Men's Basketball

Marcus King enters his third year as a member of the Golden Eagle men's basketball coach staff following his hiring on August 1, 2019. After serving Tech as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, King was promoted to associate head coach during the Spring of 2021. 

Just days before Tech's 2020-21 season-opening trip to Big Ten power Indiana, head coach John Pelphrey was stricken by the coronavirus, unable to serve from the bench while recovering in his home in Cookeville. King took over the program as the acting head coach, leading the Golden Eagles in road contests at Indiana, Xavier and Northern Kentucky, as well as a home tilt with Chattanooga.

King joined the Golden Eagles after spending his previous 11 years as an assistant coach at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.

In his time at Lee, King served as the team’s recruiting coordinator and academic counselor in addition to his duties as assistant coach. He helped 50 players advance to four-year institutions in 11 years, including 75 percent (39 players) of them headed to Division I programs. Roughly 30 percent of those 50 players also went on to sign professional contracts.

On the academic side, he saw an 80 percent graduation rate from his players, including 87 percent of those eventually earning a bachelor’s degree. He also helped develop and maintain the program’s budget and plan and facilitate team travel.

In 2013, Lee earned its first ever trip to the NJCAA National Tournament.

From 2006-08, King worked as an assistant coach at Eastern New Mexico University where he was also the chief recruiter, director of scouting and strength and conditioning specialist. In two seasons of conducting pregame workouts and skill development, he helped produce two All-Conference guards.

Prior to his stint at Eastern New Mexico, he was an assistant coach at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan. from 2002-04. Serving as the team’s primary recruiter, King helped produce four All-Conference guards and eight players who advanced on to Division I institutions.

During the 2001-02 season, King was an assistant at Jacksonville University, helping the Dolphins to an 18-win season. While supervising skill development and academics, he helped produce an All-Conference guard.

Before his time at Jacksonville, he spent the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons as an assistant at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. King was the team’s director of recruiting, scouting and strength and conditioning, eventually signing seven players that combined to earn two All-Conference honors, three Conference Player of the Week honors, one Newcomer of the Year award and one All-American honor.

In his tenure at Lincoln, the team posted 20 wins, the most in 25 years, and saw attendance rise 750 percent. The squad also led the conference in scoring (88 points per game), scoring margin (plus-10), field goal percentage (48.9), free throw percentage (69.9) and steals (9.04 per game).

He was a graduate assistant at Northeastern Oklahoma State University in 1999 and got his start in coach as an assistant at Connors State College in Warner, Okla. during the 1998-99 season. At Connors State, the team ranked as high as third nationally in the NJCAA polls, sporting one All-American and seven players moving on to Division I programs.

A native of Muskogee, Okla., King was a senior member of the undefeated 1993 Class 3A state championship team at Beggs High School.

King earned his associate’s degree from Connors State College in 1996 and his bachelor’s in political science from Northeastern Oklahoma State in 1999. He finished up his master’s in sports administration in 2014 at Eastern New Mexico University.