Tom Marshall (basketball)
John Thomas Marshall is an American former basketball player and coach. He graduated from Mount Juliet High School in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. He was a star at Western Kentucky University in the 1950s, where he was a two-time All-American. His number 41 is one of only six retired at Western Kentucky. He was named to the OVC Half-Century Team and the OVC 40th Anniversary team. A 6'4" forward, he was drafted by the Rochester Royals with the seventh pick of the 1954 NBA draft. After a promising rookie season, he was drafted into the Army and missed the 1955–56 season. In a four-year NBA career, he played for the Royals, as well as for the Detroit Pistons. In his final year as a player he served as a player-coach; then coached the Cincinnati Royals for one additional season after retiring from playing. The Royals would eventually become the Sacramento Kings many years after his retirement.
