Through Ups and Downs, Marcus is Always There
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By: D. Scott Fritchen
The making of Markquis Nowell begins at age 6. Markquis, older brother Marcus, and their mother Kisha Morales live in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Eleven-year-old Marcus lay on a twin-sized bed. Markquis lay on the other twin bed inside their bedroom.
"What do you want to be?" Marcus asks.
Markquis replies, "An NBA player."
This is a story about brothers. It's a story about growth. It's a story about heart over height and early-morning workouts on the playgrounds, and free throws – thousands of free throws – as the lights in New York City turn on, and darkness attempts to halt the practice. It's a story about the vow that Marcus made that day on the twin beds, and the ups and downs to come, and the tears and celebrations, and the love that two brothers share as one brother steals the NCAA spotlight and the other tells the NCAA to shine it brighter.
For virtually every step along the way in Markquis' career, there's Marcus not too far away, helping his younger brother along. There's a story to tell through the eyes of the brother, who has been with Markquis through the ups and downs, and who pauses to collect himself — the throat tightens when recounting certain details — and who wouldn't trade Markquis for Jeff Bezos' money.
Markquis' story will pause shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday. That's when he will be recognized on Senior Night before No. 14 Kansas State faces Oklahoma at sellout Bramlage Coliseum. He'll be showered with ear-popping cheers of 11,000 fans, and he'll hug his family, and he'll hold a framed No. 1 jersey high above his head on the basketball court and in the arena and at the university that has never quite had another player like Markquis. Crazy to think it'll mark Markquis' final time playing inside the Octagon of Doom. Perhaps somewhat even crazier? To think that 5-foot-8, 160-pound Markquis even made it this far.
"Markquis," Marcus says, "was overlooked from a very young age."
But before any of that, before the pomp and circumstance, before the cheers, and Markquis' final home game in a season that has enjoyed so many bright beginnings, there's a fundamental question: Will heart overcome height?
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No, height will win. That's what the coaches said, anyway. It wasn't hard to spot Markquis' name in youth team tryouts. His name was typically affixed with an asterisk, and before you ask why, remember that he wasn't supposed to get to this point, sweeping inside the lane, dropping deep 3s from Topeka, finding Keyontae Johnson for the game-winning dunk against No. 2 Kansas. No, none of this was supposed to happen. At least that's what the youth coaches believed: He was too short.
And, anyway, Markquis had to learn at a very young age to outwork everyone, because this dream of being a major college basketball player, of being a force, wouldn't come easy, and would be doubly hard because he was always the shortest guy on the court.
His mom was 5-foot-1, his dad was 5-foot-9 with the right pair of shoes on, and Marcus was 6-foot, and Markquis so many times told his older brother, "If I could switch one thing with you, it'd be your height."
"Everybody isn't going to be blessed with height," Marcus says. "When Markquis was 7, 8, 9, 10 years old, playing high school division, he never played like he was small. We knew the asterisk was going to be there. But we didn't want them to focus on his height.
"We wanted them to focus on his heart."
And, oh, how Markquis yearned to prove the doubters wrong. He was a bulldog. He was fierce. He brought that New York City toughness and that New York City fire. At age 7, he was schooling players in a 14-and-under league. A few years later, he was running with the pack in the Showboat Classic, the Kingdome Classic and the Tri-State Classic. Certainly his playmaking ability, flare, and lightening quick moves would wow the crowd, and any prospective coaches observing from the sidelines. He wanted to be the next Kemba Walker.
But some coaches weren't convinced.
Height, it appeared, was gonna win.
• • •
The heart will win, and here's why: Nobody played with more heart. All young Markquis needed was a chance. At each level, the doubters often turned into gushing admirers. When it came time to select a high school, Marcus sought out a school that wouldn't put Markquis in the easiest positions. After all, what would Markquis learn, Marcus figured, by averaging 30 points a night? Marcus took Markquis to St. Anthony's so he could play under Hall-of-Famer Bob Hurley, one of the finest high school basketball coaches in history. Didn't work out.
"I'll never forget I picked Markquis up from school in Jersey City and we took the hour-long train ride together," Marcus says, "and I just told him, 'We just have to work harder.'"
They found a home at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn. Markquis averaged 19.9 points, 8.1 assists as a junior in 2016-17 and helped the Lions to a No. 8 final ranking in Class AA.
"Markquis had heart and became a name within the city," Marcus says. "He did everything. We decided we wanted to get national at that point. I wanted him at The Patrick School, where Kyrie Irving went. I've known Kyrie since high school growing up. Markquis had a rapport with Kyrie. I wanted him to be in a situation where there might be a guard better than him. I wanted a coach who'd challenge him and teach him life."
