Zeke Marshall, a standout basketball player for St. Paul’s School for Boys who later played for Cornell University, died Sunday of cancer complications at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 52 and lived in Baltimore.
Born Zeke Maurice Marshall, he was the son of Tommy Marshall and Jacqueline Webb and was raised by Robert Webb, whom he considered a father.
He lived in the Edmondson Avenue area before moving to East 33rd Street and graduating from St. Francis of Assisi School and going on to St. Paul’s School for Boys.
“There was a neighbor on 33rd Street who had a basketball hoop in his backyard and he allowed us to use it,” said friend Brien Anderson. “Zeke was always tall for his age. He was easy to get along with, and people wanted to play with him — and his cousin Devin Gray, who was also a great player.”
Rick Collins, his St. Paul’s coach, said, “When he arrived, he was actually a better soccer player than basketball. But he really developed as a person and as a great human being. He had that contagious smile and the ability to have a conversation with anybody. I remember a standing-room-only game at Gilman where Zeke was thrown an alley-oop pass that only he could catch. We had the Gilman people cheering for us that day.”
In his senior year at St. Paul’s, Marshall scored 28 points and 13 rebounds against rival Boys’ Latin School to take first place in the Maryland Scholastic Association’s C Conference. He was named The Baltimore Sun’s 1990 Boys Prep Basketball Player of the Year.
“Many of those associated with St. Paul’s athletics consider Zeke Marshall to be the best basketball player to have ever played for the Crusaders,” said Steve Stenerson, the school’s director of advancement. “A three-year varsity starter, he helped lead the team to the 1988 championship, breaking a 43-year title drought. In addition to basketball, Zeke played soccer and baseball. At graduation, he was awarded the Baseball Cup and the George Mitchell Best Athlete Award. He was also named Male Athlete of the Year by the Towson Times and USA Today’s Athlete of the Year for Maryland High School Boys.”
He returned to Maryland as a Cornell student to compete against the Terps, and some 150 friends and family members attended the game.
“Regardless of the outcome, I was just really excited to play in front of the home fans and family,” he said.
At Cornell, where he majored in marketing and management in the School of Hotel Administration, he averaged 12.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in his senior year. During summers, he worked as a Camden Club assistant manager.
Mr. Marshall later played basketball professionally in Europe and held a social studies research post at the University of Michigan.
Phil Hahn, a St. Paul’s varsity basketball coach, said, “Zeke was volunteering as an assistant basketball coach at the time of his passing. He was beloved by the members of the St. Paul’s basketball program. His presence was a constant reminder of the value of academics, athletics, and the importance of living every day with a positive outlook.”
Survivors include his mother, Jacqueline Webb, of Baltimore; brother Pierre Marshall, of Baltimore; sister Tamarcqua Marshall, of Baltimore; two stepdaughters, Mayah and Imani; and nieces and nephews. He was formerly married to Jessie Marshall.
Services are being planned.
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