This past week, Marqui Worthy Jr. was named the Student-Athlete of the Week for University of California, Riverside (UCR) Athletics. In addition to Athlete of the Week, he was also chosen as Big West Player of the Week. Worthy expressed that it felt great to be recognized for such an award, and that he “wanted to make an impact right away.”
This is Worthy’s first year at UCR after transferring from the University of Massachusetts (UMass) during the offseason. He was a consistent role player while at UMass, obtaining a career high of 18 points last season.
This season, Worthy is already creating a name for himself scoring a new career high of 21 points against North Dakota in the team’s second game. When asked about setting new and higher goals for the season, Worthy hopes to be more “team oriented.”
Worthy expressed his willingness to “do whatever [he] can to get more guys involved.” While making sure to be consistent and reliable as the starting point guard, Worthy believes that being able to win as a team is the priority.
Worthy expressed how valuable good relationships with the coaching staff and team are, commenting that “it’s made our connection easier on the court.” Head coach Gus Argenal made it a priority during summer pre-season training to connect with the team and get to know each athlete individually. Having that great relationship on and off the court with the coaching staff is what creates that game-winning environment for Worthy and the rest of the team.
Looking ahead, the Highlanders are preparing to play California Baptist University during the crosstown showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 18. UCR are also ramping up to play their first Big West Conference game this season against UC Irvine (UCI) on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Worthy described that the squad is excited to play UCI, one of the Big West’s best. “It’s good to play one of the best teams first … and get a good feel for the rest of the teams,” commented Worthy. “They’re pretty tough and they’re physical, so we are just working on that as a team.”
His performances so far this season have written the narrative. Worthy earning Student-Athlete of the Week and Big West Player of the Week honors were inevitable. A team player who consistently looks for ways to improve himself and support his teammates, Worthy knows that he has to play hard and that once he can “[get] all the other guys going, everything else [will] fall into place.”
It’s still early in the season, but Worthy and the new-look Highlanders aim to surpass the expectations placed upon them during the preseason as they were picked to finish ninth in the Preseason Coaches Poll.
