Marshall Plumlee began having last-second thoughts about his college commitment.

Following a trip to a U.S. Army base in Germany with his all-star team as a junior in high school, Plumlee thought he wanted to take a different path in his life.

“‘Dad, I think maybe I made a mistake, maybe I committed to the wrong school,’” his father, Perky Plumlee recalls him saying. “’I think maybe I should’ve gone to West Point instead of Duke.’”

Plumlee spoke with Lt. Gen. Robert Brown on his visit to Germany, a former basketball player under then-West Point head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Brown explained to Plumlee that he could pursue a career in both basketball and the armed forces.

The 7-foot junior now doubles as a second-year ROTC student at Duke and the backup center for the Blue Devils, averaging just over two points per game. In January, Plumlee was sworn into the U.S. Army, where he will serve in the reserves upon his graduation in 2016.

As a basketball player, Plumlee’s teammates and coaches see a skill set bound to translate to his military aspirations.

“He’s an incredibly hard worker and someone that enjoys being a part of something,” associate head coach Jeff Capel said. “When you’re serving in the military that’s basically what it is, selfless service.

“When you look at him as a teammate he epitomizes that.”

What’s transpired to lead Plumlee to a life of basketball and military training has surprised no one more than his family. Growing up with two older brothers, Mason and Miles Plumlee, both currently in the NBA, Plumlee couldn’t keep up with his brothers unless his father teamed up with him.

Perky Plumlee said the family didn’t think his son could survive in basketball because he was always smiling and laughing. It wasn’t until he made his seventh grade team that Plumlee’s father saw a transformation in his son.

All of the sudden a scrawny, skinny Plumlee was posting up against opposing teams’ big men.

“It was kind of hilarious to us to see how he would morph and get so intense,” Perky Plumlee said. “His coach would tell us, ‘Marshall’s got the heart of a lion, he just doesn’t have many rocks in his pocket.’”

It was through basketball, though, that Plumlee fostered a love for camaraderie. Whether it was with his teammates or his family, the Plumlee father said his youngest son always desired the unity or camaraderie that comes along with a team.

But it wasn’t until his visit to Germany when the idea of providing himself to a cause benefitting other people really struck a chord in him.

“I feel like the most rewarding feeling you can get is being a part of something bigger than yourself,” Plumlee said to The Daily Orange via Duke Athletics. “And to me, there’s no bigger or more noble a call than serving our country.”

His military aspirations aren’t on the front lines of battle, though. He desires to become an officer in the reserves, just as his current head coach was upon graduating college. He’s also been told by Army officials that he’ll have the opportunity to pursue an NBA career if the chance comes his way.

Following the news of Plumlee’s inauguration, Perky Plumlee said he started receiving text messages reading, “We’ll be praying for him.” The Plumlee father says the news has been misconstrued, and this is something developed over the past several years for his son.

“People have made it sound like he just walked in the gym when they were signing people up that day and said, ‘Hey, count me in.’” Perky Plumlee said.

The Plumlee parents are now seeing an enhanced version of their son, one who’s not allowed on his cell phone when he’s in uniform for ROTC. He’s on a path that strays away from the Plumlee pedigree of years past.

But the third Plumlee brother is ready to see his military vision from a few years ago come to fruition at the school that at one point he wasn’t sure he wanted to go to.

“Part of growing up is learning how to make good choices and own your choices,” Perky Plumlee said. “This is a good choice that Marshall’s made.

“It’s his choice, and it wouldn’t work if it were not his choice.”

Published on February 13, 2015 at 12:35 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman