NEW YORK CITY — There’s a mythic quality to New York City point guards and basketball in Madison Square Garden. You can roll your eyes at it if you don’t get it, but for those who believe in such things, it matters. It was the first question Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell was asked about in his press conference on the eve of the Sweet 16. He’s from here, and like many who have come before him he wears that hardwood identity on his sleeve (his Twitter account is @MrNewYorkCityy) after all. Tonight, Nowell wrote his own chapter in this building’s basketball lore with an all-time NCAA tournament performance in the Wildcats’ 98–93 overtime win.
First, there are his 19 assists, good for an NCAA tournament record. Only one Knicks player has ever had more in this building.
“This is probably my career high in assists ever,” Nowell said. “I had a couple games with 14, a couple games with 17 back in high school. But this one was special, in front of my hometown, in front of the city that loves me. I can't even put into words how blessed and grateful I am.”
