The most recent player on the "40 For 40" list, Markus Howard enters his senior season as one of the most prolific scorers in Big East history.

Growing up in the Phoenix suburbs, Howard had committed to Arizona State as a high school freshman in 2014, but decommitted a year later as the state's leading scorer, averaging 32 points a game. He transferred to Las Vegas Findlay Prep, where he played just one season, graduated a year early, and committed to Marquette in 2016.

Howard's impact on the Warriors was immediate. He started 27 of 31 games, averaging 50 percent from the field and 54 percent from three point range en route to an All-Big East Freshman team nomination following a team-best 13.2 points per game average. Over a three year period with considerable turnover on the Marquette roster, Howard has been the steady performer and an eye-opener in any game where he is a part of. As a sophomore, he averaged 20.5 points a game, setting a school record with a 52 point effort against Providence and 11 three pointers in a win over Chicago State. His 694 points as a sophomore was just behind the record set by Dwayne Wade in 2003, but this was only good for second on the 2017-18 team as senior Andrew Rowsey narrowly edged Howard for the team scoring title. With the 5-11 Rowsey having gone undrafted by the NBA, the 2018-19 backcourt was left to Howard, and he made the most of it.

Veteran Marquette columnist John Dodds said it as well as anyone: "It's a privilege to watch this guy play basketball from my favorite college team," adding "I had not said that since 2003 when it was in reference to [Dwayne] Wade." Howard was the glue that kept the inconsistent Warriors on track for the NCAA's, with a number of superlative performances that earned him second team All-America recognition as a junior.

"I don't think people understand that Markus is one of the great scorers to ever play in college basketball," said Marquette assistant Stan Johnson to 247Sports in July 2019, and Howard's junior season was a revelation to many. He scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games, with two of the three due to in-game injuries. He scored 30 or more points in six of 16 Big East conference games and nine games overall, setting a Big East record with a 53 point barrage on Creighton, thanks to 10 three pointers and a 13 for 15 effort at the foul line--no surprise for the Big East's leader in free throws and fourth all time in conference history at the foul line. Howard also scored 45 on Kansas State and 38 on Villanova en route to a 25.0 points per game average, good for fifth nationally and earning him Big East Player Of The Year Honors in 2019.

"He's like a video game," said ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg. "He makes tough, tough shots, doesn't need a lot of room."

"And here's the thing, he's doing it at as a 19-year old. He's doing this as a 19-year-old junior."

Howard completed his college career as the leading scorer in the nation as a senior, the all-time leading scorer in Big East history, the highest per season average in Big East history, 68 career games of 20 or more points, 33 with 30 or more, seven of 40 or more and three 50 point games, adding up to the 7th most points scored in NCAA history. A consensus All-America selection in 2020, Howard was left undrafted by the NBA owing to his size, and played 68 games over a two year career with the Denver Nuggets.