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His father, Marcus Spears, may be an NFL legend, but Marcus Spears Jr. is proving to be an elite basketball star. A five-star sophomore (per 247Sports Composite), Spears Jr. has teamed up with his five-star Dynamic Prep teammate Ryan Hampton for their AAU squad, Drive Nation.
They were in Phoenix, Arizona, for Nike EYBL Session I over the weekend, and several NFL stars showed up to watch them play on Sunday. This includes his dad, now an ESPN analyst, as well as fellow NFL legend Ryan Clark. Both of them were spotted on the sidelines watching Drive Nation play.
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The two Dynamic Prep five-stars had an excellent game against AZ Unity, with Ryan Hampton getting 20 points and seven rebounds, while Marcus Spears Jr. had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Despite their combined efforts, Drive Nation still lost to AZ Unity, 73-63.
With that loss to the league-leading AZ Unity, Drive Nation now falls to a 1-3 record after a dominating start to their Nike EYBL season. On Friday, they kicked off Session I against Houston Hoops, dominating their opponents 81-35. However, they then lost against Team United on Saturday, 81-85, =before that loss to AZ Unity.
Marcus Spears Jr., Ryan Hampton, and the rest of Drive Nation will return to the Nike EYBL Circuit for Session II, from May 16-18. The second leg of the circuit will be held at the Memphis Sports & Events Center, and they will kick off their Memphis campaign against Paul George's AAU squad, the PG Elite.
Marcus Spears Jr. talks about college offers
While he is only a sophomore, his lineage and his talent have already gotten Marcus Spears Jr. plenty of attention, with several big schools already fighting to secure his commitment. These include SMU, Texas, and LSU.
In August 2024, Spears Jr. sat down with On3 and discussed what he thought of his offers from Texas and LSU:
“LSU is a great place. My parents went there," he said regarding LSU. "They have a new coaching staff there and they have great facilities. I like Louisiana, for real. There is nothing really like Baton Rouge to me. They have a great campus and a good coach."
“Texas probably has the nicest college facility to me. I like Coach Rodney (Terry), he’s a new coach and is building the program. I’m going to watch them this year to see how they do. Texas has a great campus, and my sister is going there. So for both of us to be there together, that would be big," he said regarding Texas.
As of writing, he has unofficially visited SMU and has offers from other schools, such as TCU and Tennessee.
