Recruiting Report: Marcus Draney (2017)
Going to a new school after being a 3 year starter at another for your senior year is never going to be easy, but Marcus Draney and the Skyridge Falcons are ready for the challenge. Marcus, the 6’2 guard out of Lehi, UT has become one the top 15 players in the class of 2017 in the state of Utah, and is primed for a huge season playing for a first year program.
When asked about what excites him the most for the upcoming season, Marcus said, “We have a talented team, I’m excited to be with a first year school in my hometown. Our teams biggest strengths have got to be athletic ability, and ability to take advantage of mismatches.” This senior group of Skyridge players has been together since the 3rd grade and they really know how to make the extra pass to find a wide open teammate for the easy bucket.
Marcus is a pure shooting guard in every sense of the word, and with his ability to get to the rim and score with either hand, proves to be very beneficial for his teammates when defenses collapse and he has the unselfishness to kick it out or drop it down to a big guy for an easy bucket. Marcus said, “My biggest strengths as a player are getting to the rim and making defenses collapse, getting to the free throw line, catching and shooting from outside of the three point line, and being able to push the ball in transition and make a play for myself or a teammate.”
Draney said his main area to improve on is being more a leader. He is really working on his ability to pull teammates aside and encourage, as well as leading by example making plays on the court. Marcus is putting in a tremendous amount of work to improve his overall game, but really the ability to shoot the one or two dribble pull up when teams are closing hard to him on the perimeter where he has up to college range.
Marcus stated his number one goal for the season is winning a region championship and making it to the state tournament as one of the top seeds for a deep run and potential state championship. He knows that a first year school has not gotten to a state championship in 4A or 5A since Mountain View in 1981, but he is up for the challenge, as are the talented Skyridge Falcons. Draney is on Exum Elite Utah Prosepcts for AAU, and is currently being recruited by Wyoming, Boise State, Eastern Arizona College, McCook College, Alaska Anchorage, Missouri Southern, Salt Lake Community College, and Western Wyoming College.