He gave UK a run for its money. Now, he’s representing La Familia.

The last time Marques Warrick encountered blue and white, he was wearing black and gold.

A Lexington native, Warrick scored 17 points on a season-high four 3-pointers for Missouri in last year’s regular season finale against UK.

“It meant a little bit more to me,” Warrick said about playing his hometown team in a 91-83 loss at the hands of the Wildcats in early March.

Now, the 6-foot-3 guard has jumped ship, joining La Familia, the Kentucky-affiliated alumni team for The Basketball Tournament — better known as TBT.

“(I’m) fortunate, blessed and thankful for Coach (Sean) Woods and whoever was a part of bringing me on as a late edition for the team,” Warrick said. “I’m grateful to be able to showcase what I can do.”

Warrick is the 11th player rostered for La Familia this summer, and joins forwards DJ Burns and Kerem Kanter as the third member of the team who did not play college ball at UK.

However, Warrick still has strong basketball ties to the Bluegrass State.

He was a superstar at Henry Clay High School, finishing his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,909 points. Warrick was the 11th Region player of the year and a finalist for the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award his senior year.

“It always means a lot just to come home,” Warrick said. “Being back in Lexington and seeing my friends and family and now hooping with former UK players, it means a lot and I won’t take it for granted.”

Warrick became the all-time leading scorer at another Kentucky school, Northern Kentucky University, scoring 2,246 points across his four-year Norse career before transferring to Missouri for his fifth year of eligibility.

He was a two-time member of the Horizon League all-tournament team, the Horizon League Tournament MVP in 2023 and was an All-Horizon League first-team member in 2024 at NKU.

He grew up a Florida Gators fan — a fact he said many of his La Familia teammates don’t know yet — but said as a “basketball junkie” he watched the Wildcats any time he could. He was 10 years old when his now peer Doron Lamb won a national championship in 2012, and was 13 when his teammates Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison and Willie Cauley-Stein went 38-1 in 2015.

“It’s just a whirlwind, full-circle moment. Watching them on TV as a kid ... now playing with them,” Warrick said.

He said he is on the introverted side when interacting with the team, spending most of Monday’s pre-practice shootaround getting shots up by himself, but said there hasn’t been any “discrimination” acclimating to the UK culture.

“It’s different obviously, but there’s no outsiders just because we didn’t play here,” Warrick said. “We’re all hoopers. We’re all here for the same goal which is to win and put on for the Kentucky fan base.”

Basketball-wise, Warrick said he is “very versatile,” and can run the offense at point guard or fill the shooting guard role.

“I can score the ball at will. I can play-make for other teammates,” Warrick said. “Whether I’m playing alongside whatever guards are out there or the forwards, I’m just going to do what I’m asked to do.”

La Familia will start its campaign through the 64-team, single-elimination, $1 million winner-take-all tournament against Stroh’s Squad — a team of former Bowling Green State University players — on Friday at 9 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. That game will be televised on FS1.

If La Familia wins that one, it would host a second-round game at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The finals of the Lexington Regional will be played at 6 p.m. on July 22.

2025 La Familia Roster

Ansley Almonor — 6-7, forward, Kentucky (2024-25)

DJ Burns — 6-7, forward, Murray State (2021-23)

Willie Cauley-Stein — 7-0, forward, Kentucky (2012-2015)

Archie Goodwin — 6-5, guard, Kentucky (2012-13)

Aaron Harrison — 6-6, guard, Kentucky (2013-2015)

Andrew Harrison — 6-6, guard, Kentucky (2013-2015)

Kerem Kanter — 6-9, forward, Xavier (2017-18)

Doron Lamb — 6-4, guard, Kentucky (2010-2012)

DeAndre Liggins — 6-6, guard, Kentucky (2008-2010)

Marques Warrick — 6-3 guard, Northern Kentucky (2020-24), Missouri (2024-25)

Khalil Whitney — 6-7, forward, Kentucky (2019-20)