NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Arizona of last decade

1. Markus Howard – Marquette

We couldn’t soon forget the guard who scored nearly 3000 points in his collegiate career? Howard, whose older brother Jordan put up impressive numbers at Central Arkansas, would not be outdone. A top 100 recruit, he signed on with Steve Wojciechowski at Marquette, playing for the Golden Eagles from 2016 and 2020 and bringing home a ton of accolades and glory throughout his career.

Howard was on the Big East All-Freshman team, but this was just scratching the surface on his career. He’d average greater than 20 points a game in his final three seasons, including a mind-blowing 27.8 points per game his senior year. He eclipsed 50 points in a game three times, all in wins away from home against power conference foes, punctuated by a 53-point game at Creighton his junior year. The Golden Eagles did not win an NCAA Tournament game during his four seasons, but he did have an impressive 26 points against Murray State his junior year.

Howard was a three-time All-Big East member, was the Player of the Year in 2019, his junior season, and was an All-American twice, including on the First Team for an impressive senior year. He led the entire nation in points per game as a senior, sits in the top 25 all-time for career points scored, and remains one of the most prolific 3-point shooters of all time. Howard spent some time with the Denver Nuggets after going undrafted in 2020 and currently plays overseas in Spain.

We’re done with our look back at the ten best players from the state of Arizona; was there someone you think was ranked too high or too low?