Jack Marin

John Warren Marin ( ; born October 12, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) small forward from Duke University, Marin was named to the 1967 NBA All-Rookie Team and spent 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (1966–1977), playing for the Baltimore Bullets, Houston Rockets, Buffalo Braves, and Chicago Bulls. The left-handed Marin was a two-time NBA All-Star and scored 12,541 points in his career. He led the NBA in free throw percentage during the 1971–72 NBA season.

Marin played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils (1963 to 1966), and was a starting forward during his junior (1964–65) and senior (1965–66) seasons. He was a consensus second-team All-American in 1966. He was first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 1965 and 1966. Marin's Duke teams went to the Final Four of the NCAA men's Division I basketball tournament in 1964 and 1966. He was named to the 1966 NCAA All-Tournament Team. Duke had a 46–9 record during Marin's two years as a starter, and the Associated Press ranked Duke No. 2 in 1966 and No. 10 in 1965.

Early life Marin was born on October 12, 1944, in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Marin attended Farrell High School in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and was valedictorian of his high school class at Farrell High. Marin was 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) in high school, but played guard on a team with a 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) center because the left-handed Marin was the only player on the team who could consistently make outside shots. As Marin's Duke career progressed, Bubas described him as the most complete player Bubas had ever coached. Marin played from 1963 to 1966 on Duke's varsity team.

As a sophomore reserve forward (1963–64), Marin played in all 31 of Duke's games that season, averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Duke was 26–5 that season, and reached the final game of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to UCLA in the championship game. Marin's best game of the tournament came in the championship game against UCLA, where he scored 16 points. In Duke's East Regional semifinal victory over Villanova, Marin had eight points and five rebounds. thumb

Marin became a starting forward as a junior (1964–65). He averaged 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in field goal percentage.

Duke defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first round of the ACC tournament, with Marin making the game winning basket. Duke then defeated Wake Forest, 101–81, with Marin scoring 20 points. In the championship game against NC state, played at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, Marin got into foul trouble early in the second half, limiting his playing time. Duke lost 91–85, with Marin scoring 10 points. Marin was selected first-team All-ACC in 1965, and named to the second-team of the All-ACC Tournament Team. The Associated Press (AP) ranked the 20–5 Duke team No. 10 in the 1964–65 season. Marin was a consensus second-team All American. The Associated Press named him a second-team All-American, He was once again first-team All-ACC,

Duke's second game of the 1966 ACC tournament was against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Tar Heels' coach Dean Smith used a strategy of having his players dribble and pass for long periods of time without shooting, in an effort to compete against a superior Duke team. North Carolina did not take its first shot until over four minutes of game-time had passed, and only made one field goal in the first half. Duke won the game 21–20. Marin was Duke's second leading scorer in the game with five points. One sportswriter said at the time "The delay became so tiresome that Duke's Jack Marin stood in a corner and lackadaisically clapped in a slow rhythm". Marin scored 15 points in Duke's victory over North Carolina State in the ACC tournament's championship game, 71–66.

Duke defeated No.5 ranked St. Joseph's University of Philadelphia in the East Regional semifinals of the 1966 NCAA tournament, 76–74. Marin had 18 points, 15 rebounds, and made four foul shots with 25 seconds left in the game, including two one-and-ones, to secure the victory. Duke next defeated Syracuse in the East Regional final, 91–81. Marin led Duke with 22 points, and had nine rebounds. Duke lost to Kentucky in the Final Four, 83–79. Marin led Duke with 29 points. Duke defeated Utah for third place in the tournament, 79–77. Marin again led Duke in scoring, with 23 points. Duke finished the 1965–66 season ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press. Marin was named to the 1966 NCAA All-Tournament Team,

Marin was nicknamed "Mr. Consistency" as a Duke player. In 1966, he also was named to the ACC's All-Academic team. He received an A.B. degree in chemistry from Duke. As a rookie (1966–67), Marin played in 74 games, playing nearly 18 minutes per game behind starting small forward Gus Johnson. Marin averaged 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and one assist per game. The Bullets finished the season 20–61, last in the NBA's Eastern Division. He was selected to the first-team 1967 All-Rookie Team.

The next season (1967–68), Marin averaged 24.8 minutes, 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, still playing behind Johnson at small forward. Rookie of the Year Earl Monroe joined the team that season; which the Bullets finished 36–46 (still last in the Eastern Division). The Bullets protected Marin from being available in the 1968 NBA expansion draft.

