Wichita State Athletics

Career Summary:
Long, lean scoring machine played a key role on three NCAA tournament teams and one NIT semifinalist, while helping bridge the school’s transition to the American Athletic Conference… First team All-Missouri Valley Conference as a sophomore and second team All-AAC as a senior… The 13^th Shocker to score 1,500 career points (1,525)… 6-foot-8 forward earned the nickname “Gumby” – used his length and flexibility to fill to basket in a variety of ways, shooting over smaller defenders from the perimeter while finishing effectively around the rim. That size and quickness also allowed him to guard a variety of different players on defense… Unique combo of intensity of youthful exuberance… Stepped up as a leader and go-to scorer as a senior after three years in the shadow of All-American teammates like Landry Shamet, Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet…  In 2018-19, sank 84 of his 160 career three-pointers and averaged 18.2 points as the lone veteran on one of the least-experienced teams in Shocker history… Set a single-season school record for total minutes played (1,235) and finished in the top-five in free throws (160), three-pointers (84) and total points (672)… Helped guide the team to a remarkable turn-around. After an 8-11 start, they won 14 of their next 17 to reach the NIT semifinals in New York…  Missed the first 11 games of his junior year but returned to help a nationally-ranked Shocker team earn an AAC runner-up finish and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament… As a sophomore was leading scorer (11.5) and rebounder (5.7) on a 31-win Shocker team that swept the MVC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a win over Dayton… 2016 MVC Freshman of the Year while playing a supporting role to veteran All-Americans Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.
 
Individual Honors:
2x – All-Conference (2017 MVC 1^st Team, 2019 AAC 2^nd Team)
2x – NABC All-District (2017 District 16 1^st Team, 2019 District 25 2^nd Team)
2x – American Athletic Conference Player of the Week (Nov. 12, 2018 & Feb. 4, 2019)
4x – AAC Weekly Honor Roll
2019 – NIT All-Tournament Team
2019 – All-AAC Tournament Team
2019 – Wichita Eagle Team MVP*
2019 – Ralph Miller Captains Award*
2018 –Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team
2017 -- Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team
2017 -- Xavier McDaniel Rebounding Award*
2016 -- MVC Freshman of the Year
2016 -- MVC All-Freshman Team
2016 -- MVC All-Newcomer Team
2016 -- MVC All-Bench Team
4x -- WSU Varsity Letterman (2016, ‘17, ‘18, ‘19)
1,000-Point Club
* -- WSU postseason banquet honor

Team Success:
3x -- NCAA Tournament Qualifier (2016, ‘17, ‘18)
1x – NIT Semifinalist (2019)
2x -- MVC Regular Season Champion (2016, 17)
1x -- MVC Tournament Champion (2017)
   
2018-19 (Senior):

• Second Team All-AAC
• NABC Second Team All-District 25

• 2x AAC Player of the Week; 4x AAC Weekly Honor Roll
• AAC Top-10 in scoring (4^th, 18.2), FT percentage (6^th, .816) and three-pointers (8^th, 2.3).
• Scored at least eight points in every game and topped 20 points on 13 occasions.
• Posted the highest scoring average by a Shocker since 2000 (18.2).
• Leading scorer in 22 of the 37 games.
• Set a school records for total minutes played (1,235), breaking Randy Smithson’s 38-year old mark, and 3-point field goal attempts (246).
• Also finished high on the school’s single season charts with 84 3-pointers (tied for second), total points (3^rd, 672), field goal attempts (t-3^rd, 525) and free throws made (4^th, 160).
• Finished his career ranked among WSU’s all-time leaders in 3-point field goals (7^th, 160), free throws (8^th, 371), steals (12^th, 116), game played (12^th, 129), points (13^th, 1,525) and minutes (14^th, 3,199).
• Eighth player in Shocker history with combo of 500 rebounds and 100 steals.
• One of the nation's youngest seniors. Turned 21 in September, 2018.
• Worked out for a handful of NBA teams over the summer of 2018 but withdrew prior to the draft.
• Second Team Preseason All-AAC pick

 
Notable Performances:

