Marquette's Markus Howard
College coaches have used many terms to describe their players over the years. Brilliant. Stellar. Dazzling. Masterful.
All of those words could easily describe Marquette’s Markus Howard. But Golden Eagles’ head coach Steve Wojciechowski went a step further earlier this season when his brilliant/stellar/dazzling/masterful junior guard dropped a BIG EAST-record 53 points on Creighton in a 106-104 overtime Marquette victory at Creighton.
After that historical performance, Wojo said simply, “On certain nights, he’s capable of being magical.”
Magical. That might be a first. But let’s face it, Howard has been magical all season. Ask Bethune Cookman after he scored 37 points against them. How about the 45 points he dropped on both then-12th-ranked Kansas State and then-14th-ranked Buffalo? We’re fairly certain the Wildcats and Bulls would agree. It’s guaranteed Creighton head Greg McDermott would concur with Wojo after Howard’s record-setting performance in Omaha, as would Xavier head coach Travis Steele, who saw his Musketeers lit up for 31 points. Ditto Butler’s LaVall Jordan after Howard poured in 32 points and even Villanova’s Jay Wright after Howard deposited 38 on the Wildcats. And in his last outing? Yeah, he logged 36 at DePaul. What say you, Dave Leitao?
So magical? Yeah, that’s not hyperbole on Wojo’s part. Even if Howard, always the humble star, prefers to deflect the praise away from himself and more on the team’s accomplishments.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without the trust coach has in me,” Howard said. “The relationship me and him have is definitely special and I’m very fortunate to have that. A lot of this wouldn’t be possible without my coaches leading me and my teammates letting me do what I do.”
Despite a Marquette roster overflowing with top-shelf talent, it has been a wise move to let Howard do what he does this season. He not only leads the BIG EAST in scoring at a 25.6 points a game clip, but he is also fourth in the nation and has the top four highest-scoring, single-game performances in Marquette history. So the general rule of thumb is it’s best to just get out of his way. But despite eight games of 30-plus points this season, Howard said he is not surprised at what he seems to accomplish on a nightly basis.
“It’s not something where I’m surprised. It just something that comes from hard work,” Howard said. “I just take it a day at a time with all that’s coming my way right now. I’m just very fortunate.”
Surprisingly, Howard said he wasn’t able to enjoy his record-setting game against Creighton because he was not only laser-focused on securing a Golden Eagles’ win, but also because it was in enemy territory.
“It’s kind of hard to enjoy it when you’re on the road,” Howard said. “You’re just trying to get a win. That was kind of a nerve-wracking game and I was just trying to do whatever I could to help my team win. After the fact it was definitely something to be celebrated with my team. During the game you’re so focused on winning but afterwards it was really cool.”
Marquette heads into Wednesday night’s home game against Butler having won 10 of their last 11 games. The Golden Eagles are 21-4 overall and 10-2 in the BIG EAST, just a half a game behind front-running Villanova. So how much fun is it to make the opposition play “pick your poison” between Howard and Sam and Joey Hauser game in and game out? Plenty fun, according to Howard.
“Just being able to create and solve different problems that the defense presents is definitely something that we enjoy,” said Howard, who leads the BIG EAST in made three-pointers with 91. “We like to be able to play off our instincts. I just think how we’re playing this year is attributed to all the work we put in in the offseason and the connections we made off the court. It’s been really cool to play with them, two really smart, intelligent basketball players like Sam and Joey.”
Howard said it’s the makeup of this Marquette team that makes it so fun to play.
“We have a great group of guys,” Howard said. “It’s a different cast of characters with so many different personalities. We’re a lot alike in so many ways yet so different. So it’s really cool to be around a group of guys that you truly like being around, not only on the court but off it as well. I’m really fortunate to share the court with a group of guys that I truly care about.”
It takes a special player to constantly shine on the Big Stage and Howard is one of those special players. He does not shrink when the lights are the brightest. He, instead, revells in the big moment.
“I love it a lot. It’s something I’ve always dreamed about since I was little and to actually be on the stage now and doing it is really cool,” Howard said. “It’s something that some people might shy away from but I really just embrace it.”
There are a couple of big stages coming up in the not-too-distant future. There is the BIG EAST Tournament in three weeks and the NCAA Tournament to follow later next month. So what would it mean for Howard to deliver the Marquette basketball family their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament title?
“I think that would be great,” Howard said. “That’s something we set out to do at the beginning of the season and we know it’s going to take a lot of work. But I know this team is up for the challenge and it’s really exciting to take steps towards that.”
Unlike the past two seasons, when Marquette found itself on either side of the NCAA Tournament bubble - they hit paydirt two years ago, went to the NIT last year - there are no such concerns this time around. So after experiencing a one-and-done NCAA appearance in his freshman season and missing out last year, what would it mean to the Marquette wunderkind to unveil the Markus Howard Show on the rest of the country during the NCAA Tournament?
“Just getting back there, I’ve thought about that since being in the tournament in my freshman year,” Howard said. “But I’m just taking every day to do as much as I can to get in that position and once we get there, we’re going to try the best we can to win every game so we can to make a deep run.”