Men’s Basketball
2019 FISU Summer Universiade Day 6: Track and field sets the stage at San Paolo Stadium
U SPORTS sits down with one key athlete, coach, and staff member of each U SPORTS athletic program in our interview series “Getting to know…”
- Name: Marc-André Fortin
- School: Université Laval
- Sport: Basketball
- Position: Centre
- Year of eligibility: 5
- Program: Bachelor in Educational Sciences (completed) / Master in Business Management
- Hometown: Sainte-Marie de Beauce, Que.
1. What attracted you to Université Laval?
Université Laval is the closest university to my home. It was the logical choice for me after returning from Texas, where I played for two years with Sam Houston State University in the NCAA. Plus, I got along well with the coaching staff and players on the team.
2. What’s your favourite memory, and your greatest athletic achievement as a U SPORTS student-athlete?
Certainly, my selection to play in the 2019 FISU Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy.
3. Where are you hoping your path will take you after university?
After my years of eligibility, I might like to play professionally in Europe. So, I hope that my university career will help me to reach my dreams. My academic background has also helped me earn a degree and grow as a person.
4. Who’s had the greatest influence on your athletic career?
My mother. She has always encouraged me to pursue my dreams ever since I was little, and she always closely followed my sports endeavours. She has always supported me, and she also was involved in competitive sport in her time.
5. Who is someone in the sports world, past or present, with whom you’d love to have dinner with Why?
Probably someone like Steve Nash. He’s Canadian and has done great things for Canadian basketball.
6. What is your pre-game ritual? Do you have any superstitions/idiosyncrasies around preparing yourself for a game?
Not really, I don’t ever listen to music before games, personally, because I enjoy interacting with the people around me.
7. What’s your go-to song to get pumped up for practice or a game?
I don’t really have a preference. I like several styles of music and it really just depends on the moment.
8. What’s your favourite social media account to follow?
I would probably say Zion Williamson, only because he’s everywhere on social media. Otherwise, I mainly follow sports accounts, so I have information on a lot of athletes.
9. If you could try another sport, what would it be and why?
I did a lot of sports in my life besides basketball (hockey, volleyball, track and field and even some soccer and swimming), but a sport that I would have liked to do more of is track and field.
10. What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you as an athlete?
Once, I scored in my own basket during a game.