Marquette Basketball: Markus Howard will turn more heads this season

For Marquette basketball, sophomore guard Markus Howard was electric from deep last season. How far can he take the Golden Eagles in 2017-18?

Marquette basketball was in an interesting spot entering the 2016-17 season. After losing star freshman Henry Ellenson to the NBA, the Golden Eagles needed a new star. Head coach Steve Wojciechowski was able to secure the 24th ranked recruiting class in the country to make up for it though. The recruiting class brought in Brendan Bailey, who did not play last season (and will not this year either) as he is on a two-year mission trip, while both Sam Hauser and Markus Howard made immediate impacts for the Golden Eagles.

Playing in 32 games, Hauser was effective as a forward who can stretch the floor. He played 26.5 minutes per game while contributing 8.8 points and 5.0 rebounds on 47.3% from the field and a scorching 45.3% from deep. The 6’8″ forward will be joined by his brother Joey Hauser for the 2018-19 campaign. Still, he will be called upon to be a major part of the rotation this year as well.

The other player from the 2016 recruiting class, Markus Howard, was sensational during his initial campaign. Starting in 26 of the Marquette’s 30 games, Howard was an extremely efficient scorer and one of the best shooters in the country.

Connecting on 82 of his 150 3-point attempts last season (54.7%), Howard was the best 3-point shooter in the country by percentage. In addition, his 45.4% shooting on two-point shots was impressive. Howard’s versatile offensive game makes him extremely valuable on the court. It is expected that Howard will take on an even bigger role in the offense this season and people across the nation will start to take more notice.

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Building off of his Big East All-Freshman Team appearance last year, the 5’11” guard will want to focus on his playmaking ability this year. Despite only playing 22.0 minutes per game last season, Howard was still the leading scorer on the team and that will once again be the case this year. Howard will be privileged with more playing time and more freedom to go to work on the offensive end in 2017-18, so scoring won’t be an issue.

With that being said, his overall ball control and playmaking can improve for this season. While averaging 2.3 assists per game (tied for second on the team), Howard also committed 2.0 turnovers per game last season. As he was just a freshman, there is still plenty of time for him to improve his assist-to-turnover ratio. With Howard as the primary scoring option this season, he will receive even more defensive attention and that will hopefully create opportunities for him to find open teammates.

This is not to mention how young Howard is. For almost all of last season, Howard was still just 17-years-old. His game will continue to expand over the next few seasons and it would be a surprise if he did not find himself on an All-Big East team during his collegiate years.

He might not have the best size in college basketball (5’11”), but he is crafty around the basket and does an excellent job navigating through traffic. As a shooter, you cannot afford to leave him open, as he will make you pay nearly every time. He scored upwards of 20 points in seven games during the 2016-17 campaign, including a 34-point outing against Xavier.

After making the NCAA Tournament a season ago, Markus Howard will be looking to lead Marquette basketball back once again. They are still a young team and lost three key leaders from last year’s roster. Without JaJuan Johnson, Katin Reinhardt, and Luke Fischer, though, the team will need Howard to step up.

Last season, Howard’s incredible year flew slightly under the radar, but that won’t happen this time. Howard is the type of player who can take over any game at any time with his scoring ability. As Howard leads Marquette basketball back to the NCAA Tournament, more and more fans will take notice of this young star.

Next: Way-too-early Big East Power Rankings

Markus Howard is one of the top point guards in the country. His electric style of play as a shooter and athletic finisher makes him an incredibly fun player to watch. As the focal point of the offense this upcoming season, Howard will surely make headlines throughout the year for Marquette basketball. Watch for Howard to possibly carry Marquette to a NCAA Tournament bid.