Guymon has high hopes for SWAC Tournament

This archived article was written by: Michaella Crooks

Not far from USU Eastern is Huntington, Utah, a small community where you can find Mark Guymon and his family. He is from a family of six with three sisters and two brothers. His favorite food is chicken wings and pizza. Some things that he enjoys doing are collecting vinyl records and listening to 60’s and 70’s music. Guyman also like to write musical lyrics and play guitar, but doesn’t have much time with basketball season going on.
Guymon, number 13, is a part of USU Eastern’s men’s basketball team and plays forward. After USU Eastern, he says, “I’m not sure if I want to continue playing basketball, but I do want to become a physical therapist and go to physical therapy school.”
Guymon looks up to his parents. “My mom and dad have supported me my whole life and come to all my basketball games and are always there for me when I need them.”
Guymon’s dream vacation spot would be Australia because he likes the outdoors, hiking and exploring new things so he can explore the outback with his Subaru. In 50 years, he sees himself married with a family, being a physical therapist and hopefully be close to retirement. He likes living in Utah because he likes the outdoors, but he also likes Colorado and California.
Guymon’s favorite basketball player is Dennis Rodman. “I like to style my basketball–the way that I play–after him because he is super good at rebounding and defense and that’s what I like to do.”
One of the memories Guymon has from last year is when he put a fake tattoo on his back and one of his teammates saw it and thought he had a legit tattoo. “I would never get one, so it was pretty funny.”
If Guymon won the lottery, he would probably save the money because he’s super thrifty with money. “I don’t like to spend money, but would put it in savings and, when I was ready to, spend it, I would spend it to help others in any way I can. I’m not really selfish, so don’t think I would be selfish with it.”
Guymon has never had any serious injury. “The worst injury I ever got was in high school when I dislocated my pinky finger playing basketball and to this day, my pinky is still messed up.”
Something Guymon used to do when he was young that got on his parent’s nerves was when he would put the Nerf hoops up all over his house. “My parents would get really mad at me because it’s loud and I would use the microwave as my shot clock. So my mom would take my basketball and hide it so I couldn’t play,” he said.
Guyman started playing basketball at a young age. “I played junior jazz and in middle school at Canyon View Junior High. I played high school ball at Emery High School and after that, I came to USU Eastern to play here.” Guymon stated.
Guymon likes the comfort of being close to home because a lot of people in the community support him. He is close to home and it’s easier for his family to come to his games. “I feel like I get a lot of support and it’s cool to play where you come from; it means a lot to me.
So far Guymon says that, “at the beginning of the season we looked good and we were winning games, but through the middle of the season, we struggled a lot. We had to figure out a lot of things, like what would work best for our team.
“Now towards the end of the season, things are starting to look better and we found what was best for the team. We have had our ups and downs this season, but in the end I have high hopes.
“We get to host the SWAC basketball tournament this year, so I think that we have an advantage by being able to play at our gym. I have high hopes for our team and I know we can do great things.”