Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Transfer Marcus Bartley cites recruiting ties to assistant coach Anthony Beane
09/26/2016 | 2:02:00 | Men's Basketball
When a coaching change at Saint Louis left Marcus Bartley feeling in need of a fresh start, a relationship that formed during his high school years brought him to Southern Illinois.
Saluki assistant coach Anthony Beane recruited Bartley while Bartley was at MacArthur High School in Decatur. The transfer junior guard said his ties to Beane from his high school days influenced his choice to come to Carbondale.
"I have a really good relationship with Coach Beane," Bartley said. "I played against (former Saluki Anthony Beane Jr.) back in high school. He's really close with my high school coaches. There's a lot of ties between me and Coach Beane."
Bartley said his decision to leave SLU was spurred by the firing of head coach Jim Crews. He said new Billikens boss Travis Ford and his coaching staff "seemed like really good guys," but it was time for a fresh start.
Bartley joins the Salukis having played all 64 games in his two seasons at SLU. Sixteen of his 18 career starts came during his freshman year. He averaged 4.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists for Saint Louis.Â
Per NCAA transfer rules, Bartley will have to sit out the 2016-17 season before playing his final two seasons. The 6-foot-4, 176-pound perimeter player hopes to add weight before his return to the court.
"It's definitely going to be tough to sit out a year," he said. "I definitely want to put on a few more pounds and work on my in-between, mid-range game."
Bartley's outside game was his calling as a Billiken - he led the team in 3-point percentage both seasons, shooting 39.7 last season and 45.2 percent as a freshman. He was 7-of-8 from beyond the arc in a first-round Atlantic 10 Conference tournament game against George Mason last season on his way to a career-high 24 points.
Despite his sharpshooting ability, Bartley's plan is to return to the point guard position when he makes his SIU debut.
"That's part of the reason I came here," he said. "It's what I played in high school. I played it a little bit at SLU until things started changing, but that's definitely my more natural position in my eyes, and where I feel like I play my best."
As a high school point guard, Bartley averaged 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 3.3 steals his senior year, leading MacArthur to a 16-11 record.Â
Bartley said he was impressed with the Salukis' talent in a 65-52 SIU victory over Saint Louis last December, avenging the previous season's 62-59 loss. Bartley was 0-3 from the floor in the 2015 game, and 1-2 from the free throw line in the 2014 matchup. He had one rebound and one assist in each game.
"They're a really good team, a lot of great players, and I just felt that I could help build onto that," Bartley said. "We've definitely got a lot of talented guys. I have to sit out this year, but I'm definitely going to enjoy watching them play, and I know they're going to win a lot of games."
