Markus Howard becomes the BIG EAST's all-time leading scorer with 24 points against Villanova on Feb. 12.
Marquette’s Howard ‘Passes’ Everyone to Become BIG EAST’s All-Time Scoring King
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
Markus Howard has been synonymous with scoring ever since the day he first slipped on his Marquette uniform four seasons ago. But this year, more than any other in his storied career, Howard has been known more for his, well, passing.
Howard came into his senior season sitting at No. 2 on Marquette’s all-time scoring list, 30 points shy of former Marquette great Jerel McNeal’s record of 1,985 points. Then he promptly went out and dropped 38 points in the Golden Eagles’ season-opener against Loyola (Md.) to pass McNeal and become the most golden of the Golden Eagles.
But that was only the beginning of Howard’s time in the “passing” lane this season.
Howard came into the 2019-20 campaign at No. 29 on the BIG EAST’s all-time scoring list but it wasn’t long before he was steadily working his way up that list and passing a litany of the league’s luminaries. Former Providence star LaDonte Henton was one of the first to go, then former Xavier great Trevon Bluiett. Soon Butler’s Kelan Martin was in Howard’s rearview mirror, ditto Providence’s Eric Murdock, Boston College’s Danya Abrams and the St. John’s duo of Zendon Hamilton and Malik Sealy.
As the season wore on, a legion of former BIG EAST stars would see Howard dust them on the scoring list as well. Howard waved good-bye to Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds and Kerry Kittles, bid adieu to the St. John’s tandem of Felipe Lopez and Chris Mullin and said au revoir to the Seton Hall duet of Jeremy Hazell and Terry Dehere to name but a few. And when Howard finally squeezed past Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody into third place before jumping in front of Boston College’s Troy Bell into second place, all that was left to pass was former Syracuse great Lawrence Moten.
Moten, who starred for the Orange from 1991-95, has held the career scoring record for 25 years. But when Howard drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds of Marquette’s 72-71 loss at Villanova last Wednesday night, Moten’s reign at the top of the BIG EAST heap was over. There was a new king in town. All hail Markus Howard.
So after a quarter of a century as the BIG EAST’s all-time leader, was Moten a little disappointed to have to give up his throne?
“Not at all,” said Moten, now 47 years old. “Twenty-five years is a good run. That’s half my lifetime. But I’ve been getting a lot of calls and emails and everybody’s been telling me that I still hold the record because I did it during the real BIG EAST. There are a lot of different teams now and it’s not the same anymore. But I congratulate him on what he’s done. I held the record from the ‘80s to the 2000s so he can have the new era.”
There was no grand celebration by Howard after his record-setting performance, one that saw him score 11 points in the final two minutes of the game to break the record. The loss to the Wildcats took some of the luster off the evening for Howard.
“This really stinks to come after a loss,” Howard told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s an honor, but all I can think about is that we didn’t come out with the win.”
Moten said he didn’t get to see Howard break his record Wednesday night, instead receiving a text from a local sportswriter friend. But when he was told there were no festivities for Howard after the game, it brought back memories of the night he set his record back in 1995.
“It’s hard to celebrate when you lose,” Moten said. “I remember the game when I set the record against Seton Hall and we also lost. It was in New Jersey where the New Jersey Nets used to play and they beat us.”
Moten said he has seen Howard play a number of times on TV and said he reminds him of a certain Georgetown guard he faced during his playing days with the Orange.
“He’s a very passionate player and he kind of reminds me a little bit of Allen Iverson,” Moten said. “He’s a scoring guard, for sure, and anybody who can lead the nation in scoring does something right. He’s doing well and I think he’ll have a good shot in the NBA next year.”
Moten is still living within a long three-point shot of the Carrier Dome, working with area youth and keeping up with the Orange.
“I’m mentoring,” Moten said. “I work for a group called the Promise Zone and I just try and teach youth the right way to live and how to be respectable people. But I don’t make it to many games. I’ve only been to two (games) this year, including the Duke game. But I still bleed Orange and still want to see them do well.”
And 25 years after playing his final game with the Orange, Moten is set to make a road trip next week. It will take him to Milwaukee where he will meet the player who finally broke his long-standing record. And it’s a visit he is eagerly looking forward to making.
“Marquette is going to fly me up Tuesday for their game against Creighton,” Moten said. “I’m going to congratulate Markus and give him a game ball. He’s a very good player and I’m happy for him and all the accomplishments he’s had. I just think that was a very nice gesture by them.”