Markquis Nowell hopes to be next small Raptors guard to thrive
LAS VEGAS—It takes a special mentality for any basketball player to survive in the parks and schoolyards of New York City.
It takes even more of that unique mindset and toughness to become a notable point guard in the city that’s spawned so many over the decades.
To do it at five-foot-seven, to never take a step back and emerge as someone so highly respected, takes almost unimaginable confidence and extraordinary skill.
It is the story of Markquis Nowell.
“It just adds that grit and that toughness and I bring it everywhere that I’m at,” the Raptors rookie was saying during a chat at Summer League this week. “I just play with that chip on my shoulder but also have that humble approach that I’m not better than anybody.
“I’m proud to say I’m from New York City.”
After signing a two-way contract with the Raptors minutes after the NBA draft last month, Nowell is fighting long odds to become a regular.
Going undrafted is one thing. Not being guaranteed full NBA employment is another, and to be a 23-year-old rookie in an increasingly young league is something else. But being so small in a game where six-foot-nine point guards are getting close to the norm and every giant can handle the ball, make the passes and hit the shots is perhaps the biggest impediment.
Nowell will hear nothing of it, though. And Toronto fans who have watched relatively small guards such as Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Muggsy Bogues and Damon Stoudamire thrive should know to take Nowell at his word.
“They’re (people) I studied growing up, knowing that I wasn’t going to be a bigger guard,” he said of the likes of ex-Raptors Stoudamire and Bogues. “I kind of had to study them, study how they stood in the league, how they impacted the game at this level. Anyone I can learn from, I do.
“It’s instinct, it’s preparation, hard work, a ton of film study. It’s all of those things that I add into my game that’s behind the scenes, that allows me to be special on the court.”
In his first four Summer League games, Nowell showed a flair for ball-handling and passing, even if his shooting was suspect.
He knows, though, that Summer League is what it is.
“I didn’t really expect anything coming out of this,” he said halfway through Toronto’s 0-4 start in Vegas. “I just look at it as a journey, a stepping stone to making a career in the NBA.
“Many guys came through the Summer League, either did good or bad, but it never really made their career. It’s about how hard they work, how consistent they are and how much they demand out of themselves.”
Nowell does demand a lot of himself, and his confidence never wavers.
In a game against Detroit, he pump-faked a Pistons defender to get a wide-open three-pointer. After he let it fly and while the ball was in the air, he headed back down the court, seemingly celebrating the shot. It missed — badly, low and right — and Nowell was roasted on social media.
He struck back.
“We hold the Ls the same way we hold the Ws,” he posted on his Instagram account. “One day they laugh, the next day they praise God’s glory.”
Besides, the Raptors brass have watched Nowell long enough to be impressed by his substance more than his style. They see a gifted creator on the court, an experienced collegian with a high basketball IQ and they’ll figure out how to deal with his short stature.
“I came in, had a pretty good (pre-draft) workout … they liked my game, they watched me throughout the (NCAA) tournament before that,” he said. “They could see what kind of basketball IQ I had, and how special a player I am.”
It began on the streets of New York, a breeding ground that’s turned out some tremendous point guards Nowell knew all about growing up.
“Kemba Walker, Sebastian Telfair, Kenny Smith, Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland, you name it,” Nowell said, rattling off some legendary New York names.
“You have a different style of play than most players. You play with that flair, that passion and just fire.”
