Marcus Eugene Douthit (born April 15, 1980) is a Filipino-American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He graduated from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

. After his stint with the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport exc ...

, he was selected by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) in the 2004 NBA draft. Born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, he became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

Filipino citizen on March 11, 2011, thus allowing him to play for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

' men's national basketball team.

Early life

Douthit was born in

to his mother, Melody Douthit. He played high school basketball at Notre Dame Preparatory School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

, co-educational

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

high school located in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

. The school is primarily known for its basketball program, which has produced notable players such as

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State University for one ...

, Paul Harris, Lazar Hayward, and Derrick Caracter, to name a few. Before transferring to Notre Dame Prep for his senior year, Douthit played at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

, the same school that produced

Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won NBA Finals, championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named ...

, where he averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks per game.

College basketball career

On November 18, 1999,

head coach Tim Welsh announced that Douthit has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend

for the 2000–01 school year. Eventually, Douthit would stay at Providence for four consecutive years, taking up a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Social Science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

. During his freshman year, he was able to record his first career double-double against

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

by scoring a career-high 22 points and collecting 11 rebounds. As a junior in Providence, Douthit finished 11th in the NCAA Men's Division I with an average of 3.0 blocks per game. The following year as a senior, he improved to seventh with an average of 3.2 blocks per game, third in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. He finished his college career ranking second all-time in blocks at his school with 295. Douthit spent four years playing for the Friars. Along with teammate Ryan Gomes, a former member of the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

, he was a member of the 2003–04 Providence Friars team that finished with an 11–5 conference record, 20–9 overall. During his junior and senior years playing for Providence, Douthit was awarded the team's Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award.

Professional basketball career

National Basketball Association

Douthit was selected by the

in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft with the 56th overall pick. However, he decided to play ball in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

instead since the Lakers already had 15 players on the roster, and it was still awaiting the decision of

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

if he would join the team. Although he never played in the NBA, Douthit had several close stints in signing with a couple of ball clubs, specifically the

and the

Los Angeles Lakers

During the

2006–07 NBA season The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The first NBA draft und ...

, the Lakers announced that they would sign Douthit after playing professional ball in Europe. Shortly after, the team placed him on waivers. Douthit along with other aspirants such as J. R. Pinnock, Mamadou N'diaye, and Devin Green were all cut by the Lakers before the start of the regular season.

Los Angeles Clippers

The

, on the other hand, signed Douthit and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n professional basketball player Kimani Ffriend in the

2007–08 NBA season The 2007–08 NBA season was the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 131–92 to win the 2008 NBA Finals, four games to two. The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, a ...

, including them in the team's training camp roster. After not playing in the first two preseason games of the team, Douthit was waived by the Clippers.

NBA Development League

Douthit played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

, the official

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

organization of the

, during the 2005–06 season. Playing under coach

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956), nicknamed "Coop", is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning five NBA champ ...

, he was part of the team's starting lineup along with

Tony Bland Anthony David Bland (21 September 1970 – 3 March 1993) was a supporter of Liverpool F.C. who was injured in the Hillsborough disaster. He suffered severe brain damage that left him in a persistent vegetative state; as a consequence of that, t ...

, T. J. Cummings,

Andreas Glyniadakis Andreas Glyniadakis (alternate spelling: Gliniadakis, Greek: Ανδρέας Γλυνιαδάκης; born 26 August 1981) is a former Greek professional basketball player, at a height of tall. During his professional club career that started in ...

, and

Tierre Brown Tierre Brown (born June 3, 1979) is an American basketball player. Career Brown graduated from McNeese State University and began his career with the NBA's Houston Rockets in 2001. He played fifteen games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002-03 N ...

. While playing for the Thunderbirds, Douthit averaged 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. Douthit also helped the team defeat the

Fort Worth Flyers The Fort Worth Flyers were a minor league basketball team in the NBA Development League (D-League) based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005–06 season and were shut down for the 2007–08 season. Franchise history In 2005, Sout ...

