Poll: Will Markus Howard Score 60 Points In A Single Game This Year?

[GooooMarquette]

Pistol was much taller, had a better handle, and was a magical passer. Like Howard, couldn't guard a dead man. Had the floppiest, stinkin' socks around, hey?

All true...but the difference on defense was that Pete didn't even pretend like he was trying to play defense, and Press didn't care. Markus sure seems to be trying.

[Marcus92]

Markus was dramatically improved on defense last season. He actually finished with a better defensive rating than Sacar. Not saying Markus is the better defensive player -- but he definitely stepped up.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The myth of Markus being a bad defender was one of the bigger ones told on here. Markus was a good defender when matched up with other PGs and an almost passable defender when matched up with 2Gs. Rowdy, bless his heart, was the Achilles heel to our defense.

[Marcus92]

On the scoring side of things, Markus has a legit shot to set the all-time Big East conference scoring record -- currently held by Troy Bell of Boston College with 2,632 points.

Only 3 Division I men's basketball players have scored 60+ points in a single game since 2000. That span covers more than 100,000 games. Only one, Eddie House of Arizona State, played for a high-major university. The stars would have to align perfectly for it to happen for Markus.

[1SE]

When Markus scores 36+ points, Marquette is 7-1. The only loss was a 100-90 result at Villanova where he also tallied 4 boards & 8 assists, accounting for more than half the team's points & we might have won if Rowsey was even just below average (2/12 from the field, 6 points).

I get the problem with bad selfish Markus, but when he goes into God Mode, we generally win.

This, NBA Jam mode Markus isn't the problem. The problem is when he thinks he's in NBA Jam mode but isn't.

[Class71]

Hope not. If he does we have bigger issues to address.

[Billy Hoyle]

Maravich is the guy who I have seen in my life who most reminds me of Markus. At the risk of showing my age, I saw him play a couple of times when I was in junior high school.

Maravich was a great shooter and ball-handler. But LSU had crappy teams around him and was coached by Press "Daddy" Maravich. Kinda like the McDermotts at Creighton on steroids.

LSU was reasonably good Maravich's senior season. Saw him play and beat Vanderbilt that year, at Memorial Gym no less. But I would hope we aspire to much, much more than LSU circa 1970!

Another LSU guy/gunner is a better comparison: Chris Jackson (a.k.a. Mahmoud Abdul Raouf)

[Jockey]

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that almost 1/3 of people here think Markus will score 60 points in a game this year.

A high major player has done that exactly 4 times in the last 30 years. All were done by a player on a terrible team.

IF Markus scores 60 points in a game, there is little chance this team will even win 10 games.

[brewcity77]

IF Markus scores 60 points in a game, there is little chance this team will even win 10 games.

That's a really ridiculous level of pretending correlation is the same thing as causation.

[Jockey]

That's a really ridiculous level of pretending correlation is the same thing as causation.

Maybe.......

But yet, there is a ton of evidence that my statement is valid.

[MU82]

Another LSU guy/gunner is a better comparison: Chris Jackson (a.k.a. Mahmoud Abdul Raouf)

Agreed. Chris Jackson has been mentioned before here as a comparison to Markus, and it's a pretty darn good one.

Also agree with TAMU and others that Markus isn't a bad defensive player. He's never gonna be Defensive Player of the Year, but he does a pretty good job against most PGs or others his size, will step in to take a charge, etc.

Rowsey was one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. Totally disinterested in playing that side of the ball AND short AND not overly quick. A poor combination. It hurt our defense very much that we pretty much had to play a backcourt that had no chance against a tall, athletic guard.

[brewcity77]

Maybe.......

But yet, there is a ton of evidence that my statement is valid.

Not really. Marquette is 4-0 when Markus scores over 40. 60 is over 40, so we won't lose under those circumstances. There's just as much evidence of that as the 4 people that scored 60 in the past 30 years, and it's more recent data.

[Jockey]

Not really. Marquette is 4-0 when Markus scores over 40. 60 is over 40, so we won't lose under those circumstances. There's just as much evidence of that as the 4 people that scored 60 in the past 30 years, and it's more recent data.

Big difference between 40 and 60.

Hundreds of players have scored forty. Not many have scored 60. Almost all high major players who scored 60 were either all-time greats - Jabbar, Robertson, Maravich, Baylor, etc. - or played for awful teams. Neither situation covers Markus. He is good enough that he may average 25 again, but scoring 60 is a whole new ballgame.

I understand your argument and have no idea how you voted on whether Markus would score 60, but I would gladly put my money where my mouth is and bet anyone who wants to that he will not score 60 in a game this year.

[Lennys Tap]

Big difference between 40 and 60.

Hundreds of players have scored forty. Not many have scored 60. Almost all high major players who scored 60 were either all-time greats - Jabbar, Robertson, Maravich, Baylor, etc. - or played for awful teams. Neither situation covers Markus. He is good enough that he may average 25 again, but scoring 60 is a whole new ballgame.

I understand your argument and have no idea how you voted on whether Markus would score 60, but I would gladly put my money where my mouth is and bet anyone who wants to that he will not score 60 in a game this year.

True that Markus isn't an all time great player, but he is an elite scorer. And with the addition of the "3" a player with Markus's skills can hit 10 of them and turn an old 50 into today's 60.Plus, he draws fouls and almost never misses free throws. It's still not likely and I don't think it would be good for the team but IMO it's possible and wouldn't spell disaster.

[MU82]

I am coaching at the Charlotte Hornets youth camp this week, and at lunch today I asked a few of my fellow coaches: "Do any of you know who Markus Howard is?"

One guy said, "Yeah, he's that great shooter at Marquette, right? He's amazing."

Another guy, who didn't immediately recognize the name, said: "Oh yeah, he had 50-something in a game this year, right? I saw it on SportsCenter."

A couple others thought the name was familiar but didn't remember who he was. And when the first guy said the thing about Marquette, they still couldn't remember if they ever saw him play.

These were all 20-somethings, FWIW.

Not really trying to prove any point. Just thought some of y'all might find it interesting.

[brewcity77]

Big difference between 40 and 60.

That's not the point, though. Not of your contention that the team will be terrible if, on one single night, Howard scores 60.

If he does, there's a decent chance we win the game. And whether he does it not, that result won't impact the results of the rest of the season. That assertion is just trying to say anecdotal evidence is a hard and fast rule when none of those anecdotes are relevant.