Mark Borders Enjoys Stellar Season In Brazil
The momentum started to take shape early-on for former University of Tampa men's basketball player Mark Borders. In 2001 he was nominated as a McDonald's All-American at Orlando's Dr. Phillips High-School.
He decided to play collegiately at Murray State University. There he would have a successful freshman campaign. Although he averaged just 15 minutes of playing time per game, he led the team in assists. A coaching change at the end of his freshman season led to his decision to transfer. He chose The University of Tampa. A key determinant behind his move was the reality that NCAA rules enable a student-athlete to compete immediately when transfer is from Division I to Division II.
At Tampa, Mark came in and played extremely well. A "true" point guard, standing at 6-foot-0, he ran the offense and executed coaching strategy on the court.
He finished his career at The University of Tampa in 2006. He is currently the school's all-time assist leader at 649. His selection as a finalist for the prestigious Bob Cousy Award exemplified the type of legacy he left at The University of Tampa. For all the right reasons, he left an indelible print on the program.
Turkish league basketball is commonly-regarded as an elite league. It is home to internationally-followed clubs such as Fenerbahce and Efes Pilsen. Borders was offered a contract with Turkish club Mulkiye in 2006. He fared well at Mulkiye, averaging a respectable 14 ppg. He also averaged five assists per game.
In 2007 he chose to leave Europe, signing in Mexico's LNBP, yet another tough competition. It wasn't an easy decision, though, walking away from Turkish league basketball.
"I had an offer to return to Turkey but the offer in Mexico was too good to overlook, says Borders."
Borders agreed to terms with Santos de San Luis in 2007. He led the LNBP in steals, while also finishing strong in the assists category. In assists, he was second in the league.
The 2008 season brought more success. He returned to the same club. He led the LNBP in assists, averaging seven per game.
Borders chose to play in Brazil during 2009. A highly-coveted opportunity, Brazil is an excellent league. It's tough to break into Brazil largely due to the fact that clubs there are in strong financial-health, enabling them to compete for the top players from around the world. It has developed into somewhat of a feeder-league for the NBA. At any given time, in recent years, it's easy to find several players from this league now in the NBA.
"A great deal of investment goes into Brazilian basketball," says Borders. "I was told by Brazilian teammates and coaches that the league is alot stronger now than, say, five years ago. And it was tough then. They have high-standards here because of the guarantees found in player contracts. "
In Brazil, playing for AssisBasket, Borders recorded the league's first-ever triple-double. He lit up opposition club, Americano, by scoring 15 points, distributing 11 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also had several double-doubles: he registered 30 and 10 against Sao Bernardo. Against the league's best club, Sao Josa, he had 11 points and 13 assists.
Entering the upcoming season Borders is weighed down by indecision--in a very good way. He is evaluating various clubs, trying to determine whether he will re-up with his former club, AssisBasket, or look elsewhere:
"I have a couple of offers in Brazil at this time. I'm considering everything. If it's Brazil, I'm intending to play here long-term. We will make the best possible decision after we look at everything."
Written by Terrence Norman