, 119–108, to win the 2005–06

Championship, scoring 11 points and collecting 15 rebounds during the championship game.

European career

Belgium

Before playing in the NBA D-League, Douthit played in the Basketball League Belgium, also known as the Ligue Ethias, which is the highest professional basketball league in the country. In

, he played for

RBC Verviers-Pepinster Royal Basketball Club Pepinster is a Belgian basketball club that is located in the Verviers-Pepinster area of Liège Province, Belgium. The club currently competes in the Belgian Fifth Division, the fifth tier of Belgian basketball. Before, the t ...

and

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Basket, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome which ...

, and averaged 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds while playing for these ball clubs.

Turkey

Douthit has played for basketball club

Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi Spor Kulübü ('' English: Antalya Greater Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club''), commonly abbreviated as Antalya BB is a basketball team based in the city of Antalya in Turkey. Their home arena is the Dilek Sab ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

during the 2007–08 season. That year, the team finished sixth in the league with a total 18 wins, qualifying them to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The club was eventually eliminated by Turkish team Fenerbahçe Ülkerspor. While playing for

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

in Turkey's top men's professional basketball league,

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

, Douthit averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Russia

After several stints in a number of professional leagues in Europe, Douthit suited up for

BC Krasnye Krylya Samara BC Krasnye Krylya (, ) was a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Samara, Russia. History Krasnye Krylya played in the 2009–10 season of the Russian Super League 1, as a replacement for the bankrupt club, CSK VVS, that is al ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Based in the city of

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

, the club plays in the

Russian Basketball Super League The Russian Basketball Super League 1, or Super Liga 1, (), formerly known as the Russian Basketball Super League A or the Russian Basketball Super Liga A, is a men's professional basketball league that was the pre-eminent league of Russian profe ...

. During the 2009–10 season, the club also participated in the 2010

EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run by FIBA Europe. It is not to be confus ...

, organized by

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations. ...

. Douthit averaged 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 11 games in that year's EuroChallenge.

Asian career

South Korea

To cap the 2006–07 season, after playing in the NBA D-League, Douthit joined the

Daegu Orions Goyang Sono Skygunners () is a professional basketball club based in Goyang, South Korea which plays in the Korean Basketball League. History Dayone Sports era (2022–2023) Rumours of Orion selling its stake in the club intensified in earl ...

in the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

, which is the professional basketball league of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Philippines

In May 2010,

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas () or the SBP is the national sport association for basketball in the Philippines, formed from the merging of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and Pilipinas Basketball (PB). It was formed ...

announced that Douthit has been invited to try out for a spot in the

Philippines men's national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team (), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines or s ...

, Smart Gilas. He suited up for the team, spearheaded by former

Iran national team Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

head coach

Rajko Toroman Rajko Toroman ( sr-Cyrl, Рајко Тороман; born February 10, 1955) is a Serbian professional basketball coach. Coaching career Before 2016, he served as a team consultant for the Barako Bull Energy Cola and the Petron Blaze Boosters ...

, in the

2010 MVP Invitational Champions' Cup The 2010 Manny V. Pangilinan Invitational Championships also known as the 2010 Smart Philippines Invitational Challenge, was a five-team basketball tournament hosted from June 24-27, 2010. The tournament, named after Filipino businessman and sport ...

. Douthit joins notable Filipino basketball players

Marcio Lassiter Marcio Tsongo Sandio Eshabarr Lassiter (born May 16, 1987) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He had a stint with the Philippine national basketball t ...

, J.V. Casio,

Japeth Aguilar Japeth Paul Cabrera Aguilar (born January 25, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He first played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles o ...

Dylan Ababou Dylan Simon Rosales Ababou (born December 7, 1986) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played for seven teams during his career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted 10th overall in 2011 by the Barako ...

, and

Chris Tiu Christopher John Alandy-Dy Tiu (born July 15, 1985) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles with whom he won the UAAP title in 2008. He went on to play his entire professional ...

