K-State Q&A: Can Markquis Nowell make NBA roster? Why did Ismael Massoud transfer?
Kansas State’s time in the NCAA Tournament has come to an end, but that doesn’t mean we’re done talking about Markquis Nowell.
The departing senior point guard did so many incredible things during March Madness that people are beginning to ask two pretty important questions about him. First off, will his jersey one day hang from the rafters inside Bramlage Coliseum? Secondly, is he good enough to play in the NBA?
My answer to both of those questions would have been “no” at about this time last month. But times have changed.
I now think he is a slam-dunk choice for jersey retirement. K-State has fallen woefully behind in terms of jersey ceremonies. As soon as the stars align for Jacob Pullen to return for his big day, I expect the Wildcats to open the floodgates and start honoring other former players. Michael Beasley probably deserves to be next, followed by Barry Brown and Dean Wade. After that, why not Nowell?
There is no strict criteria for jersey retirements at K-State, and his accomplishments stack up well with other candidates. He was a first-team All-Big 12 player. He earned third-team All-America honors. He led K-State to an Elite Eight and broke the record for assists in a tournament game while there. Jerome Tang wants his jersey to be immortalized.
I think it happens.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Keyontae Johnson is worthy of the same treatment. Tang could certainly make a compelling argument for him, but I would say he’s a step below the group listed above and probably in line behind guys like Steve Henson, Rodney McGruder and Wesley Iwundu.
As for Question No. 2: I think Nowell has turned himself into a NBA prospect. The folks over at nbadraft.net have him listed in their top 100. I also overheard some scouts in New York having a spirited debate about Nowell. Even though his size (5-foot-8) will be an obstacle, their consensus was that someone needed to give him a chance.
It might be a challenge for him to get drafted, but I won’t be surprised at all if he catches on with a Summer League team and plays his way onto a roster. If not, the G-League will be an option or he could head overseas. He will be a professional making good money somewhere next year.
Now, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
When news began to spread that Ismael Massoud planned to transfer, some K-State basketball fans were shocked by his decision. Others saw it coming.
On the surface, it does seem surprising that Massoud would prefer to play elsewhere next season after his heroics in the NCAA Tournament. Without him draining a deep three-pointer against Kentucky and then scoring 15 points against Michigan State the Wildcats may not have advanced beyond the Round of 32 in March Madness.
But there is a reason why Massoud said he wanted to consider his options immediately after K-State bowed out of the Big Dance against Florida Atlantic.
If he wants to be the alpha dog for a team (or even a starter) next season, it makes sense that he will transfer.
If he wants to play closer to his home of New York now that his good friend Markquis Nowell has exhausted his college eligibility, it makes sense that he will transfer.
If he simply wants to try something new after earning his degree from K-State, it makes sense that he will transfer.
Spectacular as Massoud was at times this season as a shooter, he only averaged 5.1 points in 18.1 minutes per game. His defense was far from spectacular, which made it hard for Jerome Tang and his coaching staff to use him all the time.
Massoud was an important role player on this team, but he didn’t make a single start.
There was no bad blood between Massoud and Tang. Both wished each other well on social media.
Still, it was difficult to see Massoud’s role growing all that much next season.
Next year, Massoud would have had to compete for minutes against Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich. David N’Guessan, Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Jerrell Colbert are also expected back in the frontcourt. The odds of Massoud suddenly jumping to 35 minutes per game seemed unlikely.
Before he arrived at K-State, Massoud scored 31 points in a game for Wake Forest. He always told me that his natural position was the three. Not power forward or center. Maybe this gives him an opportunity to finally play there.
It will be interesting to see where he transfers. My guess is he will look to find a team on the East Coast that is looking for a sharpshooter to add to its starting lineup. He is an offensive weapon.
I won’t be surprised if one more player decides to transfer.
But there won’t be a mass exodus. For the most part, everyone is happy in the K-State locker room coming off a dream season that ended in the Elite Eight. Players are looking for reasons to stay rather than to go.
Tang has three open scholarships to work with, and that seems like a good number.
My guess is he uses those scholarships on incoming transfers, and we should know who the new arrivals are at some point this spring. He will be looking for a point guard, a wing with scoring upside and a center.
