Marcus Gaither (April 26, 1961 – July 16, 2020) was an American-French professional basketball player, who played the guard position. In 1989–90 Gaither led the Israel Basketball Premier League in scoring. He then played in France for 11 years, and he ended his career playing for one season in the Italian
Lega Basket Serie A
The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tie ...
.
Personal life
Gaither was born in
Far Rockaway, Queens
Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line. ...
, and attended
Far Rockaway High School
Far Rockaway High School was a public high school in New York City, at 821 Bay 25th Street in Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens. It operated from 1897 to 2011. Its alumni include three Nobel Prize laureates and convicted fraudster Bernar ...
. He was tall and weighed .
In 2008, Gaither was living in
West Caldwell, New Jersey
West Caldwell is a township located in the West Essex area in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located approximately west of Manhattan and northwest of Newark. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's p ...
, operating a mortgage company, and officiating at AAU basketball tournaments. He earned an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
in
Information Technology Management
Information technology management or IT management is the discipline whereby all of the information technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities. Managing the responsibility within a company entails many o ...
Florham Park, New Jersey
Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,
Gaither died in July 2020 at 59 years of age.
Basketball career
Gaither attended and played basketball for
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
, graduating in 1984 with a B.S. in
Business Management
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of manageme ...
. He played for the
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights refer to the 17 sports teams representing Fairleigh Dickinson University's Metropolitan campus in Teaneck & Hackensack, New Jersey. Fairleigh Dickinson University or (FDU) offers a variety of sports on the Divisio ...
in the
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Fo ...
from 1980 to 1984. He led the team in scoring from 1981 to 1984, and had a career-high 22.9 points per game in the 1982–83 season. He was named to the 1982 ECAC Metro South All-Star basketball team. In 1983 he led the league in scoring, with 22.9 points per game. He set a school record as FDU's all-time leading scorer with 1,815 points, a mark which stood for seven years. In 2016, Gaither ranked second all-time in points, and in 1999 he was third with 369 career assists, and was fifth with 465 field goals made.
Gaither was drafted by the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...
in the fifth round of the
1984 NBA draft
The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally ...
. He played parts of his first two professional seasons in the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
(CBA) for the Puerto Rico Coquis and Maine Windjammers, averaging 7.6 points over 17 games.
Gaither played for the
Birmingham Bullets
The Birmingham Bullets were a British professional basketball team from Birmingham, England who competed in the British Basketball League (BBL). The club was founded in 1974 as Coventry Granwood before moving to Birmingham in 1980 as part of the ...
of the
British Basketball League
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howev ...
in England in the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.3 points and 3.5 assists per game, and was named to the BBL Team of the Year.
In 1989–90 Gaither played in Israel for
Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin
Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin ( he, מכבי קריית מוצקין) is a professional basketball club based in Kiryat Motzkin in the Haifa District of Israel. The team plays in the Israeli National League.
History
Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin was founded ...
, leading the Israel Basketball Premier League in scoring with a 28.6 points per game average.
Gaither played in France for 11 years. He played for French basketball team AS Chatou (now Poissy Basket) from 1991 to 1994, averaging 27.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.6 steals per game. He then played for Levallois from 1995 to 1997 and SIG Strasbourg from 1997 to 1998 in
LNB Pro A
The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league ...
, and Montpellier (1998–99).
He ended his career playing for B. Sardegna Sassari in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...
in the Italian
Lega Basket Serie A
The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tie ...
in 1998–99.
Honors
Gaither was inducted into the Fairleigh Dickinson University's Division I Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.