No basketball prospect in the state of Arizona has burst onto the high school basketball community faster and harder than Perry High School's 5-foot-10, 160-pound rising sophomore guard and phenom prospect Markus Howard. Not since Jerryd Bayless (Memphis Grizzlies-NBA), has a freshman prospect had more of an impact at the varsity level in his first season. In fact, I have not seen a player as skilled as Howard at such an early age. While not as imposing an athletic talent as Bayless yet, Howard is more skilled at the same point in his young career.
Howard came out firing this past high school season - leading his team to a strong 26-6 overall record on the season, and a Division-I state semi-final playoffs berth. Howard, alongside his brother Jordan Howard (Central Arkansas signee), would lead Perry to a highly successful season. Markus would average an impressive 23 points, 2.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per/game. Markus was unguardable at times this high school season, as he went on numerous scoring outbursts against much older competition.
As a result of Howard's early success this high school season, he was selected by the Arizona Republic newspaper as a First-Team All-State selection. Howard has become a household name among basketball enthusiasts in the state, and he is now in high demand.
Howard is already being sought after by many high-major division-I college coaches around the country. Howard already has one division-I offer on the table from Arizona State. He also is receiving strong interest from Kansas, Florida, Arizona, Oregon, USC and UCLA.
Howard plays the game with extreme confidence everytime he steps onto the floor, and has the belief that he is the best player on the floor at all times - regardless of the age of competition. He has the “It Factor,” and he has very fun to watch play.
The future looks to be extremely bright for Howard who is beginning to gain national attention and should rank among the elite prospects in the country throughout his high school career in the 2017 class. Howard is also coming off a strong showing this spring and summer, where he did exactly the same thing on the club circuit as he did to the state of Arizona this past high school season. Howard competed at the 17U level with his club team, Arizona Power Black.
Howard is also the product of a strong basketball family. His brothers, Jordan Howard and his oldest brother, Desmond Howard, both will have played college basketball. His father Chuck Howard is a basketball trainer and also the Strength and Conditioning coach for the Grand Canyon University basketball program, while also operating Grand Canyon’s Recreation Center. His mother, Noemi Howard, also works at the school – managing the school’s Rex Center.
Look for Markus Howard to continue to ravage the Arizona high school basketball scene over his next three years of high school varsity basketball, and continue to generate a buzz amongst college coaches around the country - with each program looking to land this superb performer.
