SE: Nowell Finds New York Roots in Little Apple

By: D. Scott Fritchen

It's spring 2010, and Markquis Nowell is in the middle of a shooting session with Markquis Nowell, Sr., at a park in Harlem, New York. There are a few different parks they visit, sometimes two hours at a time, so young Markquis can work on his shooting technique and ball-handling skills. In one drill, Markquis will make 25 shots in a row from long range. He is 10 years old. His father tells him that shooting is a big part of basketball, and that if he can shoot, he can make dreams come true.

As young Nowell matures, he'll hit Rucker Park, Dyckman and Tri-State — the legendary streetball courts in NYC. On these asphalt kingdoms, he'll share the same court as Isaiah Whitehead (2^nd round NBA pick in 2016), Isaiah Briscoe (third highest ranked point guard to play for John Calipari at Kentucky), Lance Stephenson (2^nd round NBA pick in 2010), Naz Reid (Minnesota Timberwolves), and more Division I and NBA talent than he can remember.

But before any of that, before Nowell stars at point guard at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. (2015-17), and before Nowell plays his injury-plagued senior year in 2017-18 at The Patrick School in Hillsdale, N.J., which is the alma mater of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Dallas Mavericks) and Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets), Nowell is a 10-year-old who simply loves the game. His father grew up playing at Rucker Park and earned the nickname "Tasmanian Devil" because of his scary spin moves and dribble moves.

Gallery: (10-24-2021) Markquis Nowell Spotlight

One day, 10-year-old Nowell is sweating it out in a gym in Harlem, and he's getting tips from a member of the Rice High School team that captured the 2009 Class AA State Championship. The young man is a New York Post All-Manhattan selection. The young man is friendly with no Big Apple-sized ego despite being rated as one of the top small forwards in the country.

In fact, after they shoot hoops, the young man invites Nowell to his house to play NBA 2K9 on his Xbox 360.

The young man is Shane Southwell.

"I didn't know that years down the road, he would be recruiting me (to Kansas State)," Nowell says. "It was just a friendly basketball competition, and it just grew into a long-term relationship."

Today, Nowell is a 5-foot-8, 160-pound point guard at Kansas State and a Division I transfer from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he was a Lou Henson All-American and First Team All-Sun Belt selection in 2019-20. Nowell has two years of eligibility remaining after the NCAA granted fall and winter sport student-athletes an additional year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nowell saw action in 68 games, including 51 starts, in three seasons (2018-21) while totaling 965 points (14.4 ppg) on 39.5% (306 of 775) shooting, including 36.9% (156 of 423) on 3-pointers at Little Rock. He is also Little Rock's all-time leader in career free-throw percentage (85.7%) and eighth all-time in career made 3-pointers (156).

Why Little Rock? Because Little Rock assistant coach Alfred Jordan was from Harlem and long knew about Nowell's talent. So even after Nowell was injured his high school senior year — he says that he received no scholarship offers from major schools — Jordan phoned Nowell and said, "I want you on my team. I feel like I can put the ball in your hands, and you can make this team special." After Nowell enjoyed his breakout sophomore season, he reasoned that "God has bigger plans for me."

So, Nowell played in just 15 games as a junior last season before he opted out. Following the season, he entered the transfer portal in hopes of landing at a major Division I school.

Southwell, now age 29, was a 2013 honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference selection at K-State and played international professional basketball for four years before returning to K-State as a graduate student manager for three years. Southwell then spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Robert Morris before taking on the role of assistant coach at K-State in 2020.

One of the youngest assistant coaches at a major-level school, Southwell has served as top recruiter for numerous K-State players. When Nowell entered the transfer portal, Southwell contacted him almost immediately. Since Nowell couldn't physically visit the K-State campus due to NCAA recruiting protocols regarding COVID, Southwell brought all the K-State coaching staff to Nowell during a Zoom call.

"Shane was telling me how good they were going to be this year," Nowell says. "He just told me this is going to be a special year and that this is a special program. Once we jumped on Zoom and everyone talked about their mindset for this year, it was a no-brainer to commit."

Nowell joined the program on April 1. At 5-foot-8, Nowell is one of the most undersized players in K-State history and in the Big 12 Conference.

"I love when people underestimate me," he says. "I love when people see my size and are like, 'He can't do this or that.' It gives me a flame in my heart and a chip on my shoulder that will never leave me because when I'm on the court, the opponents always feel like they got an advantage because they're taller. So, being an underdog is like a blessing and I love it. I love being short.

