Michigan State's Tyson Walker, K-State's Markquis Nowell set for NYC high school rematch in Sweet 16

With Michigan State and Kansas State traveling to New York City to play each other in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, New York natives on both sides – like Michigan State’s Tyson Walker and Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell – had a chance to reflect on their small-world relationships with each other. 

“I do remember playing Tyson,” Nowell said. “He went to Christ the King High School with Jose Alvarado. I grew up playing in parks with him. I just want to give a big shout out to New York City for breeding tough and gritty guards. And I want to give him a shout out. We are rivals but we grew up playing against each other. When we step on the court it’s going to be nothing but competition, but now that I’m here I just want to congratulate him on where he came from and how he got better. Now we’re both on this stage. It’s going to be a tough game, it’s going to be a blessing, but shout out to him.

“I feel like we have similar journeys. He grew up with a similar background like me. We just worked hard, we eliminated all distractions and we put basketball first and that’s why you get to see Tyson at Michigan State, you get to see Jose Alvardo in the NBA. Not a lot of people get to make it where we come from, and that’s why I wanted to shout him out for making it to this stage.”

While Walker is excited to face Nowell again, playing against people from his high school days is nothing new to him. He said he’s most looking forward to performing on the Sweet 16 stage in Madison Square Garden. 

Outside of the game and his rematch with Nowell, Walker is looking forward to seeing family and friends from back home. That, and one other thing. 

“I’m trying to go home and see my dog,” Walker said. “That’s about it.”

Nowell is looking forward to being the player that disrupts the Spartans’ track record of locking down talented lead guards in this year’s tournament. In its two prior tournament games, Michigan State limited USC’s Boogie Ellis to six points on 25 percent shooting and Marquette’s Tyler Kolek to seven points on 25 percent shooting. 

“I determine how the game is going to go,” Nowell said. “I’m not really focused on what they did in the past versus other good point guards. I played in the toughest league in the country, which is the Big 12. You have all types of Hall of Fame coaches that scouted me and tried to stop me, so I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. I feel like this game is going to be the Kansas State Wildcats versus Michigan State and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win the basketball game.”

Since transferring from mid-major programs to their new schools for the 2021-22 season, Walker and Nowell have both grown into confident go-to guards at the Power Five level. 

Walker transferred to Michigan State from Northeastern, while Nowell transferred to Kansas State from Arkansas-Little Rock. 

While Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he doesn’t recruit enough in New York to know for sure if it’s the city that helped make Walker the dependable player and person that he is today, Izzo said that Walker “gives him a lot of reasons” to recruit the area more often. 

“He’s not from the heart of the city, but he does have that swagger about him,” Izzo said of Walker, who grew up in Westbury, NY, which is on Long Island. “I think sometimes the New York swagger is a very cocky swagger, and sometimes that’s good. He’s kind of had the happy medium. He’s got enough cockiness to be confident, and yet he’s an unbelievable kid. At his size, he wants to guard you, but he also wants to take big shots. He’s the best two-way player I’ve had probably since Gary (Harris), where he can do it on both ends. And that’s so valuable to a team, and it’s so good to be able to tell other scorers that he can get you 30 on some nights and he can shut down the other players.

“He’s been an unbelievable kid. I think he was humble. He came from Northeastern. He’s appreciative. He gave one of the all-time great speeches after we got beat by Duke on just how appreciative he was to be able to be on those kinds of stages. And then this year the stage is even bigger because it’s Madison Square Garden. It’s his home grounds, and it is the Sweet 16. It’s been fun to watch him grow, and hopefully he’ll play well. I don’t think he’ll be nervous. Got me my pizza last night. I’m looking for the cab ride today.”

What Izzo does know is that Walker plays with an edge, one that Izzo appreciates himself. 

“I think that chip on your shoulder is really good,” Izzo said. “I’ve still got a chip on my shoulder because of where I came from. And I think too many times those chips are taken off these kids when they’re 10, 11, 12 years old and they’re changing AAU teams and high schools and junior highs and whatever else they do. He (Walker) spoke highly of the place he was at. He spoke well of the coach. He just did all the things that I would appreciate anyway.

“When we got to know him (Walker) and his family, he’s a hell of a kid, he’s a good student, he does things the right way. He hangs his hat on his defense. It’s almost un-American and illegal now, but he does it and he’s proud of it. You’ve just got to love a kid like that.

“But he works. I think he’s hungry, too. I think some guys that are at this level all the time are transferring from this level, there’s too much entitlement. He’s not entitled. I absolutely love that about him. He wasn’t entitled at all, and if you could have heard his speech after the Duke game, it was kind of about that.”

For a player that’s grown as much as Walker has since he first enrolled at Michigan State, he remains a reserved personality outside of the time spent with his team. But Izzo knows how much this moment, on this stage, means to the New York native. 

“He was excited,” Izzo said. “He’s kind of a reserved kid. He gets excited. He gets angry sometimes, but he’s a pretty reserved guy. I just know it meant a lot to him. I know it meant a lot to his family. What a great experience, to play Duke in Mike (Krzyzewski)’s last season, and then play against Kansas State in his home ground in arguably the greatest arena in the world. Pretty cool. Pretty cool for him.”