• Averaged a team-high 17.3 points in four postseason games to make the All-NIT team.
• Became the 13^th Shocker top 1,500 points in the NIT quarterfinal win at Indiana (Mar. 26), finishing with 21 points on four three-pointers.
• Scored 20 points in the NIT first round win at Furman (Mar. 20) to give WSU its 20^th win of the season and coach Gregg Marshall his 500^th career victory.
• Made All-AAC Tournament team; averaged 22.3 points in three games and set a tourney record with 31 free throw makes on 33 attempts.
• Posted a double-double with a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds in the AAC quarterfinal upset over Temple (Mar. 15). His 12 free throws (on 13 attempts) tied the tournament’s single-game mark.
• Hit a three-pointer in 15-straight games from Dec. 15 through Feb. 17 -- one of the nine-longest streaks in school history. He hit multiple threes in 14 of the 15 games (40/105, .401).
• Scored 15 and 27 in back-to-back home wins over SMU (Jan. 30) and Tulsa (Feb. 2) to capture conference player of the week honors for the second time. In the latter he grabbed a career-high five offensive rebounds and scored putbacks on four of them.
• Posted the Marshall Era's second-longest double-figure scoring streak (17; Nov. 9-Jan. 26).
• Played all 45 minutes in an overtime loss to Temple (Jan. 6) becoming the first Shocker in 23 years to go wire-to-wire in a game and the first in 24 years to do it in an overtime contest.
• Topped 20 points in four-consecutive games against Temple (24), Houston (22), UCF (23) and Cincinnati (21) in early January. The last came in front of a national network audience on CBS.
• Scored 25 points against Oral Roberts (Dec. 19) and knocked down all 10 fouls shots.
• Joined WSU's 1,000-point club midway through the first half against Oklahoma in OKC (Dec. 8) when he sank a three-pointer.
• Averaged 22.7 points in three Charleston Classic games to make the all-tournament team. Scored 24 in a win over Appalachian State (Nov. 16) -- 15 of those came over the final six minutes to help WSU rally from a five-point deficit... Had 26 in the fifth-place game vs. Alabama (Nov. 18).
• 32 points and six three-point field goals (five of them in the second half) in a win over Providence (Nov. 6) at U.S. Naval Academy to earn his first AAC player of the week honor.

2017-18 (Junior):

• Averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds in 18.9 minutes.
• Appeared in 22 games with four starts.
• Sidelined 12 weeks by a stress fracture in his left foot and missed the first 11 games of the regular season.
• Returned for the non-conference finale against Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 22 but never quite regained his all-conference form from the 2016-17 season.
• Hit 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range and finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the Jan. 7 win over USF.
• Finished with 10 points and a season-high nine rebounds to cap a streak of four-straight double-figure scoring games in WSU's Jan. 13 road win at Tulsa.
• Tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists in an overtime loss at Temple (Feb. 1).
• Scored a season-high 26 points in 25 minutes in the Feb. 24 win at SMU on 11-of-14 shooting (3-of-6 from deep).
• Named to the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list.
   
  2016-17 (Sophomore):
• First team All-Missouri Valley Conference.
• NABC First Team All-District 16.
• Team’s leading scorer (11.5) and rebounder (5.7).
• First WSU underclassmen in 23 years to lead the team in both categories.
• WSU’s first underclassman scoring leader since 2003 (Randy Burns).
• Appeared in all 36 games with 27 starts and averaged 25.5 minutes.
• Ranked fourth in the MVC in free throw percentage (.819).
• Team-high 42 steals was the seventh-highest underclassman total in program history.
• Scored in double-figures on 23 occasions (tied with Landy Shamet for most on the team).
• A consistent contributor -- paced the team in points for the year, but finished as leading scorer in just five of the 36 contests.
• Won WSU’s Xavier McDaniel Rebounding Award at the postseason banquet.
   