, who are members of the Gilas squad. On February 25, 2011, he scored 16 points and collected 26 rebounds in his debut game with Gilas in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

against the

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The ...

. He played for the

Air21 Express Air21 Express may refer to * Barako Bull Energy, Philippine basketball team named as "Air21 Express" from 2005 to 2009, and from 2010 to 2011 * Air21 Express (2012–2014) The Air21 Express was a professional basketball team in the Philippine B ...

as an import during the

2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2011–12 PBA season, 2012 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) PBA Commissioner's Cup, Commissioner's Cup was the second conference of the 2011–12 PBA season. The tournament began on February 10 and ended on May 6, 2012. The tournament ...

China

In October 2011, it was reported that Douthit has come to terms on a five-month contract to play for the Foshan Dralions, a club based in

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

that plays in the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. The team is coached by former NBA player

Jay Humphries John Jay Humphries (born October 17, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later served as the first head coach of the NBA D-League's Reno Bighorns. He last worked ...

Back to the Philippines

In January 2015, he signed for

Blackwater Elite The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise started as one of the founding teams in the ...

as an import and replaced Chris Charles who was injured. His team got their first win for the

2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2015 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup, also known as the 2015 PLDT Home TelPad-PBA Commissioner's Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second conference of the 2014–15 PBA season. The tournament began on January 2 ...

against the defending champions,

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

, in a score of 88–77. In September 2016, Douthit was signed in by

Mighty Sports Mighty Sports (sometimes referred to as Mighty Sports - Go For Gold for sponsorship reasons) is a basketball team based in the Philippines playing in various domestic tournaments. The team won four championships in the Republica Cup in 2013, 2014 ...

to play for the club in the 2016 Merlion Cup in Singapore where the team finished second. and in February 2017 he was re-signed in by

to play for the club in the 2017 Dubai International Basketball Championship.

Thailand

On January 3, 2017, it was reported that Douthit signed a contract to play for the Hanoi Buffaloes, a Vietnamese ball club which will compete at the Thailand Basketball Super League. He stayed in that league, playing for the Mekong United Raptors and Kabayan Philippines.

Basketball career statistics

''Correct as of 10 May 2012''

Regular season

, - , align="left" ,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, align="left" ,

Smart Gilas The Philippines men's national basketball team (), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines or s ...

, 12 , , 39.25 , , .540 , , 0.000 , , .521 , , 17.67 , , 2.17 , , 0.92 , , 3.25 , , 22.33 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 42.00 , , .365 , , 0.000 , , .639 , , 20.33 , , 3.78 , , 1.22 , , 2.22 , , 20.33 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" , Foshan Dralions , 29 , , 29.40 , , .522 , , 0.000 , , .751 , , 10.70 , , 2.00, , 1.50 , , 1.60 , , 19.80

International tournaments

, - , align="left" , 2012 Jones Cup , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 29.13 , , .630 , , 0.000 , , .725 , , 10.87 , , 1.75 , , 1.38 , , 1.38 , , 16.13 , - , align="left" ,

2012 FIBA Asia Cup 2012 FIBA Asia Cup was the 4th FIBA Asia Challenge, FIBA Asia Cup, the basketball tournament of FIBA Asia was held at the Ota City General Gymnasium, in Ōta, Tokyo, Ota, Tokyo, Japan from September 14–22, 2012. The winner of this year's FIBA As ...

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , 31.00 , , .655 , , 1.000 , , .581 , , 11.30 , , 1.20, , 0.83 , , 1.66 , , 15.20 , - , align="left" ,

2013 FIBA Asia Championship The 2013 in sports, 2013 FIBA Asia Cup, FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the intercontinental championship for basketball organized by FIBA Asia that served as the qualifying tournament for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. The tourna ...

, align="left" ,

Philippine National Basketball Team The Philippines men's national basketball team (), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines or s ...