Starting player Even though reporting to training camp, Marin delayed signing his contract in September 1968 in connection with his unhappiness at being used as a reserve instead of a starter. After experimenting with Marin as a shooting guard in the 1968–69 preseason, Johnson played power forward (though only in 49 games that season because of torn knee ligaments in early February that ended his season).

1968–69 Rookie of the Year and NBA Most Valuable Player Wes Unseld joined the team that season at center, with a starting lineup now consisting of Marin, Johnson, Unseld, Monroe and Kevin Loughery. Johnson, Monroe and Unseld were all future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame members. Marin played in all 82 games, averaging 33 minutes, 15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.

In the 1969–70 season, the Bullets started Marin, Johnson, Unseld, Monroe, and Loughery. Marin played in all 82 games, playing 35.9 minutes per game. He averaged 19.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. He scored 41 points on February 27, 1970 against the Atlanta Hawks, 18 in the first period, despite being involved in a fight with Hawks' forward Bill Bridges. Marin scored the majority of his points after the fight. The Bullets once again played the Knicks in the Eastern Division semifinals that season, losing in seven games. Marin averaged 37.9 minutes, 17.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists against the eventual 1970 NBA champion Knicks.

1970-71 season Marin played in all 82 games again in the 1970–71 season. He averaged 35.6 minutes, 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game; and had an .848 free throw percentage. On November 7, 1971, Marin scored a career-high 42 points in a 109–106 loss to his later team, the Houston Rockets. The Bullets were 42–40 that season, but reached the 1971 NBA Finals. In 18 playoff games, Marin played 41.7 minutes per game (second only to Wes Unseld on the team), and averaged 20.6 points per game (second only to Earl Monroe on the team). He averaged 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. His minutes played, scoring, and rebounding averages were all career playoff highs.

The Bullets first won the Eastern Conference semifinals over the 47–35 Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. Marin averaged 20.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game against the 76ers. His 40.9 minutes per game led the team. In the deciding Game 7 win, 128–120, Marin led the Bullets with 33 points, and had 16 rebounds and four assists. The Bullets then played the 52–30 New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, having lost to the Knicks in the playoffs the previous two seasons. The Bullets upset the defending NBA champions in seven games, winning Game 7, 93–91.

In the 1971 playoff series against the Knicks, Marin averaged 42.6 minutes, 21.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and three assists per game. In a Game 4 Bullets' win, Marin led the Bullets with 27 points. In Gus Johnson's absence, Marin also had 14 rebounds. Baltimore sportswriter Bill Tanton call it Marin's greatest game in five years with the Bullets. Marin reportedly had been outplaying Knicks' small forward Bill Bradley in the series, and Knicks' coach Red Holzman replaced Bradley with Cazzie Russell during Game 6 in an effort to limit Marin's scoring. Marin scored eight quick points against Russell, and Bradley returned to the game. With the Bullets ahead 89–88, Marin got an offensive rebound and put in a critical field goal to put the Bullets ahead by three points, 91–88, with less than two minutes to play in the game. On the game's last play Bullets' coach Gene Shue made a defensive switch to have the 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) the Knicks' leading scorer in the game, to stop Barnett from having a shooting opportunity. The Bullets won the game on the Knicks' home court, Madison Square Garden. After the game Marin said, "'I'd rather have won here than anywhere else in the world'".

The Bullets lost 1971 NBA championship series in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that included future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Dandridge. The Bucks reached the NBA finals after defeating the San Francisco Warriors in five games and then the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. His 22.3 points per game was a career high. For the fourth consecutive season, the Bullets played the Knicks in the playoffs, losing in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Marin averaged 38.7 minutes, 17.2 points, six rebounds, and two assists per game in that series. Hall of Fame Knicks' coach Red Holzman described Marin and Bradley as "two intense players in a matchup of skills and the will to win". Ten years after his last Bullets-Knicks playoff matchup Marin said, "'The several series against New York were probably the highlights of my career . . . There was something at that point in the game that was intellectual as well as physical'".

