VIEW FROM THE COURT

When DeJuan Marrero (Class of 2017) began his college basketball career, Morehead State wasn’t on his radar. Growing up in Gary, Indiana, Marrero went to DePaul University in Chicago. He thought he had a solid path forward until an ACL injury changed everything.

After the injury, his time at DePaul ended, and he moved to Marianna, Florida, to Chipola College, a junior college program, and began exploring his prospects for the next step in his journey.

Then MSU Men’s Basketball Coach Sean Woods contacted him and convinced Marrero that MSU would be a good fit where he could develop into a player with pro basketball options.

MSU turned out to be exactly what he needed. Marrero found a home and community with the MSU basketball program. When former assistant coach Preston Spradlin was promoted to head coach, the foundation Marrero built only strengthened.

Through the mentorship of Coach Spradlin and then Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Charles Holloway (Class of 2018), Marrero started developing more than just basketball skills.

“I credit Preston, Dr. Holloway and others with a lot,” Marrero said. “I further developed my basketball skills, but I also learned discipline and focus; to treat others with respect and grace and not walk in the room thinking I know it all.”

During his last year at MSU, Marrero was drafted to play professionally in Puerto Rico. Completing his remaining MSU classes online, he hit the court in the Caribbean, flying back to Kentucky that May to attend the graduation ceremony. For several years, Marrero spent spring and summer playing in Puerto Rico and winter and fall playing in Europe. And then, COVID-19 happened.

At the start of the pandemic, Marrero returned home to Indiana. He reconnected with the Nike-sponsored club basketball team he played for in high school, the Indy Heat Gym Rats, volunteering with their events and tournaments. At one event, he recorded some game footage on his iPhone and a parent asked him for the recording. He recognized there was a niche he could fill.

Marrero began traveling with the club team, doing video coverage, and pitching content to ESPN for potential use. When covering a high school invitational tournament, he connected with the CEO of Paragon Marketing Group, a sports and entertainment company with clients including ESPN and Pepsi. Marrero began working part-time at Paragon, covering high school basketball games, and continuing to share footage with ESPN. In 2022, an opportunity presented itself to work with Paragon full-time and Marrero took his shot. He now oversees ESPN social handles for high school basketball, traveling to tournaments nationwide. His connections and experience inspired him to start his own podcast – The DeJuan Marrero Podcast – where he has conversations with former teammates, coaches, and other influential figures in sports.

“I still use the skills I learned at Morehead every single day,” he said. “I encourage any student to give MSU a shot – even if you maybe don’t see a lot of people who look like you or have the same background as you. It can be exactly what you need.”