, 8 , , 25.62 , , .432 , , 0.000 , , .758 , , 9.38 , , 1.62, , 0.5 , , 2.0 , , 11.80

International basketball career

Philippine national team

Douthit first suited up as an import for Gilas at the

, which was held from June 24 to 27 at the

Ninoy Aquino Stadium The Ninoy Aquino Stadium is an indoor arena, indoor sporting arena located in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. Originally built in the 1950s, it was renovated and renamed for Senator of the Philippines, Philippine senat ...

. He helped the nationals beat the

Jordan national basketball team The Jordan national basketball team is the official basketball team of Jordan in international competitions. The Jordanian team achievements in recent years beside qualifying to World Cup for three times (2010, 2019 and 2023), won the William ...

in the championship game, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Toroman, a former assistant coach of the national squad of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

from 1991 to 1995, was impressed with Douthit's performance and recommended him to be Gilas’ top prospect for naturalization. In June 2010, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced that Douthit agreed to sign a one-year contract and undergo the

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

process. After the process, he would be allowed to represent the Philippines as a full-fledged Filipino in international competitions such as the

2011 FIBA Asia Championship The 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the intercontinental championship for basketball organized by FIBA Asia that doubles as a qualifying tournament for the men's basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, United ...

, a qualifying tournament of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Douthit's represented the

at the

2010 William Jones Cup The 2010 William Jones Cup was the 32nd tournament which took place in Taipei from July 14–20. Men Standings Results All-tournament team * Lee Hsueh-lin * Yuta Tabuse * Samad Nikkhah Bahrami (MVP) * Takuya Kawam ...

, an international basketball tournament held from July 14 to 22 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Smart Gilas finished third in the tournament, improving the country's sixth-place finish from the previous year. In the tournament, Douthit was named a member of the All-Tournament Team along with

Yuta Tabuse is a Japanese professional basketball player for Utsunomiya Brex of the B.League. A point guard, Tabuse is and . He was the first Japanese-born player to appear in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game. Tabuse has enjoyed popularity in ...

(Japan),

Lee Hsueh-lin Lee Hsueh-lin (; born as Lee Chih-ming (李至明) on 31 January 1984 in Pingtung County, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese professional basketball player. Lee has been a leading competitor in several top Asian leagues, including most prominently with the ...

(Taiwan),

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami Mohammad Samad Nikkhah Bahrami (, born 11 May 1983) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian former professional basketball player. Pro career He previously played for Saba Battery BC, Saba Battery as a subsidiary player, teaming with his since-deceased br ...

(Iran), and

Takuya Kawamura is a Japanese professional basketball guard currently signed to the Nishinomiya Storks. In 2005, he skipped college and started playing professional basketball, following Kazuo Nakamura's advice. In 2009, he decided to leave the Japan Basketball ...

(Japan). Because he and Gilas teammate

Chris Lutz Christopher Ryan Lutz (born February 11, 1985) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Lutz grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire. As a ...

have not secured a Filipino

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

in time for the competition, Douthit did not suit up for the team at the FIBA Asia Stanković Cup 2010, held from August 7 to 15 in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Douthit first represented the Philippines as a naturalized Filipino in the

2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2011 was the 22nd staging of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of FIBA Asia. The tournament was held in Pasig, Philippines from May 28 to June 5, 2011. The event is co-organized by the Samahang ...

, which was held in

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig (), is a highly-urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the eastern border of Metro Mani ...

, Philippines from May 28 to June 5, 2011. Douthit also represented the Philippines in both the

2011 William Jones Cup The 2011 TAIYEN William Jones Cup was the 33rd tournament of the William Jones Cup that took place at the Hsinchuang Gymnasium in New Taipei, Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) from August 6 to 13, 2011. Men's tournament Squads South Af ...

and

. In that year's FIBA Asia Championship, he averaged 21.9 points and 12.2 rebounds for Smart Gilas, which finished fourth overall in the tournament. In 2012, Douthit helped Gilas get as far as the semifinals of the

. In the

, Douthit led Gilas to the semis. There, against South Korea, he got injured but his teammates stepped up and defeated South Korea to get into the finals. Gilas finished the tournament with a silver medal. For the

2014 FIBA World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from 30 August to 14 September 2014. Hosted by Spain, it was the la ...

