Marco Killingsworth

Killingsworth was born in Montgomery, Alabama to father John and mother Johnnie Mae (née Hooks).^[1][2] As a freshman he attended Freedom Life Christian Academy in Montgomery,^[3] a private school, and for his sophomore season he transferred to Sidney Lanier High School,^[3] where as a junior he averaged 18 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks per game.^[4][5] In July 2000, the summer before his senior year, he participated in the ABCD Camp, a camp for the best high school players in the United States.^[6] In the summer of 2000 Killingsworth enrolled at Emmanuel Christian Academy in Durham, North Carolina, where his father lived after he had divorced from Killingsworth's mother,^[3] planning to attend the prep school for his senior year; however, the school closed before the start of the basketball season, and Killingsworth moved back to Montgomery, where he enrolled at Central Park Christian Academy in Birmingham, Alabama.^[1][3]

In his senior season at Central Park, Killingsworth averaged 30 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks per game while shooting 67% from the field.^[1] Central Park reached the championship game of the National Christian School Championship, where they lost to Mount Zion Christian Academy despite Killingsworth's 37 points and 19 rebounds.^[1] He was named in the All-State First Team and he was ranked the second best player in the state of Alabama behind Ousmane Cisse of St. Jude Educational Institute.^[1] He was ranked as one of the best players in the nation by several recruiting services: he was the 12th best player overall by ESPN.com,^[7] which also ranked him the 3rd best power forward behind Kwame Brown and Ousmane Cisse.^[8] Hoop Scoop ranked him 40th overall,^[9] and he was the 53rd best player of his class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index (RSCI).^[10]

Killingsworth was heavily recruited and earned interest by several major NCAA Division I programs. He received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Tennessee and UConn.^[4] He restricted his choice between Auburn, LSU and Florida,^[4] and then signed a National Letter of Intent to Auburn on November 11, 2000.^[1] In a 2019 interview, Killingsworth stated that he originally wanted to sign with Indiana, but changed his mind in 2000 after he learned of the 1997 incident when Indiana coach Bob Knight was accused of choking player Neil Reed.^[11][12]

Killingsworth chose to wear jersey number 4 at Auburn, and head coach Cliff Ellis gave him considerable playing time in his freshman year.^[1][2] He debuted on November 16, 2001, in the season opener against High Point, playing 23 minutes and recording 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.^[1] He had a season-high 9 rebounds against LSU, and he scored a season high 17 points on December 20, 2001, against UNC Asheville in 16 minutes of playing time.^[1] He started 14 of 28 games, averaging 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds, and led the team in field goal percentage with 52.9%.^[13]

Killingsworth entered the starting lineup in his sophomore season.^[1] He made his season debut on November 22, 2002, against Wofford, and posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.^[1] He posted a new career high during the season with 24 points against Georgia State (November 26), and scored more than 20 points in two more occasions: 21 against Western Kentucky (December 1) and 23 against Rutgers (December 8).^[1] At the end of the season he had started 33 out of 34 games, and he was second on the team in scoring behind senior guard Marquis Daniels with 13.3 points per game, and first in rebounding with 6.4 per game.^[14] He led the SEC in field goal percentage, shooting 55% from the field.^[15] Killingsworth also appeared for the first time in his career in the NCAA tournament. During the 2003 Tournament he played three games, debuting on March 21 against St. Joseph's, scoring 15 points in 36 minutes. He then followed scored 11 against Wake Forest, and 2 in the loss against Syracuse.^[16]

Killingsworth's junior season at Auburn saw him selected in the preseason All-SEC Second Team.^[17] He posted 18 points and 7 rebounds on November 21, 2003, against Western Kentucky, 19 points against Colorado State (December 1) and Georgia State (December 22) and 20 points against LSU on February 18, 2004.^[1] On February 14 he scored 23 points, 1 shy of his career high, against Ole Miss.^[1] At the end of the season he was the team leader in points (13.7) and rebounds (6.9),^[18] and he was the conference leader in field goal percentage for the second consecutive season at 58.7%.^[15] He was selected in the All-SEC Second Team by the coaches, and in the Third Team by Associated Press.^[19] He was the 10th player in Auburn history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in three seasons.^[1]

After the 2003–04 season, head coach Cliff Ellis was fired from Auburn.^[3] In the summer of 2004, Killingsworth declared himself eligible for the 2004 NBA draft as an early entrant, but he did not hire an agent and later withdrew his name.^[20] Not wanting to play at Auburn without Ellis, Killingsworth decided to transfer to Indiana.^[3][11] He had to sit out the whole 2004–05 season due to NCAA transfer rules, and was eligible again to play his senior year for the 2005–06 season.^[11] Killingsworth chose to wear jersey number 5 at Indiana, where he was listed at 268 pounds (122 kg),^[2] up from his 235 pounds (107 kg) playing weight in his junior season at Auburn.^[1]

Under head coach Mike Davis, Killingsworth started all the 31 games of the season. On November 30, 2005, Killingsworth scored 34 points and posted 10 rebounds against #1 Duke, being defended by highly regarded player Shelden Williams during the ACC–Big Ten Challenge.^[2][11][21] Killingsworth was one of the key players of the Hoosiers team that season,^[11][21] leading the team in scoring (17.1 points), rebounding (7.8) and field goal percentage (54.2%).^[22] On February 11, 2006, against Iowa, Killingsworth recorded a career high in rebounds with 17 (4 offensive and 13 defensive).^[23] He scored 20 or more points on 10 occasions, with his career high of 34 in the aforementioned game against Duke, and 4 other games where he scored more than 26 points.^[23] He also had 10 games where he posted 10 or more rebounds.^[23] That year he was 7th in the Big Ten in points per game, and 5th in rebounds per game. He also had the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his career, and started both games (against San Diego State and Gonzaga).^[23] He was named an Honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press at the end of the season.