Nowell Leads Cats with Historic Performance
Nov 23, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Markquis Nowell's personal motto is "Heart Over Height" and, man, did his heart fill the John Gray Gymnasium as cheers cascaded down onto the court from Kansas State fans Tuesday and Nowell staged one of the more notable performances in school history.
On a night in which Keyontae Johnson scored a career-high 28 points, Nowell led the charge with a spectacular 29-point, 11-assist effort to will the Wildcats to a 96-87 overtime victory against Nevada for a spot in the Cayman Islands Classic championship game.
The real question is what else Nowell, the senior point guard, can do for K-State (5-0) in Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. tipoff against LSU (5-0)?
Nowell, the Harlem, New York native, who refers to himself as "@MrNewYorkCityy" on Twitter, already did plenty in tournament games against Rhode Island and Nevada.
"Somebody must've said something to him about being from New York or something, because he was on tonight," K-State head coach Jerome Tang says. "It was kind of cool."
About an hour after Nowell helped guide the Wildcats to one of the program's more exciting games in years, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound point guard shot out a single tweet — "Glory Be To God" — and was in bed by 10:20 p.m. following his long and memorable display.
We thought we were treated to history when Nowell had 12 assists in the Wildcats' 77-57 win over Rhode Island — Nowell had the most assists in a game since Steve Henson in 1989 — but it turns out it was an appetizer for what Nowell had in store for an encore.
Nowell shared some words after the win over Rhode Island. He said, "First and foremost, it was a great team win, a complete combined effort on the defensive end and offensive end." He likely would've repeated himself after Nevada.
He's thoughtful and genuine when he speaks and high-spirited and vivacious when he scores or dishes out an assist. When he gets that New York City blood pumping, there's nothing quite like it.
"He was playing his game," Johnson says.
At times it appeared to be like child's play, and yet it wasn't child's play, because that would be selling short Nowell's performance, which was just the second time in school history that a player had a 25-point/10-assist game, and the first time since Henson did so in 1989.
Nowell went 10-for-20 shooting from the floor and made 2-of-7 3-point attempts, and made 7-of-10 free throws in 41 minutes. He dished out passes with pride. He closed in on defense. It really was special to see.
Tang, who came to K-State after a 19-year stint as assistant/associate head coach at Baylor, had coached many fine players prior to his arrival to Manhattan last March. Nowell and Ishmael Massoud were the only two holdovers from last season's team. Together, Tang and Nowell connected, and it seems like they are climbing to new heights together almost nightly during this young non-conference season.
Tang also likens the fight to being a lion or a tiger. Was Nowell a lion against Nevada? Or was he a tiger?
"Throughout the course of the game, I thought he was a lion with his group and he got people the ball," Tang says, "but when we got down to the end of regulation and overtime, it was time for him to be a tiger and eat what he kills."
He ate beautifully.
Eight times over the course of the game, Nowell's shot or assist gave K-State the lead, three other times it tied the game, and none was more important than his driving layup to tie the game, 80-80, with 11 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Nowell scored 14 points over the final 12 minutes, 32 seconds of regulation, three times giving the Wildcats the lead.
He continued to team with Johnson down the stretch and scored eight points in the five-minute overtime period, including — what else? — the final two points of the epic contest.
Nowell (29 points) and Johnson (28) became the first duo to each score 25 points in the same game since Jacob Pullen (28) and Denis Clemente (25) against Xavier in the NCAA Tournament on March 25, 2010.
"He was a dog," Johnson says. "At the half, I was telling him to stay poised and everything would come together. He was making and-1 big plays for us down the stretch when we needed it. It was impressive."
While Johnson is averaging 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds this season, Nowell is right behind him with 14.8 points and 8.6 assists. Nowell has 43 assists to 10 turnovers and a team-high 11 steals. Johnson is averaging 32.9 minutes per game and Nowell is averaging 31.8.
He's making every moment count.
What's impressing Tang most about Nowell this season?
"His poise," Tang says. "He's learning how to stick to his habits in crucial situations rather than making stuff up."
Indeed, his control and command of the Wildcats has already elevated from a year ago, his first season in Manhattan. Nowell credits his ascension to "overly preparing" for this season.
"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 said after his 4-point play keyed the Wildcats down the stretch of a 63-54 win at California. "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."
Like making it to the Championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
Like helping give K-State the lead again and again in this dog fight against Nevada.
Like sending the game to overtime.
"Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time moments, and that was a big-time moment for us," Tang says, "and he made those plays and the team trusted him."
The blood was pumping inside Mr. New York City and K-State fans danced to "Sandstorm" and Nowell made plays again and again and again.
It all goes back to his first-ever interview at K-State prior to last season before this ride officially began. People asked him about his height.
"It's all about heart over height," he said.
He's quickly emerging as the heart of Tang's first team.
