50 Marquis Estill

Marquis Estill was born Marquis Daron Estill on September 15, 1981 in Richmond, Kentucky to Tanya Smith and Larry Estill. Nicknamed “Quis,” the 6-9 forward/center played at Madison Central High School in Richmond and was a consensus Top 100 player in his senior year of high school. He played at Kentucky from 1999-2003 and was part of Tubby’s Terrors, redshirting his freshman year due to knee injury and skipping his senior year to enter the NBA Draft. He was a member of the All-SEC Tournament team in 02-03 and averaged nearly 10 points and 5 rebounds a game over his career at Kentucky. 

The 1999 Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky and finalist for Mr. Basketball honors completed his career by averaging 20.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a senior, leading Madison Central to a berth in the KHSAA’s Sweet 16, it’s first since 1987.  

Estill was recruited to Kentucky by Tubby Smith and he chose Kentucky over Louisville, Tennessee, Dayton and Alabama-Birmingham with a verbal commitment on October 26, 1998.  He finalized his decision after attending Kentucky’s Midnight Madness. The visit gave him a chance to talk with the Wildcats’ players and “feel comfortable about fitting in.”

Estill sat out his freshman season as a partial qualifier and underwent successful surgery on his left knee in November ’99 to repair torn meniscus.

As a redshirt freshman, he slimmed down from 285 pounds to 235 and played in all but two games; he scored in double figures nine times.  He tied or led the squad in scoring five times and was the team’s top shooter, canning 60.3% of his shots from the field to earn the team’s Best FG Percentage award.  He led UK in blocks with 36 and ranked seventh in the SEC, averaging 1.1 bpg.  He began the season shooting 53.8% from the foul line, but finished the season shooting 73.1% after hitting 16 straight FTS.  He had a sensational performance against Iowa with a  career-high 22 points in 22 minutes on 9-of-ll shooting, including his fifth three-pointer of the season while adding six rebounds, two blocks and a steal.  In SEC play, he shot a team-leading 63.9% from the field and 81.1% from the foul line.  He earned SEC Player of the Week for his performance against North Carolina on Dec. 2 with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 31 minutes off the bench.

As a redshirt sophomore, Estill played in every game with 12 starts.  He led the team in shooting at 62.4% to earn the team’s Best Field Goal Percentage award.  He finished tied for third on the team in scoring (8.9 ppg).

Estill scored a total of 936 points, averaging 9.3 per the 100 games he played in. For the 2002-03 season, Estill was named to the All-NCAA Regional Team, All-SEC (Second Team) and the All-SEC Tournament Team. Estill held the record for the best career field-goal percentage in Kentucky basketball history until 2020. He recorded a percentage of .601 with 365 field goals made out of 607 attempted.

Estill declared for the NBA Draft following his junior season. After going undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft, Estill decided to play basketball overseas. 

Estill returned to his alma mater in 2012 to join John Calipari’s staff. This allowed Estill to work on earning his undergraduate degree that he never received after leaving Kentucky early.

“I am so happy to bring back Marquis as an undergraduate assistant on our staff,” Calipari said. “One thing I always tell our players is that they are always welcome back here, especially to get their degree. This is a players-first program, and we will always be here for them in whatever capacity they need. I applaud Marquis for coming back to finish his degree, and I encourage all of our former players to do the same.”

Estill graduated from the University of Kentucky with former players Jon Hood, Jarrod Polson, and Twany Beckham in May of 2013. After returning home from playing basketball overseas, Estill worked as a car salesman in Lexington before starting his coaching career. After finally earning his degree at Kentucky, Estill became an assistant boy’s basketball coach at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington. 

He also had assistant coaching stints at Georgetown College and Midway University.

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