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Mark Titus

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Mark Titus
Personal information
Born (1987-06-25) June 25, 1987 (age 37)
Brownsburg, Indiana, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrownsburg (Brownsburg, Indiana)
CollegeOhio State (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010: undrafted
PositionShooting guard / small forward

Mark Titus (born June 25, 1987) is an American author, podcast host, and former walk-on basketball player at Ohio State.[1][2]

Basketball career

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Titus played high school basketball at Brownsburg High School (BHS) in Brownsburg, Indiana.[3] For Brownsburg High, Titus scored more than 1,000 career points. There are only four other 1,000 point scorers in BHS history, including former NBA player Gordon Hayward. He was voted second team All-Indiana selection twice.[3] He played on the same AAU team as future NBA players Daequan Cook, Eric Gordon, Josh McRoberts, Mike Conley, and Greg Oden.[4]

In the fall of 2006, Titus enrolled at Ohio State University, where he planned on attending medical school and working as a student manager for the basketball team.[3] He was subsequently added to the roster by coach Thad Matta as a walk-on, and was cleared to play for the Buckeyes on November 10.[3] In the Buckeyes' season opener, Titus received three minutes of playing time and made each of his two free throw attempts.[3] Titus played in 14 of the team's 39 games.[3]

College basketball statistics[5]

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Season School GP MIN FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS
2006-07 Ohio State 14 18 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 0 5
2007-08 Ohio State 8 10 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3
2008-09 Ohio State 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
2009-10 Ohio State 8 18 0 3 1 2 0 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
CAREER TOTALS 32 48 2 6 3 4 2 6 5 3 2 2 5 0 9

Post-college basketball

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Harlem Globetrotters

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Following his college career and popularity of viral videos on social media, Mark was invited to participate in Harlem Globetrotters tryouts. “We’re always out there monitoring people and his name just kept coming up,” said Globetrotters CEO Kurt Schneider. “In order to be a Globetrotter you need to be a great basketball player, which he is. He’s a dead-on shooter and he does the trick shots. You need to be an entertainer and his stuff on his blogs and his Twitter feed are hysterical and you have to be a good person, which we’ve heard he is.”[6] Mark did not make the team.

Media

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Club Trillion

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During the 2008–2009 Ohio State basketball season, Titus created his own blog, "Club Trillion", with the name referring to his line in the box score for many games: '1' in the first column (minutes played), followed by zeroes in the other twelve columns (points, rebounds, etc.).[7] Titus' blog, and his antics as a player, gained him some attention in the sports media. Titus had many of his followers join him in growing mustaches and pictures were posted on his blog. He appeared on ESPN.com's 'BS Report' with Bill Simmons on March 11, 2009, and again on March 24, 2010.[8] On April 9, 2009, Titus, although a walk-on with no hopes of playing in the NBA, used his blog to formally announce his entrance into the 2009 NBA draft.[9] The blog entry eventually became a headline story on Yahoo!’s home page.[10]

During his senior season, Titus received cheers from opposing fans,[7] and received coverage from opposing school newspapers.[11] Titus was mentioned in the New York Times[12] and the Associated Press.[13] Titus has also made comedic jabs at teammate Evan Turner.[14] Titus' "Mr. Rainmaker" video on YouTube has received over 580,000 views.[15]

After graduating, Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Simmons—being fans of "Club Trillion"—flew Titus to Hollywood and had him sign with their agent James "Babydoll" Dixon.[4] This led to Mark releasing his first book entitled "Don't Put Me In, Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench" on March 6, 2012. The book tells the story of his time as a benchwarmer at Ohio State.[4][16]

Grantland

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In 2012, Titus began writing for Grantland, a sports journalism and pop culture website affiliated with ESPN and run by Bill Simmons.[4]

The Ringer and podcasting

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Titus joined Bill Simmons' new website, The Ringer, in 2016, where he wrote periodic columns and co-hosted a college basketball podcast, first known as T’d Up and later as One Shining Podcast, with Tate Frazier.[17][18]

Fox Sports

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Titus announced his departure from The Ringer shortly after Tate Frazier's departure in 2019. In early 2020, Titus and Frazier announced that they would be continuing their podcast through Fox Sports' Westwood One network, under the name "Titus and Tate."[19]

3X3U Tournament

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In 2018, Titus and Frazier became the inaugural hosts of the 3X3U Tournament, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament held annually at the time and location of the corresponding Final Four, and the winning team receives a cash prize.[20]

