How Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell found stardom together as K-State teammates
Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell have only been teammates for a short time, but it doesn’t seem that way when they are making dazzling plays for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Watch Johnson and Nowell in any game and they appear so in sync that it’s easy to assume they grew up playing the sport together in the same neighborhood.
They fit like a pair of jigsaw pieces in a puzzle.
Nowell is a 5-foot-8 senior point guard from New York who drains three-pointers from long range and sends out assists at a higher rate than all but two players nationally. He transferred to K-State for two seasons after starting out at Arkansas-Little Rock. Johnson is a 6-foot-6 senior from Norfolk, Virginia who scores from everywhere and grabs rebounds at an impressive rate. He began his career at Florida and then took a detour to K-State for his final season of college hoops following a well-publicized health scare with the Gators.
Somehow, those differing backgrounds, body types and talents put them on converging paths to stardom.
Both of them made the All-Big 12 first team this season, becoming the first K-State duo to accomplish the feat since 2019. Both of them have hit game-winning shots for the Wildcats. And nothing makes the fans at Bramlage Coliseum scream louder than when they connect for a lob dunk.
Not many people envisioned these two players leading the Wildcats to one of their best seasons in recent memory. But maybe they would have if the long conversation that Johnson and Nowell shared during Johnson’s recruiting visit last summer been aired live on national TV.
“We sat in his car and talked for 30 or 40 minutes,” Johnson said. “We just talked about his vision. I was trying to see what he wanted to use this year as and how he wanted to improve. He was telling me everything like win Big 12 Player of the Year and average 10 assists, all that stuff that makes you a great point guard.”
They didn’t get into exact details, but it was then during that conversation that the seeds for things like 23 wins, a third-place finish in the Big 12 standings and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament were born.
A dynamic duo was about to form.
“Because of the type of people they are, I felt like they would be great teammates,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said. “Away from basketball, they both have caring hearts and everyone around them can see it. With Keyontae, when we did our research on him, everyone talked about how terrific of a human being he was and how his teammates loved him.
“Being the star the way he is and the talent he has, for all your teammates to like you and enjoy being around you means you don’t think of yourself too highly. Markquis is the same way. He understood he needed help here and was willing to work to get him here during the recruiting process. They are both just great human beings.”
Big things were on the horizon ... if K-State could convince Johnson to commit.
Nowell knew how important Johnson could be to the Wildcats, so he turned into a recruiter to get him on the roster. Nowell hosted Johnson during his trip to Manhattan. Rather than show him around Aggieville or other popular spots in town he took Johnson to Tang’s house for dinner and then kept the focus on basketball.
When they were done talking in Nowell’s car, they went straight to the gym.
It was obvious they had chemistry almost immediately.
“I knew right away,” Nowell said. “I saw his highlights and I knew him from the start of his career. I just knew if we had him we could be something special. I talked to him about my goals and wanting to win right away and wanting to go to the NBA. He had similar dreams and visions, so we clicked right away.”
They both felt like Johnson could be the final cog in a winning K-State machine and Johnson pledged his future to the Wildcats.
“He could shoot and he was a fast point guard,” Johnson said. “I was just thinking, if I come to this team that is somebody I can pass to and know he was going to score. I could trust him.”
Their relationship grew like a bamboo tree as soon as they officially became teammates.
“We both have a high basketball IQ and we have a great feel for the game,” Nowell said. “He is a professional scorer and I like to pass and assist and get my teammates the ball. After a couple days of practices I could see his game. I could tell that he was good. I just tried to feed off that and make all my teammates better.”
K-State became a NCAA Tournament contender the second Johnson and Nowell became teammates, even though the Wildcats were picked to finish last in the Big 12.
With Nowell (16.8 points, 7.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds) making shots from deep and facilitating like a quarterback, the Wildcats had one of the best guards in the country. With Johnson (17.7 points, 7 rebounds) scoring at an incredibly consistent rate, the Wildcats also had one of the best forwards in the nation.
Together, they delivered some truly extraordinary performances. Who can forget the time they combined for 64 points during a 116-103 victory over Texas? Fans will always remember when they followed that up with a combined 56 points in a win over Baylor. Their lob dunks in the final minute against Oklahoma State and Kansas have become immortal highlights.
They have done great things together even though they have only been teammates for less for a few months.
It almost feels like they spoke this season into existence when they mapped out their future together less than a calendar year ago.
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 6:30 AM with the headline "How Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell found stardom together as K-State teammates."