Markus Howard's Draft Scouting Report: Pro Comparison, Updated Nuggets Roster
The Denver Nuggets must have been looking for scoring following Wednesday's 2020 NBA draft because they added one of the best college basketball had to offer this year when they signed Marquette guard Markus Howard as an undrafted free agent, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Bleacher Report Draft Expert Jonathan Wasserman's Scouting Report
Player: Markus Howard
Position: PG
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 180
Pro Comparison: Chris Clemons
Scouting Report: At 5'11", Markus Howard led the nation in scoring, mostly because of his lethal pull-up game. He'd have more fans if he provided more playmaking at his size, but it's worth finding out how far Howard's elite shot-making could take him.
Here is a look at how he could fit in with the rest of the roster:
Markus Howard, PG
Jamal Murray, PG: $33.9M (2025)
Nikola Jokic, C: $29.5M (2023)
Gary Harris, SG: $21M (2022)
Will Barton, SG: $13.3M (2022)
Michael Porter Jr., PF: $3.3M (2022)
Vlatko Cancar, SF: $1.4M (2022)
Monte Morris, PG: $1.6M (2021)
Keita Bates-Diop, SF: $1.3M (2021)
P.J. Dozier, PG: $1.2M (2022)
Bol Bol, C: (2021)
Zeke Nnaji, PF: Rookie scale contract (2024)
RJ Hampton, PG: Rookie scale contract (2024)
Paul Millsap, PF: UFA
Mason Plumlee, C: UFA
Jerami Grant, SF: Player option
Torrey Craig, SF: RFA
Noah Vonleh, PF: UFA
Tyler Cook, PF: UFA
Howard arrived at Marquette as a 4-star prospect in the class of 2016, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and built one of the best resumes in Big East history during his four years at the school. He won the Big East Player of the Year and was a two-time consensus All-American, three-time All-Big East selection and Big East All-Freshman selection.
The 21-year-old was an elite scorer who averaged 13.2 points per game as a freshman and built on that every season with 20.4 points per game as a sophomore, 25.0 points per game as a junior and 27.8 points per game as a senior.
While Howard was a high-volume shooter, he put up those numbers at a fairly efficient clip thanks in large part to his career 42.7 percent shooting mark from three-point range and tendency to get to the free-throw line. He shot 8.6 free throws per game during his senior season.
All that scoring over the course of four years naturally led to record-breaking efforts.
In a February loss to Villanova, he became the Big East's all-time leading scorer in league games with 1,408 points. He also broke Jerel McNeal's all-time career Marquette scoring record of 1,985 points, surpassing the total in the first game of his final season.
Despite the high-scoring totals, Howard was not seen as a surefire pick leading up to the draft.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman did not include him in the first round of a mock draft in October, and Howard passed on the opportunity to enter the 2019 NBA draft after his junior season.
Still, he could find a significant role in Denver's rotation, especially in today's game that is largely predicated on pace-and-space and outside shooting.
There are few better places for sharp-shooters who can take advantage of open space to go than the Nuggets. Look for Howard to take full advantage of the open looks playing alongside Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic creates.
He is also someone who can run the offense with the second unit while Murray is on the bench.
