Former Kansas State All-American Marquis Nowell has signed a contract to play with the Houston Rockets, the organization announced late Tuesday night.
Nowell signed with the Rockets after spending part of the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Raptors and was given a two-way contract after the 2023 NBA Draft. He spent most of his first professional season with the Raptors’ G League team, Raptors 905, appearing in just 13 games before being sidelined by injury for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. He averaged 13.8 points on 40.7% shooting, 7.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 31.9 minutes per game.
The 5-foot-7, 160-pound point guard from Harlem, New York, won the 2023 Bob Cousy Point Guard Award and was named a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press, Sporting News, NABC and USBWA. . He averaged a team-best 17.6 points, 8.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 steals in 36.9 minutes per game, helping K-State win 26 games in 2022-23.
Norwell, the school’s single-season leader in assists and steals, ranks second nationally in assists (8.3 average), total assists (297) and total steals (92) per game, and ranks second in four other categories. entered the top 15. He finished his collegiate career with a magical run through the NCAA Tournament, helping K-State reach its 13th Elite Eight. He averaged 23.5 points, 13.5 assists, and 4.0 steals in four NCAA tournament games, earning him the NCAA East Most Valuable Player award.
Nowell and the Rockets will open the season on Monday, October 7th with a preseason game against the Utah Jazz. The regular season begins on Wednesday, October 23rd with a home game against former teammate Keyontae Johnson and the Charlotte Hornets.