TORINO, Italy — Update: The Italian Serie A2 League officially canceled their season this past week. Derrick Marks has since traveled back to the states. "My trip was easy and safe," Marks confirmed through text message on Thursday morning.
Former Boise State basketball star Derrick Marks has never gone this long without shooting on a hoop while having a clean bill of health.
"I haven't been able to workout. I haven't been out (of my house) for about 10 days," Marks explained.
"I have a basketball at home. I try to work with that at least so I can work on my form," he continued. "Technically I shoot a ball every day. But on a hoop? I haven't shot a ball on a hoop since March 8."
Today, the 26-year-old professional basketball player sits alone in his apartment in Torino, Italy, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Right now, pretty much everything is closed," Marks explained over the phone from Italy. "The only things that are open are the bank, pharmacy, and grocery store. If you don't need anything from those three places, you're pretty much staying in your house."
"There's a lot of isolation," he added.
It's been nearly five years since Derrick Marks experienced what he describes as arguably the greatest moment of his basketball career.
"March Madness. I think the best moment was finding out that we made the tournament," recalled Marks of the 2014-15 season at Boise State, "being on TV and finding out that we made it."
The stage was set. The lights were bright. A childhood dream had just turned into a reality for the second time in three years.
The accomplishment cemented Marks' legacy as one of the finest in program history. He ended his career with 1,912 points, the fourth-most ever by a Bronco. He also led Boise State to their only Mountain West Regular Season Championship in 2015, the same season he became the first player in program history to be named the Mountain West Player of the Year.
Ever since Marks' collegiate playing career came to an end in the on the court in Dayton, Ohio, at the NCAA Tournament, he has been chasing another dream of his halfway around the world.
Marks has spent the better part of the last three years playing professional basketball in Italy.
"I think I've improved as a professional a lot," said Marks. "Individually, I was playing well. I don't feel like it was my best year statistically, but I knew coming into this situation, where I was going to be on a championship-caliber team, it wasn't going to be all about me."
This past offseason Marks signed with Reale Mutua Torino in the Italian Serie A2 League. He averaged 15.2 points and was shooting 50.0% from the field for a team that was in first place when the league suspended play in early March.
"Our season was going well," he said. "We came into the season as one of the favorites to win it all. At the time the season was canceled, we were in first place."
Ever since then, Marks has more-or-loss gone into self-quarantine. He is now playing a waiting game to see what is next for the Italian Serie A2 League.
Will play eventually resume? Or will they officially cancel the remaining games on the schedule, a move that would allow Marks to return home to the states?
"To be honest, I think a lot of people see it as the season is finished," Marks said, "especially with the new information coming in today about Italy, they have more deaths than China. That wasn't too encouraging."
Despite all that is going on, Marks does see himself as fortunate.
"I've been healthy throughout this whole thing," he believes. "As far as having any symptoms, no, I haven't had any."
On top of that, he also plays for an organization that is doing everything they can to accommodate their players as the virus continues to devastate Northern Italy.
"They are taking care of everything," said Marks of Reale Mutua Torino. "They have assured us throughout everything that we will be paid. They're trying their best to keep the players calm because there are teams here that can't pay their players.
"Fortunately, I'm in the situation where that's not the case for me."
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