Published July 27, 2020
The following is a profile in a series celebrating Wakefield Memorial High School’s class of 2020 seniors who are continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Created by WMHS senior Emma Lambiaso.
Wakefield’s Ryan Marcus will be attending UMass Amherst this year where he will suit up for the Minutemen’s Men’s Basketball program. Marcus has made the roster for the 2020-21 season as a preferred walk-on. He was accepted into the Isenberg School of Management where he will be studying business.
Marcus was a four-year varsity player for the Wakefield Memorial High School boys’ basketball team. During his senior year, Marcus was named a captain for the second year in a row, he earned a second Middlesex League All-Star award, and was one of five players selected to the 2020 Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association’s All-Academic team for the North region. He graduated in the top 15 percent of his class with a 4.1 GPA and has achieved Honor Roll status every term during his four years at WMHS.
This season, Marcus averaged 14 points per game, five rebounds and five assists per game and shot 82 percent from the free throw line.
“Over the last four years, I have to say my favorite memory is playing in front of the huge Red Sea crowds at all of the home games. Being able to play in front of all the people you know, it’s a special feeling,” said Marcus. “I can’t wait to start the next chapter of my life at UMass, but I’ll always cherish my memories as a Warrior.”
UMass plays in the Atlantic 10 conference along with consistently strong programs like VCU, Davidson, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, Saint Louis, Rhode Island and Richmond along with one of the best teams in the country last season in Dayton.
They are coached by Matt McCall, who just completed his third season at the helm. The 38-year-old McCall was an assistant at the University of Florida and head coach at Chattanooga from 2015-17 before coming to Amherst. The Minutemen finished last season with an overall record of 14-17. They are bringing in the 3rd-ranked recruiting class in the conference according to 247sports and will return their leading scorer in big man Tre Mitchell, the reigning A10 Rookie of the Year.
Marcus will trade the Charbonneau Field House for the Mullins Center, an on-campus arena home to both the basketball and ice hockey teams. The arena holds 9,493 for basketball games.
“I want to give my gratitude and thanks to coach (Brad) Simpson and the entire coaching staff at Wakefield High,” said Marcus. “They are a big reason I am where I am today and I appreciate the time they put into helping us get better.”
From coach Brad Simpson: “In my 50-year association with Wakefield boys’ basketball, I have been fortunate to work with so many fine, young student-athletes; Ryan Marcus is among the finest. A four-year varsity player, two-year team captain, two-time Middlesex League All-Star and MBCA Academic All-State, Ryan has had a huge impact on our basketball program as a leader, player, and person.”
Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton: After watching Ryan’s Hudl tape from this season, the Arlington native and former Notre Dame standout had some advice for succeeding at the D1 level: “When no one believes in you, you have to believe in yourself. And that belief comes from being able to look yourself in the mirror at the end of each day knowing you did everything you could to get better that day.”