"I don't ever ask God, 'Can I be 6 feet?' I am what I am, so I just love being 5-foot-7, because when I come out and perform at high levels, it's no excuse."

Nowell led Little Rock in averaging 17.5 points on 43.1% shooting, including 39.7% on 3-pointers, with a team-high 4.8 assists to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 33.3 minutes per game during the 2019-20 season. He had 12 20-point games and two 30-point contests.

As for Nowell's propensity to be a clutch player? He made national headlines on December 19, 2019, when he had 33 points, including three 3-pointers in the final 35 seconds and the game-winner from near midcourt with three seconds remaining in the game. He had eight 3-pointers in that game.

"He brings a whole different dynamic to our program," K-State head coach Bruce Weber says.

Today, Nowell is regularly draining 3-pointers from the Powercat logo on the basketball court.

"I shoot a lot of shots a day, probably 500 to close to 1,000 some days, so I'm really confident when I shoot those shots," Nowell says. "It's momentum changing when you hit that type of shot. It changes the whole dynamic of the game, so I just really work on those types of shots throughout the day."

Weber hasn't yet located Nowell's "off" switch. In the weight room, Nowell enjoys bench pressing with 100-pound dumbbells and squats 315 pounds. During practice, Nowell goes 100 miles-per-hour on the court.

"For him, his big key will be learning when he should try to make the big play," Weber says. "You can't shoot every time. You have to let the game come to you a little bit. I had a conversation with him recently to be a little patient. He doesn't have to make all the plays now. Let other people make plays for him.

"He's a really good shooter. He's a good playmaker and brings a whole different element to our team that we've had in a while. He's maybe a little bit like Kam Stokes, but he's different. This guy can get in there and make some unbelievable plays."

Nowell says that Weber is learning to be OK with his vast shot selection.

"He's seen me working on my game, so if there's something that I'm doing in the game, nine times out of 10 I've been working on it multiple times, day in, day out," Nowell says, "So when I'm hitting at a consistent rate when you see me working out, and you see that I'm capable of shooting it on a regular basis, there's not much of a surprise."

K-State fifth-year senior guard Mike McGuirl has played with 40 different teammates in his K-State career. There's just something special about Nowell.

"He's fire, he's a dog," McGuirl says. "He has a lot of confidence, and he works very hard. He's in the gym before practice and after practice. He's not doing to shy away from big shots. When he's hot, he's really hot, and he can get into the lane, too, and create for others."

Nowell is one of three Division I players to transfer to K-State this season. He joins fifth-year senior guard Mark Smith (Missouri) and sophomore forward Ismael Massoud (Wake Forest). All three took advantage of the new NCAA transfer rules and are immediately eligible in 2021-22.

Nowell is now reunited with Massoud, a native of East Harlem, New York. They played on the same team in a couple of tournaments at Rucker Park and Dyckman and already carry on-court chemistry.

"When me and Ish play together, it gels so perfectly," Nowell says, "because I know where he's going to be because of our history together."

Nowell will get his first opportunity to publicly demonstrate his chemistry with his new K-State teammates when the Wildcats host Pittsburg State in their lone exhibition game on November 4 at Bramlage Coliseum.

With his capacity to change the flow of the team through his playmaking ability and long-range shooting touch, Nowell could become a fan favorite this season. He could certainly play a significant part as the Wildcats attempt to bounce back from their 9-20 record a year ago.

"I feel like I bring a different level and dynamic to this team," he says. "I can create my own shot from pretty much inside of half court, but I love passing, and that's an underrated skill of mine. I have a high basketball IQ, so when I'm around good players, I know how to play with them.

"Nijel Pack, Mike McGuirl, Selton Miguel — I'm going to have a lot of assists to those guys because not only do I know how to shoot, but I also know how to get my teammates involved. When we play together, there's going to be a lot of 3s, there's going to be defense, and we're going to be energetic. When you see us play, you're going to feel the energy, and love what we have this year."

This all started with a 10-year-old hitting the courts around New York City, trying to make a dream come true. Remarkably, it also included a friendship with a high school idol, who more than a decade later would convince Nowell to join him in Manhattan, Kansas, to be a part of something special.

"It's been great in the Little Apple," Nowell says. "It's a great atmosphere, friendly and family oriented, and I'm loving the people at K-State. I love the Little Apple."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ismael Massoud

Mike McGuirl

Selton Miguel

Markquis Nowell

Nijel Pack

Mark Smith

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