A few of Kansas State’s nonconference opponents are already known for the 2023-24 season.
The Wildcats will play California and Nebraska inside Bramlage Coliseum. They will play Wichita State on the road. And they will play in a Bahamas tournament alongside Miami, Providence and a to-be-announced team in November.
I would expect another solid opponent to pop up on the schedule for a game at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. It remains to be seen how the Wildcats will look to replace the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
E-MAIL QUESTION: With all of the feel-good stories and positive experiences that come out of the NCAA tourney, you succeeded in picking out the one real downer. Can’t figure out your reason for printing that piece of negativity! - Ken M.
This question is in response to my story on Florida Atlantic center Vlad Goldin leading the Owls past K-State with 14 points and 13 rebounds after Nae’Qwan Tomlin refused to shake hands with him during pregame introductions.
I got a few responses similar to this, and I am happy to explain why I thought the snub was worth writing about.
But before I get into that I want to point out that it was but one of eight stories our team wrote about that game. I posted six stories after the final buzzer sounded:
- I had my normal takeaways from the action
- How Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell hoped they would be remembered
- Foul trouble slowed Johnson and the Wildcats
- Why Markquis Nowell passed up an opportunity to take the final shot
- Vahe Gregorian had a great column about Jerome Tang uplifting his team and congratulating FAU
- Taylor Eldridge wrote a feature about Desi Sills
- And I looked ahead to next season
To suggest the only thing we wrote from that game was one negative story is simply not true. We wanted to cover every angle of the action, and I felt the way Goldin played was one of them.
I would also argue the story was not negative. It was just an explanation of what happened.
We were sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden, so I saw the whole handshake snub up close. Tomlin ignored Goldin at midcourt and Goldin looked very annoyed about it. Then he created all kinds of problems for the Wildcats as the Owls outrebounded them 44-22 and he had a double-double.
Did the handshake snub fire him up? Was Goldin playing with extra motivation? It seemed like a psychological tactic gone wrong from Tomlin. I found the whole thing interesting and tracked down Goldin after the game to ask him about it. I wanted to do the same with Tomlin but he ducked into the showers and didn’t speak with media in the K-State locker room.
Had Tomlin gotten the best of Goldin and the Wildcats won, I was prepared to write about how the handshake snub worked out in Tomlin’s favor. But the opposite occurred, so I wrote about that instead.
I don’t think anyone should think poorly of Tomlin. He’s a nice person and an excellent basketball player. But if you’re going to disrespect your opponent in the pregame handshake line you can’t let him go on to dominate the game. That’s why I think it was worthy of a story.
Things could always change, but the last time I asked about lavender showing up on football uniforms I was told it wasn’t going to happen.
K-State views lavender as a men’s basketball color, only.
Too bad, because it would make for a nice accent on football jerseys.
Maybe we should start referring to K-State as Heart Over Height U.
Manhattan has certainly been a safe haven for undersized athletes over the years. Darren Sproles was a Hall of Fame running back for the Wildcats. Deuce Vaughn was electric every time he touched the ball. Markquis Nowell owns the single-game record for assists in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s a good thing.
Shorter running backs are starting to have lots of success on the field, because people have finally realized that it’s harder to tackle a small target than a big target.
I won’t argue that it’s an advantage on the basketball court. But Tang shouldn’t have any trouble recruiting the next undersized point guard he likes.
I don’t know if my Best Bets are hotter than anything going on in Kansas State sports right now. Gene Taylor is AD of the year for good reason, and I’m yet to receive my first award for gambling picks.
But I sure hope you took my advice and backed Connecticut (20 to 1) to win the NCAA Tournament three weeks ago. I also hope you followed my suggestion to throw a few bucks at San Diego State (80-to-1) as the best long shot in the field.
After betting on both the Aztecs and the Huskies I was able to make some small wagers on Florida Atlantic and Miami this week to guarantee a nice profit no matter what happens at the Final Four.
UConn is still my pick to win it all, though. Did you know the Huskies are ranked No. 1 by Bart Torvik and Ken Pomeroy? They are a No. 4 seed in name only.
This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 6:30 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Can Markquis Nowell make NBA roster? Why did Ismael Massoud transfer?."