Athlete of the Week: Marvin Cannon
Colorado visits Pullman on longest winning streak ever in Pac-12 play
JACK LEWIS-CLARKE | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE
WSU sophomore small forward Marvin Cannon dunks the ball in the second half of the game against Washington on Saturday night at Beasley Coliseum. Cannon scored a season-high 25 points in the game.
February 19, 2019
A career performance from sophomore small forward Marvin Cannon wasn’t enough to knock off Pac-12 leader Washington, but he helped the Cougs put a scare in the Huskies in front of a packed Beasley Coliseum on Saturday.
Cannon scored 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two steals in 37 minutes of action. He set season highs in points, minutes, field goals made, field goals attempted, three-point field goals made, three-point field goals attempted, rebounds and steals in the game.
Cannon said his outbreak performance wasn’t because of the rivalry against UW.
“I just play hard,” he said. “I give it my all every game … tonight my shot just felt good.”
Senior forward Robert Franks had high praise for his teammate after Cannon’s performance.
“Marv played a heck of a game,” Franks said. “He’s only a sophomore. He’s going to be something special. I think Cougar basketball should definitely take notice in him.”
Cannon graduated high school from The Steward School in Richmond, Virginia. He averaged 21.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his senior season.
Despite his production, Cannon didn’t receive any scholarship offers from a major Division I school, so he decided to go the junior college route. Cannon spent a year at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, where he put on a show.
In 35 games with Barton, Cannon started 27 and averaged 15.8 points per contest and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. Following the season, he was named to the All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) first team and second team all-region.
Cannon received three player of the week awards during the season and NJCAA Division I national player of the week once.
Cannon led Barton to a 29-7 record and a quarterfinals berth in the 2018 NJCAA Division I National Tournament. His 20.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per contest in six games in the tournament helped him be named to the NJCAA DI All-Tournament team.
It also caught the attention of WSU as they offered him a scholarship and brought him to the Palouse. In his first season with the Cougars, he is averaging 7.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Cannon’s heroic performance wasn’t enough to beat the Huskies, but he kept the crowd involved, giving WSU fans hope and helping him earn the Evergreen’s Athlete of the Week.
