Markus Howard says he still has work to do at Marquette, and will not be going to the NBA yet.
Unfinished Business
Looking forward to next season with this team〽️ #mubb pic.twitter.com/mdSqE5qCwL
— Markus Howard (@markushoward11) April 12, 2019
With that social media post, the junior guard says he is staying at Marquette for his senior season.
A second-team All-American, Howard averaged 25.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in helping Marquette reach the NCAA Tournament and finish second in the Big East. He finished fifth in the country in points per game, ninth in free throw percentage.
Numerous “way-too-early” prognostications have Marquette as a top 10 team next year with Howard’s return. AnonymousEagle.com has curated eight such top 10 predictions from major sports news outlets.
“The rankings that had Marquette listed as one fo the best teams are legit, because there’s no way that would have been the case had Markus Howard had left. For the team, that’s huge,” says ESPN Milwaukee’s Steve “The Homer” True,” the radio voice of Marquette basketball.
“For him, he’s certainly going to go down as the greatest scorer ever at Marquette. It’s not even close.”
Homer said that in his view, Howard had “absolutely no reason for him to enter the NBA Draft at this point.”
“In the next level, he has to be a distributor in addition to being a scorer, and he might actually have to be more of a distributor given his size. That means passing the ball as much as shooting,” he said.
“He’s got to be a point guard. Given that he scores so well, he’ll have to, at times, show he can distribute the ball.”
So for that reason, Homer considers Howard’s decision to be a “smart call.”
“I congratulate him for his intelligence and look forward to having a much better season, because Markus Howard – RIDICULOUS! – is coming back.”