Barstool Sports

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Titus joined Barstool Sports in February 2023.[21] He is a host on The Mark Titus Show and Mostly Sports. He is a part of the "& Co." on the Yak with Big Cat & Co. Titus has been a team member of the Smockin Dozen Trivia Team since 2021. Titus also co-wrote A NYT Best Seller A New Yak Tale, with Dan "Big Cat" Katz, and the rest of the Yak Co. [22][23][24][25]

Philanthropy

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Titus used his Club Trillion blog to sell "Club Tril" t-shirts through the clothing manufacturer, Homage. Titus states that he has raised over $75,000 for charity through shirt sales.[26] Titus was unable to profit from shirt sales as a student-athlete, so he instead began donating the proceeds to A Kid Again, a charity providing recreational therapy for children with life-threatening illnesses.[27]

In 2019, Titus founded the Club Trillion Foundation, which is dedicated to offering assistance to walk-on athletes by highlighting athletic achievements, providing help with professional development, and financial assistance. In its first year, the foundation awarded a $15,000 scholarship.[28]

Personal life

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Titus was born and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana,[3] to Bill and Laura (nee Newcomb) Titus. His father is a high school basketball coach, athletic director, and Indiana Hoosiers fan. His mother is a middle school teacher and former Purdue women's basketball player. Titus' mother was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 for her accolades at Purdue.[29]

Bibliography

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Non-fiction

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  • 2012: Don't Put Me In, Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench[30]

Fiction

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  • 2023: A NYT Best Seller: A New Yak Tale

References

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  1. ^ Titus, Mark (1 September 2011). "Don't Worry, Ohio State's Got This". grantland.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ https://theringer.com/@mark.titus [dead link]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "34 - Mark Titus". Ohio State Buckeyes Athletics.
  4. ^ a b c d "BA #210: Mark Titus". the Box Angeles podcast. January 2018.
  5. ^ "ESPN: Mark Titus stats". ESPN.com.
  6. ^ Rovell, Darren (22 June 2010). "In Titus, Globetrotters Might Have Secret Weapon". Sports Biz with Darren Rovell. CNBC. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  7. ^ a b "Trillion Man March". Club Trillion Blog.
  8. ^ "Bs Report - Audio". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  9. ^ "Club Trillion: To Whom It May Com. Stern". Clubtrillion.blogspot.com. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  10. ^ Brennan, Eamonn (2009-04-30). "Mark Titus enters NBA draft, is kindly asked to leave". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  11. ^ "Shark attack: Cohen goes 1-on-1 with walk-on blogger Titus".
  12. ^ Thamel, Pete (2009-12-27). "A Last Man Off the Bench Rides a Blog to Stardom". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  13. ^ "Buckeyes' Titus is famous for riding the pine". Pittsburgh Tribune. 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2010-02-04.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Buckeyes' Turner ready to take center stage". ESPN.com. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  15. ^ "Mark Titus' YouTube Channel". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  16. ^ "Don't Put Me In, Coach". Amazon.
  17. ^ Staff, The Ringer (2017-08-04). "'T'd Up'". The Ringer. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  18. ^ Titus, Mark (2019-06-21). "NBA Draft Takeaways With 'One Shining Podcast'". The Ringer. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  19. ^ "Titus & Tate Joins Fox Sports & Westwood One". Barrett Sports Media. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  20. ^ "Second Annual Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship to Feature Some "Interesante" Additions". 3X3U National Championship. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  21. ^ "Mark Titus is Joining Barstool Sports". 22 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Mark Titus | Barstool Sports". www.barstoolsports.com. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  23. ^ Cheah, Steven. "Mark Titus Pissed His Pants Today At Work". www.barstoolsports.com. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  24. ^ Top 5 Trivia Teams Battle For The Last Tournament Bye & 4-Seed (Ep. 104 of 'The Dozen'), retrieved 2023-11-14
  25. ^ "A New Yak Tale".
  26. ^ "Club Trillion Foundation Store". The Club Trillion Foundation | Scholarship Opportunities for Walk-on Athletes. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  27. ^ "A Kid Again - Serving Children with a Life-Threatening Condition". A Kid Again. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  28. ^ "The Club Trillion Foundation | Scholarship Opportunities for Walk-on Athletes". The Club Trillion Foundation | Scholarship Opportunities for Walk-on Athletes. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  29. ^ "Laura Newcomb Titus - Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame". hoopshall.com. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  30. ^ Don't Put Me In, Coach by Mark Titus | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
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