NBA Draft: Five hidden gems in this year’s draft

NBA draft hidden gem No. 2: Markus Howard

Projected: Late Second Round – Undrafted

Markus Howard suffers from a height issue, and it’s completely accounted for his woeful draft stocks. Despite his height, Howard is undoubtedly one of the best All-Time scorers in NCAA history, and has potential to transfer that over to the NBA.

At 5’11” and at age 21, Howard has an elite scoring ability, very reminiscent of Damon Stoudamire. A high level scorer, Howard can take over the game at will, with a superb shooting and driving ability. At shooting guard, Howard is the definition of an undersized prospect, but he can get it done at all levels. Any team would easily capitalise on Howard, especially if he goes undrafted. At Marquette, Howard had some of the best all-time college games ever seen, with several scoring records under his name. So what’s the problem?

Much like Isaiah Thomas, his main issue is his height and his defense. His height has massive warning signs, considering the defensive environment is a different story in the NBA, he’ll get exposed more often than not. His defense could make Howard a liability on the court, and if not tinkered with, could result in his NBA career not being fulfilled properly. That shouldn’t necessarily be a massive problem, considering how our game is growing and rosters are getting more diverse by height.

We can only hope Markus Howard gets his chance in the NBA, however we’ll more than likely see him in the Summer League.