Sports
Largo High's Marques Hall Excels in Classroom and the Court
The point guard for Largo High School already has his college plans set if he can't land a basketball scholarship.
If basketball player Marques Hall can be described as anything, it's driven.
On the basketball court, despite the Packers having a winning record, Hall is not satisfied.
"We are not as successful as we could be," Hall said. "We haven't played team ball like we should. When we do, we are almost unbeatable."
Find out what's happening in Largofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
It's that same mindset that makes Hall also almost unbeatable in the classroom. The 5-foot-10-inch guard is as driven with his studies as he is on the basketball court. He currently holds at 4.2 GPA. If he gets a basketball scholarship, great. If not, he already has college plans.
"If I get a scholarship to play basketball, I'm gone," Hall said. "If not, I'm going to Florida State to study law."
Find out what's happening in Largofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
It's that type of work ethic that has endeared Hall to his coach Phil Price.
"He's a great student, a great kid who works hard and is a leader on the court," Price said. "Basketball-wise, he's really had a good year as far as creating turnovers and turning them into assists. He's a great kid, a great kid."
If Hall wanted to be selfish he could rack up a lot of style points, a lot of scoring. But he's not that way. He would rather his team win. Hall understands being unselfish helps a team.
"I like to make my team look better," Hall said. "It's not about me scoring. If the ball goes in the hoop, it goes in the hoop. Points are points and we need points to win. I feel like if I get the ball to where it needs to be, we can win."
Rather than being a ball hog on offense, Hall gets to feed his ego on defense. A strong defender, Hall enjoys playing the role of a pickpocket, stealing the ball from an opponent and turning the steal into points for the Packers.
"I get a lot of steals because [Price] puts me on the other team's main man. He puts me on them to lock them down. It means I need to step up and be the man and fulfill what he needs me to be.
"There are 14 other people on the team and he chose me. That's confidence. It puts me on a high, makes me feel real good."