, Douthit wasn't fielded by Gilas, and his spot went to

Andray Blatche Andray Maurice Blatche (born August 22, 1986) is an American-Filipino former professional basketball player. He played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2005 and 2014 before playing overseas. He played high school ...

. Due to Blatche's ineligibility in the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

, he was able to play for Gilas once again. Against Kazakhstan, with Gilas needing to win by 11 to get into the semifinals, he tried scoring on his own goal to send the game to overtime where they could have won by the needed margin, but the basket was nullified and Gilas won by only two points. In 2015, Douthit was called up for that year's

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with su ...

. He helped lead Gilas to a gold medal. In August of that year, he confirmed that the SBP decided not to renew his contract, ending his time with Gilas.

Filipino naturalization

In February 2011, former

executive director

Noli Eala Jose Emmanuel "Noli" Macasaet Eala is a Filipino sports executive and disbarred lawyer who served as the 11th chairperson of the Philippine Sports Commission from August 30 to December 28, 2022. He previously served as the sixth commissioner o ...

announced that Douthit's application for Filipino naturalization has already been transmitted for signature to the office of

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

. Thirty days after February 9, the day the application reached the president's office at Malacañan Palace, Douthit would secure his Filipino citizenship with or without Aquino's signature. On March 11, 2011, Republic Act No. 10148 introduced by

Antipolo Antipolo, officially the City of Antipolo (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

Second District

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Robbie Puno, which grants Filipino

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

to Douthit, lapsed into law after

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Aquino failed to sign it. Douthit's eligibility to play for the Smart Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team was confirmed by FIBA Sport and Eligibility committee head Ivanka Toteva in June 2011. With the confirmation, Douthit will be allowed to represent the Philippines as a naturalized player in all FIBA sanctioned events.

Player profile

Douthit is 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) tall, and is usually tasked to play the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions. He is often described as a versatile big man who loves to crash the boards and score off garbage points, with a steady perimeter shot. With his 7-4

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

, Douthit has incredible reach as well, which makes him a prolific shot blocker. Tim Welsh, Douthit's former

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

at Providence, once said that, "Marcus runs the court very well and handles the ball well for a big man. He's not a back-to-the basket player, he's a face-up player which is what makes him perfect for our style of play... He's also a tremendous shot blocker who has great timing and makes it difficult for people to score over him." Douthit is also often compared to

Haitian Canadian Haitian Canadians () are Canadians of Haitian descent or Haiti-born people who reside in Canada. As of 2016, more than 86% of Haitian Canadians reside in Quebec. Haitian migration to Canada Immigration 1960–1980 Immigration from Haiti to ...

professional

player

Samuel Dalembert Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981) is a Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Seton Hall University. During his active N ...

Coaching career

During the 2019–20 season, Douthit joined the coaching staff of the

Community College of Rhode Island The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, wit ...

(CCRI) Knights basketball team. In 2022, he had a stint as the head coach of the Beantown Bisons in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

. A month later, he became CCRI's head coach. In his first year, the Knights finished the season 14–15 overall and earned the No. 8 seed in the NJCAA Region XXI Tournament. The following season, they finished 11–10 in league play to earn the No. 6 seed in the NCJAA Region XXI Tournament. After that season, he was replaced as head coach.

Awards and honors

* William Jones Cup Champion: 2012 * SEABA Champion: 2011, 2012, 2015 * William Jones Cup Third Place: 2011 * William Jones Cup All-Tournament Team: 2010, 2012 * 2x Marvin Barnes Defensive Player Award: 2003, 2004

References

External links

Early life

College basketball career

Professional basketball career

National Basketball Association

Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Clippers

NBA Development League

European career

Belgium

Turkey

Russia

Asian career

South Korea

Philippines

China

Back to the Philippines

Thailand

Basketball career statistics

Regular season

International tournaments

International basketball career

Philippine national team

Filipino naturalization

Player profile

Coaching career

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links