If the familiar faces he competed with and against in the Big Sky Conference are any indication, Marcus Colbert knows his work is just now beginning.
The former Montana State point guard was a model of durability during his Bobcat career. He played in a school-record 122 games, starting 104. He played with Flavien Davis and Paul Egwuonwu for two seasons each before the former Bobcat frontcourt players went overseas to play professionally. Colbert played against former All-Big Sky players like Troy Huff (North Dakota) and former Big Sky MVP Mikh McKinney.
Former Montana State guard Marcus Colbert
Last week, Colbert signed a contract to continue his playing career overseas. The second-team All-Big Sky point guard will play for Liege in Belgium’s Scooore League. He will be teammates with Huff, a former UND standout who played for a moment in the NBA D-League. McKinney, the Big Sky’s MVP in 2014-15, averaged 8.2 points in 20 minutes per game for the Port of Antwerp Giants in the same league Colbert will play in.
“It gives me an idea of somewhat where I’m at but until I get over there, I don’t really know,” Colbert said last week. “The one thing I do know is now it’s to the point where they are paying me for a service. It’s either you are doing it or you aren’t, you are getting paid or you are getting sent home. Everyone I’ve talked to has stressed to me that you have to be in game shape the day you get off the plane. If not, there’s another guy waiting to take your spot.”
Colbert has been training multiple times a day at Montana State. He plays in open gyms with the Bobcats whenever he can. He will leave for Belgium on August 14, traveling beyond the American East Coast for the first time in his 22 years.
“The best league and the best league money-wise as well was the Belgium league,” said Colbert, who didn’t divulge specifics of his contract but did say he will be provided housing and a car. “A lot of rookies coming out don’t get that good of a deal or aren’t in that sort of league or that mainstream of a league. It’s a good league that a lot of players move up from to Euro leagues and stuff like that. They highlighted what could come if I went over there and produce.”
Former Montana State guard Marcus Colbert
Colbert averaged 16.9 points and more than five assists during his senior season for a rebuilding Bobcat program that doubled its win total to 14 from the previous season. Colbert scored 524 points as a senior, boosting his career total to 1,372, the 11th-most in MSU history. Colbert’s 5.1 assists per game ranked second in the Big Sky. His 158 assists boosted his career total to 453, the second-most ever by a Bobcat.
More than any statistical measure, Colbert’s unwavering leadership, tenacity and toughness set the pace for Montana State.
“He’s like a boxer who stays in the fight,” Montana State second-year head coach Brian Fish said of Colbert in March. “He won’t knock anybody out but he will win the fight by points and you sure won’t knock him out. I love him. I’m going to miss him deeply.”
The Post Falls, Idaho native has spent most of his days in the Northwest. He has been provided the opportunity to travel due to basketball but never to a place as foreign as Belgium. Liege is about an hour drive from Brussels in the French portion of Belgium. Most of the region speaks French.
Colbert will have plenty of people to provide him advice, including MSU assistant Chris Haslam. Haslam, a Wyoming product, played for Liege during his long international career. Robert Stanley was his agent. Stanley now represents Colbert, Egwuonwu (Czech Republic) and Davis (Norway).
“It’s a lot different than college they say,” Colbert said. “The style of play is different, some of the rules are different. The biggest thing is trying to adjust to a different culture, really.
Former Montana State guard Marcus Colbert
“My mindset and creating good habits, because it’s a lot longer of a season than I’ve ever played. They are telling me to keep my head on right and learn how to be a pro. I have to make the best of this opportunity.”
Colbert said he is not nervous for his new adventure but he is anxious to see what his immediate future holds.
“I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet,” Colbert said. “I’m just more anxious and ready for the opportunity. I don’t think it will hit me until I get there. But it’s definitely a dream come true and I know it is but it doesn’t feel like that. Right now, it just feels like something I have to get ready for. I’ll be ready to go, I promise you that.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