Markquis Nowell's personal motto is "Heart Over Height" and, man, did his heart fill the John Gray Gymnasium as cheers cascaded down onto the court from Kansas State fans Tuesday and Nowell staged one of the more notable performances in school history.
On a night in which Keyontae Johnson scored a career-high 28 points, Nowell led the charge with a spectacular 29-point, 11-assist effort to will the Wildcats to a 96-87 overtime victory against Nevada for a spot in the Cayman Islands Classic championship game.
The real question is what else Nowell, the senior point guard, can do for K-State (5-0) in Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. tipoff against LSU (5-0)?
Nowell, the Harlem, New York native, who refers to himself as "@MrNewYorkCityy" on Twitter, already did plenty in tournament games against Rhode Island and Nevada.
"Somebody must've said something to him about being from New York or something, because he was on tonight," K-State head coach Jerome Tang says. "It was kind of cool."
About an hour after Nowell helped guide the Wildcats to one of the program's more exciting games in years, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound point guard shot out a single tweet — "Glory Be To God" — and was in bed by 10:20 p.m. following his long and memorable display.
Glory Be To God 🙏🏽💫 …
— Markquis Nowell (@MrNewYorkCityy) November 23, 2022
We thought we were treated to history when Nowell had 12 assists in the Wildcats' 77-57 win over Rhode Island — Nowell had the most assists in a game since Steve Henson in 1989 — but it turns out it was an appetizer for what Nowell had in store for an encore.
Nowell shared some words after the win over Rhode Island. He said, "First and foremost, it was a great team win, a complete combined effort on the defensive end and offensive end." He likely would've repeated himself after Nevada.
He's thoughtful and genuine when he speaks and high-spirited and vivacious when he scores or dishes out an assist. When he gets that New York City blood pumping, there's nothing quite like it.
"He was playing his game," Johnson says.
At times it appeared to be like child's play, and yet it wasn't child's play, because that would be selling short Nowell's performance, which was just the second time in school history that a player had a 25-point/10-assist game, and the first time since Henson did so in 1989.
Nowell went 10-for-20 shooting from the floor and made 2-of-7 3-point attempts, and made 7-of-10 free throws in 41 minutes. He dished out passes with pride. He closed in on defense. It really was special to see.
Tang, who came to K-State after a 19-year stint as assistant/associate head coach at Baylor, had coached many fine players prior to his arrival to Manhattan last March. Nowell and Ishmael Massoud were the only two holdovers from last season's team. Together, Tang and Nowell connected, and it seems like they are climbing to new heights together almost nightly during this young non-conference season.
Tang also likens the fight to being a lion or a tiger. Was Nowell a lion against Nevada? Or was he a tiger?
"Throughout the course of the game, I thought he was a lion with his group and he got people the ball," Tang says, "but when we got down to the end of regulation and overtime, it was time for him to be a tiger and eat what he kills."
He ate beautifully.
Eight times over the course of the game, Nowell's shot or assist gave K-State the lead, three other times it tied the game, and none was more important than his driving layup to tie the game, 80-80, with 11 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Nowell scored 14 points over the final 12 minutes, 32 seconds of regulation, three times giving the Wildcats the lead.
He continued to team with Johnson down the stretch and scored eight points in the five-minute overtime period, including — what else? — the final two points of the epic contest.
Nowell (29 points) and Johnson (28) became the first duo to each score 25 points in the same game since Jacob Pullen (28) and Denis Clemente (25) against Xavier in the NCAA Tournament on March 25, 2010.
"He was a dog," Johnson says. "At the half, I was telling him to stay poised and everything would come together. He was making and-1 big plays for us down the stretch when we needed it. It was impressive."
While Johnson is averaging 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds this season, Nowell is right behind him with 14.8 points and 8.6 assists. Nowell has 43 assists to 10 turnovers and a team-high 11 steals. Johnson is averaging 32.9 minutes per game and Nowell is averaging 31.8.
He's making every moment count.
What's impressing Tang most about Nowell this season?
"His poise," Tang says. "He's learning how to stick to his habits in crucial situations rather than making stuff up."
Indeed, his control and command of the Wildcats has already elevated from a year ago, his first season in Manhattan. Nowell credits his ascension to "overly preparing" for this season.
"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 said after his 4-point play keyed the Wildcats down the stretch of a 63-54 win at California. "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."
Like making it to the Championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
Like helping give K-State the lead again and again in this dog fight against Nevada.
Like sending the game to overtime.
"Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time moments, and that was a big-time moment for us," Tang says, "and he made those plays and the team trusted him."
The blood was pumping inside Mr. New York City and K-State fans danced to "Sandstorm" and Nowell made plays again and again and again.
It all goes back to his first-ever interview at K-State prior to last season before this ride officially began. People asked him about his height.
"It's all about heart over height," he said.
He's quickly emerging as the heart of Tang's first team.
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