Markquis averaged 10.9 points during an injury-plagued senior season. He missed all of January due to injury, but returned to play down the stretch. He averaged 12.6 points and scored 22 points in one game. He was ranked the No. 9 prospect in New Jersey by 247Sports.
Yes, the heart will win. Or so Markquis and Marcus thought. On the day that Division I schools could begin recruiting prospective athletes, Marcus and Markquis sat by the phone as Markquis' friends were posting their Division I scholarship offers on social media. High-major offers, all of them.
"I kept saying, 'Quis, they're going to call you, they're going to call you,'" Marcus says. "Finally, Markquis looked at me and said, 'Marcus, why aren't they calling me?'"
Height was winning again.
And this is it. This is when Marcus begins to lose it, hot tears on the other end of the phone, at that face that Markquis made, the one of hopelessness, when everything spun out of his control. Markquis had learned to control so much on the court, yet was helpless when it came to switching the minds of Division I coaches.
"I felt bad as an older brother because Markquis had worked so hard and he wasn't being rewarded," Marcus says. "He gives it his all. I said, 'Quis, don't worry, man. If we got to go mid-major, let's play mid-major for two years, let's show the world what we're capable of, and then we're going to go high-major and kill it.'"
Ultimately, Markquis received offers from Minnesota, Georgetown, Rutgers, Seton Hall, VCU and Western Kentucky. But by then it was too late.
They were at Arkansas-Little Rock.
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Markquis was all heart. He succeeded. He flourished. In his final 42 games at Little Rock, he scored 687 points, averaging 16.7 points and shooting 40% from the floor, including 38% from 3-point range.
He averaged double-digit points in all three seasons at Little Rock, including 17.5 points per game as a sophomore in 2019-20, in which he earned Lou Henson All-America and First Team All-Sun Belt honors while helping the Trojans to a 21-win season.
Marcus e-mailed Division I coaches across the country. He knew of K-State assistant coach Shane Southwell from his days at Rice High School. He phoned Southwell. Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing replied as well. Ewing said that he was considering Markquis but couldn't guarantee anything. Southwell believed that Markquis could backup point guard Nijel Pack at K-State.
Marcus told Markquis, "Let's let them think you're a backup, get our foot in the door, and we'll prove that you're not a backup guard, and that you're a star guard."
What did Markquis do? Here's what he did: He averaged 12.4 points on 38.6% shooting, including 30.7% on 3-pointers, to go along with 5.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game last season. He had 19 double-digit scoring game and reached 20 points three times. And he was selected All-Big 12 Honorable Mention by a vote of the league's coaches and earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
"When oscar Weber departed, I said, 'Honestly, there are only two things that'll keep us here,'" Marcus says. "I didn't want Markquis' senior year to be sabotaged by someone who didn't know him and his style and I wanted someone who fit Markquis' personality. I knew who our program was considering. I told Markquis, 'If these coaches come here, this is the one I want. We get Jerome Tang, we stay, and no questions asked.'"
Markquis stayed in Manhattan and worked on his game throughout the summer. Marcus told him not to return home. Markquis joined Ishmael Massoud as the only returning players for the Wildcats this season. Markquis helped recruit the Wildcats' roster prior to this season. He was the leader. He was the man. When Big 12 coaches picked K-State to finish last in the league, Markquis went back to his Manhattan apartment.
He decorated his walls with the NCAA Tournament logo.
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"We needed a slogan, something that allowed us to stick out," Marcus says.
"Heart over Height" was born.
"When we yell, 'Heart over Height!' we want them to overlook the obvious and look at everything else that's attached to Markquis aside from his height," Marcus says.
There's plenty attached to Markquis' name now.
Nowell ranks second at K-State and third in the Big 12 with 17.0 points per game. He ranks third in Division I basketball with 7.6 assists per game and 220 total assists. He ranks 11th nationally in free throws (156), eighth in steals (67), 15th in steals per game (2.31), 17th in free-throw percentage (89.1%) and 19th in minutes played per game (36:22). He is one of three Division I players to reach 1,500 career points, 500 assists and 200 steals.
His 220 assists topped the school record set by Steve Henson in 1987-88.
"None of this surprises me at all," Marcus says. "Just allow him to play, teach him along the way, and he's going to win games. Markquis still has moments today where it's like, 'Quis!' but Markquis has so many plays that win us games. I'm glad that Jerome Tang understands. He's a players' coach and he understands who Markquis is and sometimes you're going to have to live and die by Markquis' mistakes but sometimes it's going to correlate to wins.
"I know he's prepared hard for this."
Against No. 24 West Virginia (December 31) and No. 6 Texas (January 3), Markquis combined for 59 points, 19 assists, 10 steals and shot 52% from the floor. Steph Curry was the only Division I player to match or surpass that in the last 25 seasons.
