It’s easy to spot a point guard who was born and raised in New York City. You hear it in her voice, you notice her boast. You can see that in her talent.
Take Markquis Nowell of Kansas State, for example. He checks in at five feet, seven inches – “on a good day,” he jokes – but he always believes he can be the best player on any pitch he steps on. He takes over games. Kentucky learned what it’s like to be on the wrong end of that experience during Sunday’s second-round game of the NCAA tournament, when Nowell notched 23 of his 27 second-half points, along with nine staggering assists and three crucial steals in one 75-. 69 K-State win.
The Harlem boy, who grew up on basketball courts throughout New York City, will lead the third-ranked Wildcats into the Sweet 16, where they meet No. 7 Michigan State. In a poetic twist of fate, the two teams meet Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Nowell has never played a significant game at this famous course. Until now.
But he’s played almost everywhere else. Back Park. Dyckman Park. Kingdom. The city proving ground.
“These are places where you can’t just walk on the court,” said Marcus Nowell Sr., Markquis’ father. “You’d better be good to get on the pitch. You have to have talent.”
His son learned this around the age of seven, when Nowell wasn’t good enough to form any particular grassroots team. Marcus Sr. and Markquis spent the next three months playing every kid who wanted to play him at every park they could find. He got better – because he had to.
The basketball world of New York City is small. It’s insular. Nowell knows just about everyone who has come from the region in the years before him, from Kyrie Irving to Donovan Mitchell to Isaiah Whitehead. He grew up with Kemba Walker and still has a photo with Walker from when Nowell was in middle school. Walker’s run through the 2011 NCAA tournament is legendary. Nowell thinks he’s capable of that, too.
“Before our first game[of the tournament]he came into my office and said, ‘Coach, let’s look at Kemba,'” said Kansas State assistant coach Rodney Perry. “So we dressed up Kemba Walker from his time at UConn.”
In a 77-65 win over Montana State in the first round, Nowell had a double-double with 17 points and 14 assists. He was arguably even more dominant in the Kentucky game, be it on the no-look passes or the no-no-no-yes deep 3s. Four more shows like this and he’ll take on Walker’s immortality.
“We’re going to win or lose with him,” said Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang. “I told him the scripture story. I told him: ‘You are my arrow and I trust you.’ From then on, I never thought about who has someone else. he’s my type I’ll roll with him.”
Nowell with Kemba Walker in elementary school. (Courtesy of Marcus Nowell Sr.)
None of that success was a sure thing. Nowell has always been an undersized guard who needed trainers to make him believe he was good enough, even if he didn’t look like it.
That was true growing up, playing on teams with older and bigger kids, for the grassroots gauchos, or later for Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, NY, or The Patrick School in Hillsdale, NJ. It was true when trying to figure out where he would go to college. His peers got looks and offers from high-profile programs. The first day the Division I coaches were able to recruit prospects in his class, Nowell’s phone was silent. His older brother Marcus felt helpless as Nowell wondered aloud why nobody wanted him.
“I’m not going to tell you lies that I didn’t doubt myself,” said Nowell, a consensus three-star recruit. “No one called. But I’ve always believed that one day, even if I went to middle class, I would rise to upper class. That was just my attitude, going to Little Rock and doing what I had to do for a couple of years.
“I don’t want people to look at me and judge me because of my height. I want you to actually look at me for my game and what I can do to contribute to a team. But I feel like it’s been like this my whole life that I’m being doubted. That’s what I played with, that chip on my shoulder.”
Perry would like to correct Nowell on this last point. It’s not just a chip. “It’s probably more like a boulder,” he said, laughing.
Nowell spent two and a half seasons at Little Rock, averaging double digits in his sophomore year and earning All-American honors. He had been recruited there by a Harlem assistant coach, Alfred Jordan, and Jordan helped facilitate his next move. Jordan caught up with his little brother’s best friend, former K-State assistant Shane Southwell — who’s also, yes, from Harlem — to tell him Nowell jumped onto the portal in the spring of 2021. He was a no-brainer to Southwell had actually spent some time with Nowell years ago. They had met through Doron Lamb and were playing video games together the day after Nowell had been training nearby. They had also shared a high school coach.
“And if you’re from New York City, you know people and follow their careers,” Southwell said. “Markquis caused quite a stir.”
He brought Nowell’s band to then-head coach Bruce Weber, who was intrigued. Weber, like every other coach, had concerns about Nowell’s height. But he wanted to take the chance. Marcus Sr. and the rest of the family decided to trust Southwell with Nowell’s future as well. You knew him and his people. “I’d rather trust someone from New York,” Marcus Sr. said. “Because you’ll never hide from me. We will always see each other.”
