Markus Howard is shooting his way to stardom at Marquette

In numerous practices, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski runs the “Steph Curry drill,” where players hoist up as many three-pointers as they can until they miss. Markus Howard tends to hit at least 70 of them. The 5’11, 175-pound guard continues to showcase his long-range jumper two hours before games tip-off, knocking down threes from halfcourt with Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” blaring through his headphones.

“The (college) game has some really good shooters,” Golden Eagles associate coach Stan Johnson said. “I think Markus is right there, in terms of his accuracy, his ability to get it off with no space.”

Last season, the then-freshman finished first in Division I with a 54.7 percent clip from behind the arc, and scored 13.2 points per game. Although his three-point percentage has dipped 13 percent, he’s attempting 9.6 threes per game this season. Compare that to last year, when he attempted only 8.7 field goals per game.

Howard is producing 22.5 points per game as a result — good for No. 11 in the country — providing college basketball fans with a sizzling shooters to drool over for the first time since the days of the aforementioned Curry at Davidson and BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. But without Johnson’s help, the Chandler, Ariz. product would likely be playing for another program.

From 2013-15, Johnson was an assistant at Arizona State and led the charge in recruiting Howard since he was in eighth grade. Shortly before Howard committed to the team in Aug. 2014, Johnson said then-head coach Herb Sendek and the rest of the staff met with him and his parents, promising them that they wouldn’t bring in another point guard in the recruiting class immediately before him.

Pairing that statement with Johnson and Howard’s already sturdy relationship netted the Sun Devils the four-star recruit for the time being. However, with Sendek’s eventual firing on the horizon in March 2015, Howard decommitted from the program. Once Johnson subsequently departed for Marquette, the two reconnected for an opportunity to be paired together once again.

“I really consider Johnson like family,” Howard said. “I trusted him, knowing what he was telling me about Marquette. It just made the transition really easy for me.”

Not only did the Findlay Prep product represent the top haul for coach Steve Wojciechowski in the Golden Eagles’ 2016 recruiting class, but he also reclassified from the class of 2017. Johnson said he and the rest of the Arizona State coaching staff began discussing that idea with him because of his maturity level.

Wojciechowski cited the 18-year-old’s now-leadership level as a plus, too, especially with six combined freshmen and redshirt freshmen on his roster.

“I have no choice but to be (mature),” Howard said. “We have a lot of young guys on the team, so I have to look after who I can and try to help them the best I can.”

Howard has progressed on the court in the same fashion, especially with opponents gravitating their game plans towards him more often this season. Yet, his off-ball movement has allowed him to still shoot a rock-solid 51 percent from the field, along with a 65.9 percent clip on two-point jumpers. He even hit a program-record 11 threes against Chicago State on Nov. 29.

“You can have him be one of the primary screeners and then be screened for because he can shoot on the catch, off the dribble, or on the move — you're allowed to be more creative with the offensive sets you run for him,” Wojciechowski said. “There's a necessity to that because there's so much attention he garners on the defensive end.”

In order to improve in that department, the sophomore said he studies Curry’s current screen-setting tactics, including his elusiveness on pindowns.

He credited his teammate Andrew Rowsey as well for his ability to feed him when he immediately finds an opening via a screen or in transition. The point guard is averaging 4.8 assists to go along with his 21.8 points per game.

“My goal when I set a screen is to knock the person's head off,” Howard said.

Johnson lauded Howard for his progression as a playmaker in the lane, increasing his assist-to-turnover from 1.15-to-1 as a freshman to 1.31-to-1. Wojciechowski said that’s because of his decision-making while coming off of screens.

His basketball prowess has evidently been noticed by the NCAA, as he was one of two student-athletes added to its oversight committee on Dec. 6. The group is mostly comprised of coaches and administrators from around the nation who attempt to improve regular and postseason games.

Since he has transformed into one of the most dominant shooters in the sport, hopefully Howard adds Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” to his pregame playlist.