Michigan State commit Marcus Bingham now a Kevin Durant-like force

Keith Dunlap
Special to the Detroit Free Press
Catholic Central High School senior forward and Michigan State University commit Marcus Bingham Jr., right, blocks a shot by Allendale's Mason Vredeveld during the second half of Central's game against Allendale on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, at Allendale High School.

Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Marcus Bingham always idolized NBA player Kevin Durant growing up, and that was before he got to high school and became a 6-foot-2 guard on the basketball court.

However, what has happened over the past three years has really made Bingham want to emulate Durant.

Bingham has grown eight inches since his freshman year — and is now 6-10, about as tall as Durant, and has a 7-4 wingspan.

Combining his guard skills with that growth spurt has helped Bingham become a finalist for the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award as well as one of the top recruits in the nation. He has signed with Michigan State.

More:2018 Michigan Mr. Basketball finalists: All 5 off to Big Ten schools

“He is one of the greatest to ever play this game and he is my height,” Bingham said of Durant. “So why not try to model my game after him?”

Going into Monday's regional semifinal against Spring Lake at Grand Rapids West Catholic, Bingham is averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks a game. Those numbers might be higher had he not been taken out of so many lopsided wins in the fourth quarter this year.

More:Michigan high school boys basketball regionals schedule

Bingham has long had excellent ball-handling and perimeter shooting skills, but with his growth spurt has learned how to score along the interior with post moves or face-up jump shots.

“My dad is 6-7, but it just kind of happened,” Bingham said of his spurt. “Everyone was kind of surprised.”

As much as his growth spurt transformed him as a basketball player, it has had greater effects off of the court.

Bingham admitted school was often an afterthought when he was in middle school and his early days of high school at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills before he transferred to Catholic Central.

But as he started to grow and garnered more attention from college basketball recruiters, he looked at his grades and realized they were costing him scholarship offers.

“That lit a fire under him to get going and he has really taken that side seriously,” Catholic Central head coach T.J. Meerman said.

Bingham's grade-point average has climbed to 3.1 this year. He cites economics as his favorite subject.

 “I take school very serious,” said Bingham, who is still just tapping his potential since he will only be 17 when he graduates high school in June. “I don’t want to mess up anymore.”

Last June, Bingham accepted a scholarship offer from MSU head coach Tom Izzo. Meerman often tells the story about what Bingham and Izzo talked about when he officially decided to become a Spartan.

“When Coach Izzo offered him a scholarship and then asked about his future goals of maybe winning a Big 10 title or maybe playing after college, he said ‘Coach, I just want to graduate high school. I didn’t know I was going to do that,’ ” Meerman said. “That’s very much the truth of Marcus’ life.”

One with rapid growth both on and off the court.

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