Mark Titus

Mark Titus (born June 25, 1987) is a former walk-on basketball player for Ohio State. Since October 2008, he has written about his basketball-related experiences in his blog 'Club Trillion'. He has worked as a contributing writer for ESPN Insider on men's college basketball, in 2011 began contributing material for ESPN's site, Grantland.com,[1] and he was a writer for The Ringer from 2016 to 2019.[2] He currently hosts the "Titus and Tate" podcast with Tate Frazier through Fox Sports and the Westwood One network.

Mark Titus
Personal information
Born (1987-06-25) June 25, 1987
Brownsburg, Indiana
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrownsburg (Brownsburg, Indiana)
CollegeOhio State (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010 / Undrafted
PositionShooting guard / Small forward

Basketball career

Titus played high school basketball at Brownsburg High School in Brownsburg, Indiana.[3] For Brownsburg High, Titus scored more than 1,000 career points (only other 1,000 point scorers in BHS history: Craig Brunes '92, Eric Riggs '94, Jered Reeves '02, and current NBA player Gordon Hayward '08) and 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 being a student manager for the basketball team.[3] He was quickly 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]
SeasonSchool GPMINFGMFGAFTMFTA3PM3PAREBASTBLKSTLPFTOPTS
2006-07Ohio State 14181222122221305
2007-08Ohio State 8101100111000103
2008-09Ohio State 220000001001000
2009-10Ohio State 8180312031100101
CAREER TOTALS 32482634265322509

Media

Club Trillion

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.).[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] The blog entry eventually became a headline story on Yahoo!’s home page.[9]

During his senior season, Titus received cheers from opposing fans,[6] and received coverage from opposing school newspapers.[10] Titus was mentioned in the New York Times[11] and the Associated Press.[12] Titus has also made comedic jabs at teammate Evan Turner.[13] Titus' "Mr. Rainmaker" video on YouTube has received over 580,000 views.[14]

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][15]

Grantland

Titus joined Grantland in 2012, a sports journalism and pop culture website affiliated with ESPN and run by Bill Simmons.[4] Titus wrote primarily about college basketball and providing readers with his power rankings every week starting in the 2012-13 season. Titus continued to build a reputation for his lighthearted, comedic perspective on college basketball, including a recurring segment titled "Dick's Degrees of Separation" in which he highlighted the long tangential monologues performed by college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale.

During his time at Grantland, Mark became a recurring guest on the Barstool Sports podcast Pardon My Take, where he would discuss college basketball as well as other pop culture topics.

The Ringer and Podcasting Career

Mark Titus joined Bill Simmons' new website, The Ringer, in 2016. Titus continued to write regular articles primarily about college basketball.

While at The Ringer, Titus began hosting a podcast with fellow Ringer staffer Tate Frazier. Originally titled "T'd Up" based on the colloquialism for receiving a technical foul, Frazier and Titus released 1-2 podcasts per week discussing the happenings in college basketball including recruiting, news stories, and draft prospects.

The podcast was renamed, "One Shining Podcast," as a reference to CBS' "One Shining Moment" highlight montage played at the conclusion of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Frazier and Titus joked often about the antics and personality of head coaches, rivalries, and other aspects of NCAA basketball. The podcast hosts popularized the phrase "Drop the Bag" to reference the act of coaches, athletic companies, and sports agents paying recruits to influence their college commitment.

Fox Sports

Titus announced his departure from The Ringer shortly after Tate Frazier's departure in 2019. In early 2020, Titus and Frazier announced that they will continue their podcast through Fox Sports' Westwood One network, under the name "Titus and Tate."[16] Podcasts are released twice weekly, normally on Tuesdays and Fridays.

3X3U Tournament

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.[17] Players are college seniors who have exhausted their college eligibility, and thus are not at risk of repercussions from the NCAA for receiving money for their achievements. Titus and Frazier deliver the money to the winners in the form of duffel bags full of cash, as a nod to their "Drop the Bag" mantra.

Philanthropy

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.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20]

Titus disclosed in a 2015 Reddit AMA that he suffers from depression.[21] He advocates for mental health awareness on his various platforms.

Personal life

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.[22] Titus has a younger brother.

Titus is a fan of the Columbus Crew, Ohio State Buckeyes, and, occasionally, the Columbus Blue Jackets. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his golden retriever, Moses.

Bibliography

Non-fiction
  • 2012: Don't Put Me In, Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench[23]

References
  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
  3. "34 - Mark Titus". Ohio State Buckeyes Athletics.
  4. "BA #210: Mark Titus". the Box Angeles podcast.
  5. "ESPN: Mark Titus stats". ESPN.com.
  6. "Trillion Man March". Club Trillion Blog.
  7. "Bs Report - Audio". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  8. "Club Trillion: To Whom It May Com. Stern". Clubtrillion.blogspot.com. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  9. Brennan, Eamonn (2009-04-30). "Mark Titus enters NBA draft, is kindly asked to leave". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  10. https://www.idsnews.com/article/2010/02/shark-attack-cohen-goes-1-on-1-with-walk-on-blogger-titus
  11. Thamel, Pete (2009-12-27). "A Last Man Off the Bench Rides a Blog to Stardom". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  12. "Buckeyes' Titus is famous for riding the pine". Pittsburgh Tribune. 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  13. "Buckeyes' Turner ready to take center stage". ESPN.com. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  14. "Mark Titus' YouTube Channel". YouTube.
  15. "Don't Put Me In, Coach". Amazon.
  16. "Titus & Tate Joins Fox Sports & Westwood One". Barrett Sports Media. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  17. "Second Annual Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship to Feature Some "Interesante" Additions". 3X3U National Championship. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  18. "Club Trillion Foundation Store". The Club Trillion Foundation | Scholarship Opportunities for Walk-on Athletes. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  19. "A Kid Again - Serving Children with a Life-Threatening Condition". A Kid Again. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  20. "The Club Trillion Foundation | Scholarship Opportunities for Walk-on Athletes". The Club Trillion Foundation | Scholarship Opportunities for Walk-on Athletes. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  21. "r/CollegeBasketball - I'm Mark Titus. AMA". reddit. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  22. "https://www.hoopshall.com/hall-of-fame/laura-newcomb-titus/". hoopshall.com. Retrieved 2020-06-27. External link in |title= (help)
  23. Don't Put Me In, Coach by Mark Titus | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
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