Holzman said in his memoir, My Unforgettable Season 1970, that Marin would frequently complain to the referees about Bradley's defense on Marin (which Bradley thought was unwarranted), and that Bradley knew how to use various strategies (physical and verbal) to get Marin angry and distracted during games. Holzman wrote of this, "Bradley would drive Marin crazy and I enjoyed it because it would give us an edge in that matchup". Ten years after their last Bullets-Knicks playoff game, Marin said "'Bill was as tenacious as anybody I've ever played against . . . He pushed and shoved and held a lot, but I suppose I did the same to him. It was a very, very intense matchup, probably the most intense of my career'". In his one full season with the Rockets (1972–73), Marin averaged 18.5 points per game, and was selected to play in the NBA All-Star for a second consecutive year.

In 1973–74, however, he was no longer a full-time starter for the Rockets after suffering an ankle injury. Unhappy about his status with the Rockets, averaging less than 25 minutes a game, Marin was traded along with Matt Goukas to the Buffalo Braves after 47 games, for Kevin Kunnert and Dave Wohl. He had a 10.7 points per game average for the Rockets at the time.

Marin finished the season in Buffalo averaging 13.4 points and 25.2 minutes per game. He never became a full-time starter again in the NBA, and never averaged more than 11.8 points per game in a season for the rest of his career. The Braves lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Washington Bullets in seven games. Marin played in all seven games, averaging 15.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Marin began the 1975–76 season with the Braves, playing in 12 games, averaging 23.2 minutes and 9.1 points per game. In late November 1975, the Braves traded Marin to the Chicago Bulls for future considerations. He played in 67 games for the Bulls that season, averaging 24.3 minutes, 11 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. Marin played his final NBA season with the Bulls in 1976–77. He appeared in 54 regular season games, averaging 16.1 minutes and 6.8 points per game.

Marin played the final three NBA games of his career in the 1977 first round Western Conference playoffs, a three-game loss to the Portland Trail Blazers (the eventual NBA champions that season). Marin averaged 17.7 minutes and 5.3 points per game. Marin was interested in playing one more year with the Bulls; and approached the team, willing to play for more modest contract terms than he played for in 1976–77. However, he believed that the Bulls were not credibly interested in retaining him going into the next season, based on the team's offer to sign him at a 60 percent pay cut. Marin chose to enter law school in the fall of 1978, rather than trying to return to the NBA for another season.

For his 11-year NBA career, Marin averaged 14.8 points, 2.1 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. In 51 playoff games, he also averaged 14.8 points per game, 2.4 assists and 5.5 rebounds. Legacy and honors While Marin was still playing at Duke, coach Vic Bubas, who had been coaching Duke since the 1959–60 season, said Marin was the most complete player he had ever coached. In 1966, Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith called Marin the most underrated player in the ACC and possibly the nation. In addition to being an NCAA All-America player, an All-ACC player, an NBA All-Rookie Team member, and an NBA All-Star, in 1978, Marin was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame.

Legal and political career After retiring from the NBA, Marin entered Duke University Law School and graduated with his Juris Doctor in 1980. In 1982, he was the Republican candidate for U.S. Congressional District 2 in North Carolina against Democratic incumbent Rep. Tim Valentine. Though he spent a competitive amount for that time ($169,610) he lost the general election with 31 percent of the vote. Before his retirement from the law, Marin was a partner in the Richmond, Virginia-based law firm of Williams Mullen where he focused his practice on sports law. He acted as outside counsel to the National Basketball Retired Players Association, and also represented basketball players performing abroad. He also worked at the Raleigh firm Maupin Taylor Ellis & Adams, where he represented NBA players as a sports agent.

Personal life Marin helped found the Celebrity Players Tour (CPT) in 1996, a small stakes golf tour for celebrities and notable figures, acting both as an administrator and a player, and eventually becoming its head. Marin served as the CPT's executive director (1998 to 2000). During his tenure, the tour grew from five or eight events to 15 events, that support various charities around the country. The purse for winning players in an individual tournament was up to at least $500,000 in 2000. Marin has been a playing member (and a winning golfer on the CPT tour, earning a sixth best $52,754 on the CPT tour in 1998 ). He has served on its board of directors.

Marin is currently (2026) involved with the United States Marine Corps and Hope For The Warriors, a non-profit based out of Jacksonville, North Carolina, where he has been chairman of the board. He teaches golf and other sports activities to United States Marines who were severely wounded in combat. He currently serves on the Be Active North Carolina Campaign Cabinet.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs