Markus Howard’s name appears in 143 different places in Marquette men’s basketball’s Record Book, almost double its 85 pages. Naismith Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, whose magnum opus returned the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, is there only 46 times. Rafters resident Jerel McNeal can be found a mere 51. National champions Butch Lee and Bo Ellis are featured 38 and 46 times, respectively.
That’s the impact Howard had in his four years in the blue & gold, and the legacy he still leaves on the program he departed in 2020. Both are historic enough to warrant a jersey retirement and an ‘M Club’ Hall of Fame induction only six years after his graduation.
“Just a tremendous honor,” he said on a December phone call with the Marquette Wire. “For all the names and the storied legacies that have come through Marquette, to be mentioned among them, and to join in a great tradition of players that have been recognized throughout the program. I’m just so grateful.”
But where in the record book is he? And, most importantly, for what?
Perusers can find him on page 49, the All-American selections, which he unanimously earned twice: on the second team as a junior and first team as a senior. Scroll down to the individual conference awards on 51 and see him four times — once for every year he played at Marquette — as a two-time All-Big East first teamer, all-conference second and rookie teams member and a Big East player of the year.
Fifteen pages later comes what he is most-known for, being the Golden Eagles’ all-time leading scorer (2,761) — by over 700 points — a feat he achieved in only the first game of his final year. It’s one of his many scoring accolades.
On 73, readers will learn the top-5 single-game scoring — including three 50-plus point performances — and 3-pointers records all belong to him, not to mention the most field goals made in a match. Page 76 educates that he finished his final two years with the most points scored by a Golden Eagle in a season: 851 as a junior and 806 as a senior, the latter of which ended prematurely because of COVID-19.
Over the final 19 pages, all dedicating individual records for every statistic across single games, whole seasons and entire careers, “Markus Howard” appears, drumroll please, 120 times. His list of accomplishments casts a far longer shadow than his 5-foot-10 frame.
“I have a lot of great teammates and a lot of unselfish teammates, and I had a lot of understanding and patient coaches,” the ever-humble Howard said about his record book presence, denying even a modicum of credit for the umpteenth time in his 26 years on Earth.
Reclassifying to join Marquette one year early, Howard found his name on the Big East all-freshman team days after gaining the right to vote.
Months later, Howard broke the Golden Eagles’ single-game scoring record for the first time, posting 52 points in Marquette’s 95-90 overtime victory at Providence. He further shattered possibilities one year later against Creighton, with a career, program and conference record 53 points in front of a brim-packed CHI Health Center. Video game numbers.
Howard’s senior season began less than ideal, with a turnover on Marquette’s very first possession. Then, in the second possession of the second half, he dribbled down the court, stopped at the top of the key and drained a three to become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
None of those accomplishments are what he is most proud of, though. The two he cited were, unsurprisingly, about more than just himself. Asked about a favorite memory, he cited his founding of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Marquette. And what takes the cake of his laundry list of records is one he shares with his older brother Jordan: being the NCAA’s top-scoring brother duo, with 4,738 points.
“That’s bigger than myself,” he said.
It’s been over six years since then, and Howard’s life has changed a lot.
He is no longer a 17-year-old with self-admittedly bad haircuts but a married man with a 1-year-old son, Kylo, and another child on the way. He — after two years in the NBA — traded the blue & gold in Milwaukee for blue & red in northern Spain. It is not the Big East he’s led in scoring, but the Liga ACB.
A 10-month season and prioritizing seeing his home in Arizona on visits to the U.S. means Howard seldom gets back to Marquette. He last visited campus in summer 2024 and knew with only around a month’s notice the next time he would pop into the Al McGuire Center.
But, no matter where in the world he is scorching nets, he will always be immortalized in the Al McGuire Center as a Marquette Hall of Famer. And, on March 1, his name will hang in the Fiserv Forum rafters.
This story was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.
