Bruce Weber Gives Shout Out to Markquis Nowell
Bruce Weber coached Markquis Nowell for a year before resigning at Kansas State, so he knows Nowell quite well. And in light of that, Weber reached out to his former player Sunday to congratulate him on a tremendous run in the NCAA Tournament.
“Special tournament for a special player, @MrNewYorkCityy,” Weber started in a tweet. “Hold your head up high for making your home town and @KState very proud!”
Indeed, it truly was a special tournament for Nowell. Prior to the third-seeded Wildcats’ exit in the Elite Eight against No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic, he became the first player to eclipse the 50-assist mark in the Big Dance since Illinois’ Deron Williams in 2005. Two days earlier, Nowell set the NCAA Tournament single-game assist record with 19 dimes in a victory over seventh-seeded Michigan State.
“What allows him to be such a great passer, it’s his confidence,” raved head coach Jerome Tang about his point guard. “He has great vision, but he also has this confidence. Kind of like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, they think they can like thread that ball through anywhere. And he really feels like he can get it there, so he has this great precision, this great confidence and vision that he was blessed with.”
“The smile on my face, we talk about winning in interviews all the time,” Tang continued. “And to talk about your why, whether it’s your family, your faith, whatever it is, talk about your why, then it’s about your teammates. And then finally, then talk about yourself or how you were able to contribute to what happened in that game.
“He went in order. He talked about his why, and then he talked about his teammates, and it’s just really cool to see guys grow and develop in that aspect.”
Nowell’s greatness will obviously be missed at Kansas State. But his impact has been felt.
