MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former Kansas State All-American Markquis Nowell has signed a contract to play with the Houston Rockets, the organization announced late Tuesday night (Oct. 1).
Nowell signs with the Rockets after spending part of the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Raptors, which signed him to a two-way contract following the 2023 NBA Draft. He spent most of his first professional season with the Raptors’ G-League team, the Raptors 905, playing in just 13 games before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the 2023-24 season. He averaged 13.8 points on 40.7 percent shooting with 7.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 31.9 minutes per game.
The 5-foot-7, 160-pound point guard from Harlem, N.Y., won the 2023 Bob Cousy Point Guard Award and was named a Third Team All-American by The Associated Press, The Sporting News, NABC and USBWA. He averaged a team-best 17.6 points, 8.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 steals in 36.9 minutes per game en route to helping K-State to a 26-win season in 2022-23.
The school’s single-season leader in assists and steals, Nowell finished second nationally in assists/game (8.3 apg.), total assists (297) and total steals (92), while he ranked among the top 15 in 4 other categories. He finished his college career with a magical run through the NCAA Tournament in helping K-State advance to its 13th Elite Eight. He averaged 23.5 points, 13.5 assists and 4.0 steals during his 4-game NCAA Tournament run en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors for the NCAA East Regional.