2009 Big Man Developing into Top Prospect With Pittsburgh and others on the trail

By Chris Dokish

It’s no secret that in basketball, height is one of the most coveted traits for a player. The fact that so few extremely tall people are also athletic is the reason why the few that have both traits become millionaires. McKeesport (PA) HS junior Zeke Marshall is a few years away from the point where he could be called a future NBA player, but the intriguing big man is starting to make people believe that if it happens, it won’t be a huge surprise.

Marshall, who according to his mother, Nicole Bozeman, is now a legit 7’0” tall and growing, has the height issue covered. As for the athletic issue, one college assistant was heard to say after watching Marshall play, “he can run like a deer”. Those two revelations are why Marshall is now generally considered one of the top 75 prospects in the country for 2009. His burgeoning offensive game is why he may eventually be ranked even higher.

“He is really starting to come on offensively,” says Marshall’s AAU coach, Rick Klimchock. “Recently we have played some very talented teams, including the New York Gauchos and the Florida Rams, and he averaged about 13 or 14 points a game over that time. That’s a step up for him and I think you can see that part of his game starting to come on.”

“He is starting to really get better offensively,” agrees Mrs. Bozeman. “He loves to be challenged by other really tall players and playing in these AAU tournaments is starting to bring out the best in him.”

Also bringing out the best in him, according to Mrs. Bozeman, is her son’s newfound love for the game. “He used to play,” she says, “because he was just tall. But now he is really starting to love the game and he realizes that even if he doesn’t make it into the NBA, college can lead him to his other goal.” According to Mrs. Bozeman, that goal is to own his own software company.

Marshall’s height, 7’4” wingspan, and athleticism are all huge plusses for his future on the court. The fact that “he can run all day”, according to Klimchock, is another rarity for such a tall player. As far as defense, Klimchock, who is no stranger to talent having coached two-sport phenom Terrelle Pryor in high school, is not shy in his enthusiasm. “I think if you ask people around the country they will probably tell you that he is the best shot blocker in the class. He is phenomenal at it.”

One thing he must work on, however, is his weight. Marshall is extremely thin and would probably have to eventually add at least 40 pounds to his frame. It’s not like his mother isn’t trying, though.

“He has such a fast metabolism,” says Mrs. Bozeman. “We just hired a nutritionist to make a game plan with the food. And I keep making him eat and work out, but he can’t get the weight on. We hope he adds 10-15 pounds in the next year.”

Marshall is a good student and has even heard from Harvard. But that’s too far, according to his mother, who always calls her son by his given name, Ezekiel.

“I do want him to stay close to home,” says Mrs. Bozeman. “And Ezekiel wants to stay close, too.”

Close, in this case, means a 2-4 hour drive from McKeesport, according to both Klimchock and Mrs. Bozeman. The three schools that currently meet that criteria, according to both, are Akron, Xavier, and Pittsburgh. All three have offered, as has Duquesne, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. Others have inquired, most of them recently, including Florida, Temple, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, George Mason, and Maryland. “He would have much more interest,” adds Klimchock,” but the word is out that he is staying close to home.”

The hometown Panthers don’t get a huge number of top prospects locally, let alone a physically talented seven footer, and therefore have made Marshall their top priority. That is not lost on Mrs. Bozeman, whose says, “Pitt has been great to us and they were the Big East champions. It’s great to have such a great program locally. But Zeke has to make his own decision. It’s his future. All I tell him is that if something were to happen and he can’t play basketball, could he still see himself fitting in at the school.”

The time has come to start the decision process, however, and Mrs. Bozeman says that will begin this weekend. “Ezekiel has a rare weekend off this week,” she says, “and we will have a brainstorming session with his AAU coach and his high school coach.

“The whole situation has been a bit overwhelming at times and we are glad that his hard work and achievements have been recognized, but hopefully by early June we will have a much better idea of where he is going.” Then Mrs. Bozeman laughs and says, “We will get a piece of paper out, and with all kinds of charts and graphs we will figure out where is best for him.”

Chris Dokish is a NBE Basketball Report contributor as well as a contributing editor of the Pittsburgh Sports Report where his stories are often featured in their Keystone Recruiting newsletter series, which you can sign up for free at their website.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Notre Dame Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.