Between No. 6 Texas and No. 19 Baylor (January 7), Markquis averaged 34.0 points on 54.8% shooting, including 58.8% on 3-pointers, to go along with 11.4 assists per game. Markquis had a career-high 36 points and nine assists against the Longhorns. He had 32 points and a career-high 14 assists against the Bears, marking the first 30 point/10 assist game in K-State history and just the second in Division I in the last 10 seasons. Trae Young did so in 2017.
Markquis became just the third Division I player to average 30 points and 10 assists in a three-game stretch over the past 25 seasons — and the only one to do it against three ranked opponents.
He was named ESPN National Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week. He was named to The Sporting News Midseason All-American Team. He's a top-10 candidate for the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, and he's up for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award, and Oscar Robertson Trophy.
"Markquis taught me as a brother not to cut corners," Marcus says. "I was always the person, I grew up off survival instincts, so I was always trying to cut a corner just to get by, and Markquis literally will always drill into my head, 'Bro, don't cut corners. If it takes you the long way, it's the right way.' Markquis doesn't cut a corner. I know that the universe repays you in a way when you dish out that type of consistency and effort and attention to detail.
"I always knew the universe would repay Markquis in a good way."
Markquis has 14 career points/assists double-doubles, including a school-record nine at K-State. He is the only K-State player with three games of at least 20 points and 10 assists.
After becoming the first player in K-State history to record 10 assists and zero turnovers against No. 9 Baylor last Tuesday, he had a game-high 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and four steals at Oklahoma State on Saturday.
He could become the first K-State player in history to average 17.0 points and 8.0 assists in a season.
Markquis has a willing mentor in Kyrie Irving.
"Me, Markquis and Kyrie are really, really close friends to this day," Marcus says. "As we got older, Markquis developed a relationship with Kyrie outside of my relationship with Kyrie. Kyrie gives him pointers to this day. They talk. Kyrie tunes into K-State games and gives Markquis pointers to better his game."
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K-State is 22-7 overall and 10-6 in the Big 12 Conference and owns a top-10 NET ranking and has nine Quad-1 wins — one of just seven Division I teams to have at least nine Quad-1 victories this season.
There's still games left to play — the Big 12 Championship runs March 8-11 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri (and should be incredible) with the NCAA Tournament to follow (with K-State a projected top-4 seed) — yet everything will pause for a few moments shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Senior Night celebration.
The emotions will run, but cannot hang on, not with a chance to close out the home season with one last victory. It's another chance for K-State, and Markquis, to shine.
"Markquis doesn't play the game for Markquis, he plays it for K-State," Marcus says. "There are people before him and after him who might have played the game for the first and last name that they were born with, but not Markquis. He wants to play for K-State. He wants K-State to be great. I hope fans always, always remember that Markquis bleeds purple and he's EMAW to his last dying breath."
The EMAW is expected to remain strong in March.
"The NCAA Tournament, man, that's one of the biggest dreams I had for us," Marcus says. "I had three dreams for Markquis. Two of them came true. I wanted Markquis to play Duke at Cameron. That didn't happen and that's OK. Then I wanted Markquis to play for a nationally-ranked team. That has happened. And I wanted to see my brother play in the NCAA Tournament because that's where all the dreams are made.
"We're brothers. That's my dog. That's my heart."
At the end of the day, it is important to know this: Heart always wins out in the end. Markquis is all heart. Height has been a non-factor for some time now. Markquis simply doesn't play like he's 5-foot-8. He plays larger than life and typically does so on the biggest of stages. The coaches, the ones who doubted Markquis long ago, will share their Markquis moments with friends while watching him compete in the NCAA Tournament. Coaches put an asterisk by Markquis name these day: It's because he's often the No. 1 scout on one of the top 20 teams in the nation.
Yes, the story will pause shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday. And that's when Marcus believes he'll tear up again. There have been many teary moments during this journey. This will be a key moment in the making of Markquis.
"You'll see me tearing up because this is a full-circle moment," Marcus says. "I cried when he graduated from K-State specifically because I remember that phone call with K-State, and to see him play his last game at Bramlage knowing what he's given to the game and always wanted to give to K-State, I just hope K-State remembers Markquis for focusing on the name on the front of the jersey."
Marcus pauses.
"If we can take anything from Markquis' story, it's that you might not have the easiest road in life, you might not have all the intangibles, and everything might be playing against you in order to get to your destination, but take it from Markquis, if you approach every day and work hard and give it your all to what you want in life, it'll eventually work out for your good. Be a good person and good things will happen to you."
Yes sir, Wednesday night will be emotional. The hearts will be beating hard, mightily hard, over this grand moment. Marcus and Markquis, together, standing on the basketball court where dreams have come true.
They've made it.
