When the coronavirus pandemic shut down the world in March, nearly all of the resources athletes rely on to train and get better were taken away. Back home with his family in Overland Park, Kansas, Duquesne forward Marcus Weathers found a way around this.
He didn’t have access to the Dukes practice facility or weight room. What he did have access to was his twin brother Michael Weathers, who also happens to be a Division one point guard.
"We tried to do a lot of stuff together,” Weathers said of his time working out with his brother. “We tried to find any type of way to do any type of physical activity. Whether if that was doing work around the house or going to our old high school and running the football field, the track or the stadium stairs.”
The Weathers brothers started their college careers together at Miami (OH) University. Both ended up transferring in 2017. Marcus of course came to Duquesne, while his brother Michael left with coach John Cooper to Oklahoma State. Michael then left the Cowboys after experiencing legal issues. He is now a member of the Texas Southern basketball team.
While Marcus is the bigger brother, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 215 pounds, Michael, 6-foot-2 185-pounds, is older by three minutes. Similar to their difference in size, the Weathers brothers also play the game differently.
DUQUESNE ATHLETICS
Marcus (left) and Michael (right) weathers together at Miami (OH) University. The twin brothers started their college careers with the Redhawks in the 2016-2017 season.
Marcus is more of a physical player, leading the Dukes in scoring (14.3 per game) and rebounding (8.1 per game). The Dukes forward came into his own last season, earning second team All-Atlantic 10 honors.
"Marcus had a terrific year last year and really took a huge jump," coach Keith Dambrot said. "He figured out where his bread was buttered and took advantage of his physical strength and athletic ability."
Michael on the other hand is a shifty guard. In the lone year he has played college basketball, Michael was dominant, averaging 16.7 points and 4.8 assists per game which led to him being named the 2016-2017 Mid American Conference Freshman of the Year.
That difference in style is a challenge to Marcus when the two play one-on-one. He also says it is something that has made him a better overall player.
“The majority of the time he ends up beating me because he’s super quick,” Weathers said. “That really helps with my defense, just moving laterally, guarding somebody as fast as he is. He’s super athletic as well. A lot of the times he ends up beating me but the last time we played I ended up beating him so it kind of worked out for me.
“We both have the same vision in mind, the same drive. We grew up playing on the same teams together. He’s super competitive. He brings that fire out of me and I bring that fire out of him.”
DUQUESNE ATHLETICS
Marcus (left) and Michael (right) competing together at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas
Weathers entered the offseason looking to improve two main areas of his game: Guarding the perimeter and shooting with more consistency. When he and Michael would match up at a local park or church court over the summer, the two agreed to a few rules in order to help him get better at both.
“The way we play is, we don’t really shoot layups on each other because we could do that all day,” Weathers said. “We go full court one-on-one. We focus on shooting pull-up jumpers, shooting the three-ball and really playing defense.”
Although the battles normally remain outside of the paint, Marcus says he does take time every now and then to remind his older brother where, as Dambrot says "his bread is buttered." When asked if he ever dunks on Michael during their training sessions, Weathers laughed and responded with great pride.
“Oh I’ve caught him plenty of times,” said Weathers. “I’ve dunked on him more times than he’s dunked on me.”
In the midst of times that have been a challenge for nearly everyone, the Weathers brothers were hit with hard news in mid-July when they were informed that their mother, Joann Loring was diagnosed with Leukemia.
After just returning to Pittsburgh earlier in the month to prepare for the start of the new school year, Weathers went back home to Kansas to be with his family.
Upon his return, he was once again greeted by his twin who kept him in shape while they supported their mother during her recovery. Thankfully, Weathers says Joann is doing much better now.
“She’s doing great,” Weathers said. “She was really bad early on but progressively started getting better. She’s doing great now. She does physical therapy three times a day now so she’s starting to get the use back into her body.”
During his time away from the team, Weathers said he made sure to keep in touch. The senior took time out of his day to contact his teammates and coaches “as much as possible.” Now back on campus, Weathers says he and the Dukes have put the wild offseason behind them and are now locked in on the 2020-2021 season which is just around the corner.
“The goal for our team is to come out and play every game like it’s our last,” Weathers said. “We can’t take this season for granted. We start the season on November 25 and have a lot to work toward. Being better defensively as an overall unit and winning a lot more games than we won last year.”