Marcus Sr. recalled his son being told he would support Nijel Pack, the Kansas State Guard. Southwell said staff always believed Nowell could be a starter and that the only problem was figuring out if the Wildcats could really field a 5-7, 5-11 guard lineup and compete in the Big 12. The pair launched together for the first time in December. Nowell started 21 games and earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention at the end of the season.
“He was always the kid that the coaches didn’t want to pick, they had to pick because he was just that good,” said Marcus Sr.
GO DEEPER
Kansas State just wanted to go to March Madness. Now it’s in the Sweet 16
Nowell still saved the text messages. He’ll never get rid of her. They’re proof, in bubbles of gray and blue, that his athletic director listened—really listened—to him when Gene hired Taylor Tang.
The first text in the exchange is from Nowell. It’s mid-March 2022 and he turns to Taylor to reiterate his support for the Kansas State AD during his coaching search and that “I’m here every step of the way in the rebuilding process and we’re going to win again very soon.” He mentioned hearing good things about Murray State head coach Matt McMahon, who Taylor said he would check out. Taylor thanked Nowell for his help, telling him, “With you here, we can go a long way toward winning again for sure.”
Taylor had gathered feedback from all of the current players as he began searching for Bruce Weber’s replacement. They wanted someone with great energy. They wanted someone who could change their playing style depending on the staff and opponents. Of course, Taylor had his own criteria. One of the main things he was looking for was someone who was part of a successful program; He felt that knowing what it takes to build and maintain success would translate into Manhattan, Kan.
Nowell followed coverage surrounding the search and saw on March 20 that longtime Baylor assistant Jerome Tang was being considered for the position. Nowell is a movie junkie, so he studied both head coaching and assistant coaching. He had noticed touchline behavior and the way players reacted to it. He could see how the Baylor players were attracted to Tang. So he texted Taylor, “We need Jerome Tang,” along with an emoji of praying hands. Taylor replied, “Thank you.”
“I couldn’t tell him everyone we spoke to, but Jerome’s name had gotten out,” Taylor said. “He wanted me to know it would be great if we got him.”
Nowell liked Taylor’s text in response. Somehow he just knew. Tang was the guy.
Tang quickly realized that Nowell would be his dart, the player who would determine where his first team would go. Nowell was one of only two players to remain at K-State after the coaching change. He believed in Tang almost instinctively. When Tang told him he needed to find the right people to build around him a team that he hoped could make it to the NCAA tournament, Nowell told him they would make it . Kemba Walker had taken a team of freshmen and sophomores to the title game; He was able to figure out how to maximize the list Tang had compiled.
“It was a match made in heaven for Markquis and Coach Tang,” Southwell said. “None of that came as a surprise, knowing Markquis…because Coach Tang is a great Guards coach. And when you have a guy like Markquis who, especially for his size, is so confident and leads by example. It forces others to follow it.”
Tang and Nowell helped the Wildcats exceed all expectations for their first season together. (Scott Sewell / USA Today)
Nowell can now poke fun at himself and his stature. He said one of the perks of being so small is that when he falls, he’s closer to the ground. Doesn’t hurt that much.
He has embraced whatever comes with the outside world and judged you by your looks. He knows he has to prove himself every day in front of people who don’t know how good he is or how big his heart is. Hearts over heights is his mantra, and you’ll usually see at least someone at a K-State game waving a shirt or sign with that message on it.
According to Perry, in order to succeed with his size in the toughest conference in the country and now in the tournament, Nowell first had to figure out two aspects of his game: 1) how to take a shot over bigger, longer players and how to deal with them when he drives to the paint; and 2) how to use switches. Ball handling helps with both, and few players are more confident with the ball in their hands and the play on the line. This season, Nowell is averaging 17.1 points, 7.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game — and he’s playing almost the entire game every time, averaging 36.6 minutes per game.
As Tang would put it, Nowell is a guy.
This guy is about to play in front of his friends, family and anyone who has ever crossed paths with anyone in the New York basketball scene. Nowell’s father anticipates “pandemonium” at the Garden after seeing some of the crowds that have gathered around town for elite high school matchups over the years. He estimates that 3,000 people will come specifically to see Nowell for Thursday’s game.
“I don’t know what an NBA executive is looking for,” Marcus Sr. said, “but if you’re looking for someone to sell tickets, you have someone who sells tickets right there. ”
For the record, Nowell previously wowed an audience at Madison Square Garden. He was six years old and his team got to play at halftime in a Knicks game.
“I think I was the same height,” Nowell said, smiling. “But really, I was a small, small guy in the big shorts.”
He’s still the little, little guy, although these days he wears a uniform that suits him a little better. He’s still the same kid from Harlem trying to prove he belongs on the court. He’s still the same who adored Kemba Walker, but now he’s a star player who can rival Walker’s performance if all goes according to plan.
Markquis Nowell is ready for his moment.
(Top Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)