Nowell Playing with Confidence

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Markquis Nowell drove the lane. This is how it all started, the play, the sequence that finally put Kansas State over the top in its first road game under first-year head coach Jerome Tang. There were scoring runs, there were comebacks, and there was adversity galore, and that's why Tang scheduled a road game at the University of California soon after he arrived in Manhattan. He wanted to test his squad.

And boy, K-State endured adversity — a 20-point lead early in the second half evaporated to a 47-46 lead with under 6 minutes to go at Hass Pavilion in Berkeley, California.

Then it all changed, as Nowell, the senior point guard, put the script back in order, and the Wildcats (2-0) charged to a hard-fought 63-54 victory. Nowell, one of two holdovers from last season's K-State squad, had been in high-pressure situations before, typically against Big 12 Conference opponents, but this was different, it was a Power 5 opponent on the road — "we just come together to make good things happen," Nowell says — and the 5-foot-8, 160-pounder from Harlem, New York, helped the Wildcats come together down the stretch.

It all started with Nowell's 4-point play.

Nowell drove the lane and dished it out to Desi Sills behind the 3-point line and in front of the K-State bench. California senior guard Joel Brown stepped up to defend Sills, who dribbled twice toward the free-throw line, and drew a double team.

Nowell instantly ran to replace Sills behind the 3-point line in front of the K-State bench. Sills fired a pass back to Nowell, who spotted up. By the time Brown reached Nowell, he was in the process of unleashing his 3-point attempt, and Brown brushed Nowell's left arm, and Nowell fell onto his back. All Brown could do was turn around to watch the ball sail through the air.

Splash. Whistle. Foul. Foul shot. Four-point play with 5 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in regulation.

Not afraid of the moment#KStateMBB x @MrNewYorkCityy pic.twitter.com/8bQxa43KPV
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) November 12, 2022

"A great pass by Desi Sills," Nowell says. "I drove and kicked it to him, and he drove and made a great pass to me, and I shot it, and it was a four-point play."

Keyontae Johnson led K-State with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting and added a game-high nine rebounds. Nae'Qwan Tomlin had 11 points, two blocks, and a pair of monster dunks facilitated by Nowell.

And Nowell had 13 point, three rebounds, seven assists to just two turnovers, and three steals in 33 minutes. Nowell went 3-for-11 from the floor, and made his lone 3-pointer of the game count in crunch time.

"He's a guy who's going to be able to shoot that deep when I'm attacking the paint," Johnson says. "I know other teams are going to collapse and I know he's a guy I can throw it out to, and he can hit the 3. I'm very confident in his shot.

"Any time he shoots it, I feel like it's going in. Having a guy with that outside shot is a blessing."

During his first season at K-State a year ago, Nowell played with confidence. He seems to already be playing with more confidence than before at the outset of his senior season. And that's big, that's huge, as the Wildcats embark upon their first season under Tang with Nowell helping lead the charge. He's the Energizer bunny. He's K-State's version of Mighty Mouse — the nickname once owned by former Kansas City Chiefs' cornerback Mark "Mighty Mouse" McMillian. Nowell is everywhere. And on the road, as the Wildcats endured adversity, he flipped the game.

"I prepared, I overly prepared this summer, and that's what's led to this confidence, and I believe in my teammates most importantly," Nowell says. "We have a lot of good guys from all different walks of life. I just trust them, and they trust me, and that's what's allowing us to have this success.

"It's really good across the board with Coach believing in me, my teammates believing in me, and we just come together and make good things happen."

Twice during the game, Nowell created a pair of plays that led to 6-foot-10, 210-pound Nae'Qwan Tomlin skying for highlight dunks. Tomlin, also a native of Harlem, hesitates about as much as Tyler Lockett on a post route, and tears up the basketball court like a thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby.

Yes, Nowell fired two passes to Tomlin — one off a behind-the-back pass on a 2-on-1 fast break, and one when he spun 360 degrees following a steal and saw Tomlin flashing down the court. The Pac 12 Network showed replays both sequences several times from various angles, because the plays were that pretty, and if the Wildcats are just warming up, imagine the Nowell-to-Tomlin theatrics by January and February.

The call 🤯🤯 #KStateMBB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/E3PHaFu2we
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) November 12, 2022

"We practice a lot together and I know what he's capable of on the fast break," Nowell says. "When he gave it up, I knew I was going right back to him, because he was trailing."

K-State trailed only one and it was early in the first half — a 3-point deficit that made the Wildcats so angry that they rolled to a 36-21 halftime lead. The Wildcats were frighteningly close to trailing again, in the final six minutes, before Nowell changed the game.

It's a great start to a season that continues as the Wildcats return home to face Kansas City (0-3) in Thursday's 5:30 p.m. tipoff (Big 12 Now on ESPN+) at Bramlage Coliseum.

"I'm having a lot of fun, man," Nowell says. "Each and every day on the basketball court, and off the basketball court, I'm having fun, and laughing, and joking with the guys. It's a great atmosphere here. If I have a kid, I'll recommend coming to K-State. That's how much fun I'm really having."

When it came time to take care of business, Nowell drove the lane, found the corner, nailed a 3-pointer, drew a foul, converted a 4-point play, and showed confidence of a senior who simply wouldn't let his team lose in Tang's first road game.

Now the Wildcats return home.

And the fun might only continue.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Keyontae Johnson

Markquis Nowell

Desi Sills

Nae'Qwan Tomlin

Related Videos