t do the same things at practice and in games, it’s kind of lonely.”

“He motivates all of us,” Tulane center Quincy Davis said. “We see that he is capable of coming out and playing hard on the hurt ankle, so we give extra. Everybody knows he will be back; he can still get out and play the games. I know sometimes he feels like he let the team down; he has not let anyone down. I would have told him not to play because he may hurt himself more, but it’s his senior year, I know how bad he wants to be out there.”

Kinzer is averaging 10.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game, very respectable numbers for anyone. However, those statistics have been on the decline due to his injury. The ankle has only forced him to miss one game, but his minutes and ability to contribute have taken severe hits. His practice time has been dialed back to practically nothing.

“When you practice, it keeps your wind going and gives you a chance to fine tune your skills like ball-handling, defense, and especially shooting,” Kinzer said. “I haven’t been shooting well since I’ve been injured, it hurts.”

The injury occurred on a relatively innocuous play late in Tulane’s thrilling overtime upset of UAB at Fogelman Arena. The Blazers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last year and still have designs on a Conference USA title in 2005. That night, Kinzer directed the Green Wave attack which took down UAB; the senior scored only nine points, but packed the stat sheet as usual, adding seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. The injury occurred late in regulation, but Kinzer returned and helped the Wave to victory in overtime. The performance capped a four-game stretch in which he averaged 16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists. More impressively, in those four games, he averaged just 1.8 turnovers while playing 38.8 minutes per game, superb numbers for any player, and unheard of for a point guard.

“Marcus has really learned how to play point guard,” Tulane coach Shawn Finney. “Earlier in his career, he wanted to be spectacular, which was great for the fans and fun for him, on the one play that worked. But this year, he really took to heart our need for him to play in control. With a young team, we needed a veteran to keep things settled down, make guys confident that the right play, the right decision will be made.”

In his first three years, Kinzer had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.21 after dishing out 185 assists and tallying 153 miscues. That number was nothing to scoff at as it ranked 10^th all-time at Tulane. This year, through Feb. 12, Kinzer had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.83, including a career-best 95 assists with a pair of games with double-digit assists. Against Northwestern State early in the season, he collected 13 assists, matching the school record which has been set in 1976, six years before the 22-year old Kinzer was born.

“Maturity and letting things happen have helped me,” Kinzer said. “Earlier in my career, I wanted to get the ‘ohs’ and the ‘ahs.’ But it really counts the same when you make the easier bounce pass. A lot of those [fancy] passes just happen though, I don’t plan for them, it just happens.”

While many, if not all, players preach that they will make their senior seasons count, Kinzer has put it into practice.

“Marcus has been at his best this year, no doubt about it,” Finney said. “He has done everything we have asked of him. Even though his injury has really hurt us, he still is a leader; he pushed the other guys and gives full effort every time he is on the court. Even with the injury, he has made his teammates better.”

While the injury has affected the heart of his final season, Kinzer refused to allow it to ruin a homecoming for him. On Feb. 12, the Green Wave traveled to his home state of Tennessee to battle the Memphis Tigers. After missing the entire Southern Miss game, he was listed as questionable for the Memphis game. However, with many family and friends in attendance, he gritted out 26 minutes. While scoring just three points, he added seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

“My mom doesn’t get to see me play a lot,” Kinzer said. “So when she comes to a game, I always want to give it my all. I had to go out there and tough it out with all my family there. I didn’t want to sit on the bench and make it a wasted trip for them, no matter how hurt I may have been.”

While Kinzer has always been motivated by his family, he also credits his friends for giving him the inspiration to take advantage of opportunities they may not have had. In addition, he understands that enjoying his work on the hardwood enables him to put in the extra effort needed to succeed.

“I am motivated by my love for the game,” he said. “I think I am pretty good at it, and when you’re good at something, you need to be motivated. Now that I am injured, it has taken the air out of me a little bit. I am trying to get better as fast as I can.”

“Marcus has been challenged over the last few weeks by this injury,” Finney said. “It would have been easy for him to put his head down and give up. He hasn’t done that. He still fights and he still leads and motivates, even if it is from the bench.”

Kinzer’s love for the game is evident when watching him on the basketball court, but a simple conversation about his future plans reveals his love of life and the endless possibilities available to him.

“God-willing, I will continue to play basketball [after my Tulane career],” Kinzer said. “But I have other plans too. I want to design my own clothing line, start a couple of restaurants back home in Tennessee, and write a book and shoot a movie. If basketball doesn’t work out, I’m not going to sit and cry about it.”

Another homecoming possibly awaits Kinzer at the Conference USA Tournament, which will also be held in Memphis. Tulane will need his leadership and skills down the stretch in order to qualify for the tournament, therefore, he dedicates himself to rehabbing his ankle and keeping himself mentally prepared. After all, this is his senior season, his last chance to shine on the basketball court for the Green Wave.

“Last spring, it hit me that this is it,” Kinzer said. “I just wanted to go all out. Now that I’m injured, things are going by a little faster; it is tougher to enjoy it. I try not to think about it, because I get sad when I think it is almost over.”

Frustration with his injury and the team’s record has not affected Kinzer’s effort or his love of the game. His plans for his final season have not fallen into place as he envisioned, but through his leadership, determination, perseverance and hard work, Kinzer is still making his senior season count.