WEST SENECA — Marcus Feagin grabbed the red, white and blue ball, moved it from his left hand to his right hand. And with little effort, sprung off the floor and dunked it with two hands.
The Niagara Falls native was just getting warmed up for practice with the Buffalo eXtreme, an American Basketball Association semi-pro team sponsored by XGen Elite. At 33 years old, Feagin appears to be at his physical peak during a time when most athletes are declining.
There are plenty of tales of players of Feagin’s age or his position in life who are clinging to a dream, chasing a professional contract or one last taste of glory. But Feagin knows exactly who he is, where he is and why he’s still playing.
Feagin has two young children who love to watch him and he loves to perform for them. But more than anything, Feagin still loves playing basketball and relishes the opportunity for competition.
That’s why Feagin has hopped in his car and drives roughly 35 minutes east on I-90 from Dunkirk a few times per week to play for the eXtreme over the last two seasons. He led the ABA in all rebounding categories last year and ranks second in total rebounds (218) and rebounds per game (13.6) this year as the eXtreme advanced to the ABA Final Four, which is held April 4-6 in St. Louis.
“He understands where he’s at in life,” Former Niagara Falls High School coach Sal Constantino said. “His kids are his No. 1 thing in his life and this whole basketball thing — I mean, he puts the time in, don’t get me wrong — but this is fun for him.”
Feagin’s love for basketball didn’t come instantly, though. Football was his first love and he didn’t begin playing organized basketball until his junior year at Niagara Falls High School.
But it didn’t take long for Feagin to become a contributor for the Wolverines. His acrobatics made him a crowd favorite and he averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and three steals per game as a senior, helping the team to a 19-2 record.
He moved on to Monroe Community College and had a solid freshman campaign, posting 6.6 points and a team-high six rebounds per game. But that would be his only college season as Feagin locked onto the goal of playing overseas and didn’t want to wait.
“You come to one of our games and there’s maybe 400 people at the game. You go to a junior college or a Division III game, there might be 100 people there,” Constantino said. “… You leave here and they’re all excited because we get our gym rocking sometimes. And Marcus was a dunker so he really got the crowd going. And now you get to another level, where it’s like you’re playing (in front of a crowd) almost like an AAU game.”
Feagin started his post-college career with the Buffalo 716ers of the Premier Basketball League in 2015 before moving to the Falls-based Western New York Thundersnow for one year. He was traded to the Chautauqua Hurricane, for which he played until 2019.
That’s when Feagin left to pursue a professional opportunity in Mexico after receiving a recommendation from a former teammate. Playing for Chalchuapa United and Santa Ana BC in El Salvador’s Liga Mayor de Baloncesto — the top league in the country — is when Feagin finally fell in love with basketball.
Not knowing any Spanish when he arrived, Feagin leaned on his friends. He learned how to operate in a foreign country and how professional basketball worked in those plays, eventually leading him to play last season for Tigres de Chinandega in Nicaragua and was named a Liga Superior de Baloncesto all-star.
“Some countries don’t pay,” Feagin said. “So if you got to start from the bottom, maybe somebody might offer you $400 a month, but that’s where you have to start to pick your name up. You’ve got to build your resume and that’s what I did.”
In between his stints in South America, Feagin played for the Hurricane in 2022 before the team folded and for the Jamestown Jackals in the Basketball Super League. But when XGen Elite founder Darren Fenn tapped Rich Jacob to be the eXtreme’s head coach, they needed players to fill the roster.
Jacob, who has served as head coach for four Western New York colleges and was an assistant for four others, called Constantino and asked for some recommendations. Constantino put Jacob, a Niagara Falls native, in touch with Feagin.
Over the last two seasons, Feagin has produced 12.4 points and 16.2 rebounds per game, despite playing forward at 6-foot-3. And during that time, Buffalo has gone 38-6, including a 22-1 mark this season.
“Marcus is a soldier,” Jacob said. “He is the consummate pro. Always here early and on time. Always leads by example, always does the extra work on his own. You never have to follow Marcus around and make sure he’s doing the extra. He’s always doing the extra.”
Feagin is preparing for the ABA Final Four, where third-seeded Buffalo will play No. 2 Silicon Valley Panthers at 3 p.m. April 4. What happens after that, Feagin doesn’t know.
What Feagin does know is that he doesn’t want to stop playing anytime soon. And he’s going to play on his terms.
“I still got a lot left in me, but I’m not doing the chasing,” Feagin said. “I’m letting them do the chasing. So if you want me, then value me and give me what I deserve. If not, then it is what is. I’m done chasing.”