Marquis Addison admits he didn’t come to Missouri Southern and expect become a major scorer.

“I had no idea what to expect, to be honest,” he said. “I didn’t know if I would fit in my freshman year, if I would have to sit a couple of years being as scrawny as I am (6-foot-4, 180 pounds). The guys showed me the ropes and really helped my confidence coming in here, letting me know I was a player and telling me what to do. I just followed their lead.”

Addison, from Olathe South High School, became the 18th member of the Lions’ 1,000-point club Saturday night when he scored 20 points during a 93-81 home victory over Central Missouri. He reached the milestone on a free throw with 3:10 remaining.

“I wasn’t much of a scorer in high school,” he said. “I averaged about 13, 14 points a game, but it was a real slow-paced game. I still scored a high percentage of our team’s points. We just didn’t score a lot.

“Transitioning to here, it felt great. We’re an up-and-down team. We had 93 points (Saturday night), 100 the other night (against Southwest Baptist). It’s fun for me to get out and run and have a lot of energy. We have to keep the stamina going and keep the streak going.”

Addison collected 46 points, 16 rebounds, 13 assists and six steals in last week’s two victories. He was named MIAA men’s basketball player of the week on Monday, it was announced by the league office.

Addison’s preseason work before his freshman year caught the eyes of the Lion coaching staff and earned him a spot immediately in the starting lineup.

“When we recruited him, we really thought he would probably back up Jason (Adams) his freshman year,” Lions head coach Robert Corn said. “But it didn’t take us long to realize that kid was going to be on the floor because he did so many things. His defensive awareness at that young age was really good. He had been very well taught in high school. Because of his coaching in high school, he came in not just a freshman. He was farther along than a lot of guys.”

During his first two seasons, Addison filled a supporting role while playing with three 1,000-point scorers — Skyler Bowlin for one year and Jason Adams and Keane Thomann for two seasons.

“This could have happened sooner maybe if I didn’t play with them,” Addison said with a laugh. “Those guys showed me the ropes. They showed me the way, showed me how to lift weights, showed me how to get in the gym extra time, showed me how to be a leader.”

“He did a great job of accepting his role,” Corn said. “He just fit in. He knew when crunch time came, it was going to go to those guys. He knew why he was on the floor, and he did a nice job of taking advantage of those opportunities that year. It wasn’t a situation where we had to have him get 10 to 12 points every night. If he got 15 one night and five the next, we were fine because we had three other guys who were getting the bulk of the scoring.”

“The great players who have come through here, it’s an honor obviously just to be in that conversation,” Addison said. “One day hopefully I’ll have my plaque on the wall in the locker room. It’s such an honor and such a rich tradition here. ... I’m so blessed to have this opportunity.”



Missouri Southern records

Men’s Basketball 1,000-Point Club

Player, Years                                 G         Pts    Avg.

 1. Greg Garton, 1982-86             116    2,140    18.4

 2. Jason Adams, 2008-12           120    1,897    16.5

 3. Carl Tyler, 1980-84                  120    1,902    15.9

 4. John Thomas, 1969-73            112    1,770    15.8

 5. Skyler Bowlin, 2007-11             118    1,664    14.1

 6. Keane Thomann, 2008-12        117    1,523    13.0

 7. Chris Tucker, 1990-94               111    1,520    13.7

 8. Matt Olson, 1995-99                  105    1,404    13.4

 9. Terry Shumpert, 1998-2002       117    1,379    11.8

10. Russell Bland, 1976-78               65    1,271    19.6

11. Hiram Ocasio, 2001-05              117    1,168    10.0

12. Marvin Townsend, 1985-87          64    1,167    18.2

13. Mario Phillips, 1995-99               106    1,109    10.5

14. Eddin Santiago, 1998-2002        117    1,108    9.5

15. Carlos Escalera, 1999-2001         61    1,104    18.1

16. Kenny Simpson, 1990-92             57    1,097    19.2

17. Chris Tuggle, 1985-87                  63    1,072    17.0

18. Marquis Addison, 2010-pres.        82    1,005    12.3