John Calipari calls, apologizes to Kansas State's Markquis Nowell for calling him 'little guy' after loss

Kentucky and Kansas State battled in one of the more competitive matchups of the NCAA Tournament’s second round on Sunday. It was the Wildcats in purple that came out on top over UK as sub-six-foot KSU point guard Markquis Nowell led the way for his Wildcats and made a number of huge shots down the stretch to help secure the win.

After the game, Kentucky head coach John Calipari admitted his team simply couldn’t stop Nowell, referring to him as the “little guy” for Kansas State. Once those comments from Coach Cal were shared online, one KSU assistant found them and tweeted out the following shot at the Kentucky head coach:

“U done this for a long time and one of the best on the mic. Never (seen) you refer to a great player as little kid! Put some respect on (Markquis Nowell) you know he could play for you too! Say his name!”

However, as of Tuesday, Jeff Goodman reports that Calipari has called Nowell and apologized for calling him the “little guy.” He tweeted:

“Been told that Kentucky’s John Calipari called Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell and apologized for calling him ‘Little Guy’ after Nowell went for 27 points and 8 assists and led K-State to a win over Kentucky.”

Nowell himself also confirmed that news and tweeted this on Tuesday:

“Just Spoke To Coach Cal We Are Good!!”

Whether Nowell likes the nickname from Calipari or not, it is a truthful moniker, because he sure is small at just 5-foot-7. But that hasn’t stopped the hooper from Harlem. Nowell began his collegiate career at Arkansas Little Rock, where he immediately stepped in as the team’s primary point guard. He held that role for three seasons with the Trojans but left for Kansas State ahead of the 2022 year.

In 2022, Nowell was one of the team’s top guards and formed a formidable backcourt alongside sharpshooter Nijel Pack. After a coaching chance in his first offseason with the Wildcats, Nowell stuck around while most others high-tailed their way out of Manhattan, including Pack, who’s still alive in the Big Dance as well at Miami.

Alas, a year later and Nowell is leading the new era of K-State hoops alongside Jerome Tang, and they’re already reaching rare heights. Markquis Nowell may be a little guy, but he’s going to leave KSU having had a truly enormous impact on the program.