Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Showing some fancy footwork

Howard perfects step-back jumper

- Ben Steele

Defenders have so much to worry about when guarding Marquette’s Markus Howard.

The junior guard’s bag of offensive tricks is seemingly bottomless. He has the capacity to make foes look foolish.

Howard also has perfected the ultimate finishing move. If he senses his defender’s momentum committed to one direction, Howard will slam on the brakes and seamlessly take a step backward into his shooting motion.

With apologies to the gravity-defying dunks of Duke’s physical marvel Zion Williamson, Howard’s step-back jumper might be the most lethal shot in college basketball.

“It’s always been something I’ve kind of had in my game,” Howard said. “Defenses, they’re starting to adjust on how I’m playing, so I have to do different things.”

Standing just 5-foot-11, Howard is forced to be creative when trying to find ways to score. He’s averaging 25.6 points per game for the Golden Eagles

(21-4, 10-2 Big East).

“I think it was something he learned because he wasn’t the biggest guy,” MU coach Steve Wojciechow­ski said. “He wasn’t going to shoot it over people.

“So when you’re being guarded closely, you have to figure out ways of creating space and that step-back is a great way for him to do it.”

The shot looks easy for Howard, but the move is the product of countless hours spent practicing it.

Howard’s oldest brother, Desmond, is a skills trainer who pushes his siblings hard during summers in the family’s home state of Arizona.

The middle brother, Jordan, is averaging 12.1 points per game in his first season with the Raptors 905 in the NBA G League.

“It takes years and years of practice and reps,” Desmond Howard said. “And people don’t understand that. He’s worked for everything that he's gotten.

“Two workouts a day with me, plus a shooting workout. Then he does core. Then he works out with his brother, then he’s with my dad for strength and conditioni­ng, stretching. It’s no joke.”

Howard’s footwork on the step-back jumper is impressive. He can get the shot off going in either direction. Unlike the Houston Rockets’ James Harden, Howard’s movements aren’t roundly criticized as traveling.

“It’s all about the repetition and practice that goes into it,” Desmond Howard said. “Because he does practice the footwork over and over and over. And if I see him travel, I’ll let him know and we’ll correct it.”

The move also works because it is just one part of a diverse offensive skillset. Defenders have to account for Howard's deep range and his array of shot attempts around the rim.

“It’s whatever the defense shows me,” Howard said. “If it’s open there, then I use it. If not, then I try to be as versatile as I can.”

MU junior guard Sacar Anim has played with Howard for three seasons. Anim has guarded Howard in practice and in late-night games of one-on-one at the Al McGuire Center, so he’s wellacquai­nted with his teammate’s moves and counter-moves.

“He works at it,” Anim said. “You never know what he’s going to do with that step-back.”

Wojciechow­ski, who was the 1998 national defensive player of the year as a guard at Duke, didn’t want to think about defending against that move.

“You could be a lot more physical when I played,” Wojciechow­ski said. “I’d foul out in probably about 90 seconds in this day and age.”

Many opposing centers have had the unfortunat­e experience of getting switched onto Howard after a pick-androll late in the shot clock.

Howard then expertly sets them up to be knocked down by that step-back.

“This year, I have seen so many more people fall on the ground then I have before,” Desmond Howard said.

Anim knows the deflating feeling of getting hit with that move.

“It’s definitely tough to guard,” he said. “Man, I don’t know how other teams do it for 40 minutes.”

 ?? HANISCH / USA TODAY SPORTS JEFF ?? Marquette guard Markus Howard is averaging 25.6 points per game.
HANISCH / USA TODAY SPORTS JEFF Marquette guard Markus Howard is averaging 25.6 points per game.

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