  Notable Performances:
• Scored in double-figures in all three Battle 4 Atlantis games and repped the Shockers on the all-tournament team.
• Career-high five steals on Dec. 22 against South Dakota State.
  Was 9-of-11 from the field with 22 points in the MVC opener at Indiana State (Dec. 28).
• First career double-double came against Drake (Jan. 4) when he logged 10 points and 11 boards.
• Had the highest scoring output of any Shocker in 2016-17 with a career-high 26 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting against Loyola (Jan. 11).
• Went 8-for-12 with 20 points in a 42-point rout of Southern Illinois (Jan. 24).
  Recorded back-to-back 14-rebound performances midway through the conference slate in road wins at Bradley (Jan. 29) and Drake (Feb. 1). It was the most by a Shocker in a two-game span since 1998.
• Nearly recorded a rare rebound-assist double-double at Drake, finishing with eight assists and 14 rebounds (with just three points).
• Averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals in WSU’s three MVC Tournament wins.
• Had 16 points in the MVC Tournament final against Illinois State and was 11-of-11 at the foul line, setting WSU conference tournament records for free throw percentage and total makes.
• Averaged 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 33.0 minutes in two NCAA Tournament contests.
• Preseason First Team All-Missouri Vallley Conference.
• One of 20 players named to the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list (small forward of the year).
• Was limited during the team's Canadian exhibition tour in August by a partially torn meniscus on his right knee.
• Had surgery on the knee on Aug. 19 and returned just in time for the official start of fall pratice in early October.
• During the preseason, listed as one of 20 "under the radar breakout players" in college basketball by CBSSports.com's Jon Rothstein.
   
  2015-16 (Freshman):
• The Missouri Valley Conference’s youngest freshman by a wide margin, turning 18 just a few days into the fall semester, but made a tremendous impact on his way to MVC Freshman of the Year honors.
• First WSU player to win MVC Freshman of the Year since 2002 and just the fourth overall.
• Also named to the All-Freshman, All-Newcomer and All-Bench teams.
• Averaged 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.5 minutes and tied for third on the team with 27 steals.
• Made his biggest strides defensively, transforming from an early-season liability to a major weapon.
• Platooned with Zach Brown at the 3 and his used his length and athleticism to shut down some of the MVC’s top scoring guards… Led all MVC freshmen in points-per-40 minutes (16.1).
• Ranked fifth in the MVC (all players) on statistical guru Ken Pomeroy’s Offensive Efficiency chart.
• One of just five MVC reserves to average north of 7.0 points per game.
• Part of a WSU unit that averaged a league-best 29.4 bench points per game and ranked in the top-20 nationally.

 
Notable Performances:

• Athleticism and skillset were never questioned, but needed time to adapt to the mental side of college basketball. Was a strong redshirt candidate near the end of preseason but ultimately joined the active roster.
• Used sparingly against Charleston Southern (Nov. 13) and Emporia State (Nov. 21) and not at all against Tulsa (Nov. 17).
• Injuries to multiple rotation players and a desperate need for offense forced him into the lineup at the AdvoCare Invitational, where he enjoyed a breakout performance.
• After collecting just five points (all on free throws) in the Shockers' first three regular season games, provided a huge scoring lift for the Shockers, averaging 12.3 points, 3.7 boards and 2.0 steals in three tournament games while hitting 6-of-11 from three.
• Scored 14 points against Southern California (Nov. 26), 14 against Alabama (Nov. 27) and nine against Iowa (Nov. 29) while making his first career start.
• Scored big but struggled defensively, often missing assignments, but learned from the experience and made steady improvement over the next few weeks.
• Had his best shooting game of the year at a crucial time, hitting 4-of-5 threes in a 13-point effort against No. 25 Utah (Dec. 12).
• Scored in double-figures five times during WSU’s 9-0 January and averaged 9.4 points… Finished with 14 points in 19 minutes in a road win at Bradley (Jan. 3) – the first of six double-figure scoring games during conference play.
• Was instrumental in WSU’s win at Missouri State (Jan. 13) grabbing a season-high nine rebounds while scoring 10 of his season-best 16 points over one three-minute stretch late in the first half to lead the Shockers back from an early 11-point deficit.
• Had 15 points as WSU handed UNI its worst home loss in its 10 seasons at the McLeod Center… Following the UNI game, struggled with his shot over the final 17 contests and was just 7-of-35 (.200) from deep the rest of the way but had success inside. