STRENGTHS

Shooting - Lights out at 55% from 3 on 5 attempts per game
Quickness - Routinely beats defenders off of the dribble
Pick & Roll - Good change of pace in P&R - understands his deadly off the dribble and the defense has to respect his nba range.
Ball handling - Very good handle- shifty ball handler, always starting and stopping to keep defenders off balance.
Craftiness - Plays the glass well - understands where the shot blockers are and uses reverse layups to counter

WEAKNESSES

Size - Undersized at 5’11” - will struggle defensively with bigger PGs looking to take advantage of him
Decision making - Picks up his dribble - often drives into tough spots causing tie ups or gets the ball stolen
Turnovers - He can get careless with his tunnel vision to the basket

Defense - Doesn't fight through screens or give maximum effort

Markus Howard had a great freshman campaign for the Marquette Golden Eagles where he put up 13.2 ppg, 2.3 apg and 2.2 reb per game. A good chunk of Howard’s points came from beyond the 3 point line where he was flat out one of the better shooters in the country. He shot an amazing 55% from 3 where more than half his attempts came from. He was lethal off the dribble and spotting up. Not only a shooter, Howard was great in pick and roll situations. His change of pace kept bigs off balance as they had to respect the pull up; from there Howard drove to the basket or was fouled. Howard showed the ability to split defenses and get into the paint for floaters. He’s also quick enough to beat his man off the dribble or with straight line drives. I was impressed with Howard’s ability to use his reverse layup to protect himself from the defense contesting his shots. With him only being 5’11,” it’s crucial that he has a certain level of craftiness around the rim.

While Howard was impressive, there are still areas of concern for scoring PG. To state the obvious, he’s only 5’11” and at the next level, guys his size can only do so much. It doesn’t help that he wasn’t a good defender in his lone season. He made little effort to fight over screens. Another concern is Howard’s ability to play point guard at the next level. His assist to turnover ratio was 1:1 and Howard often found himself in tough spots on the court. He has a bad habit of driving and picking up his dribble. Being at a height disadvantage, he turns the ball over due to traps. Sometimes he proves the baseline where draws a lot of attention but he doesn’t do this nearly enough. He has good vision off the dribble and should be the focal point of the offense next season, so we will should see an improvement in his playmaking. Lastly, I’d like to see Howard find a way to get to the foul line more often. He’s primarily a perimeter threat and teams will run him off the line. Two free throw attempts per game and poor free throw rate, Howard is an off night away from not being a factor.

JAMES BARLOWE - OCTOBER 1, 2017

SUMMARY

Here is a breakdown of Howard's possessions over the 2016-17 season