In an effort to make a playoff push, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants continue to fine-tune their roster. The latest addition is Marquis Teague, the younger brother of Pacers starting point guard Jeff Teague.
Marquis Teague was the Chicago Bulls’ 2012 first-round pick. [@MarquisTeague12 on Instagram]
One day earlier, on March 1, the Mad Ants signed former Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough (2009-13) to a D-League contract. Hansbrough, a free agent, has been out of the NBA this season after spending the 2015-16 season with the Charlotte Hornets.
Hansbrough, who passed a physical and practiced with the team on Thursday, will be in uniform Friday night when the Mad Ants host the Westchester Knicks at 7:00 pm. Teague, I’m told, will not.
Teague, who’s just 24, most recently played in Russia in what turned out to be a bad situation. Prior to that, he spent time in the Israeli League.
The Pike High School graduate was the 29th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, selected by the Chicago Bulls after he played one year at the University of Kentucky as part of John Calipari’s only NCAA Championship with the Wildcats.
Teague played in 88 career NBA games. In his year and half with the Bulls (2012-14), he played in 67 games. Then, he was traded to Brooklyn and appeared in 21 games, including one start. In his short time in the league, Teague averaged 3.0 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.0 rebound per game.
In June 2015, the Pacers wanted to get a look at Marquis during their veteran free agent mini-camp. However, an ankle injury prevented that from happening. He has since fully recovered.
Marquis has been home in Indy this week and working out with trainer Rob Blackwell of St. Vincent Sports Performance.
Down in Orlando last July, I caught up with Marquis after he had played in a Summer League game as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I just try to do what I do, work on my game, and continue to grow,” he told VigilantSports.com in July. “I know it’ll come because I’m talented and I can play so when it comes, I just have to be ready.”
I also had to ask him about his brother Jeff, who is three years older, being traded to the hometown Pacers just a few weeks earlier.
“Ah, man. That’s great,” he said excitedly. “Man, that’s exciting to be back home. It’s like a dream come true. I know he’s real happy and excited about it. It should be fun to see what they can do.”
I been thru so much I Dnt even even be tripping nomore y'all Dnt even know my story 💯
— Marquis Teague (@marquisteague25) February 6, 2017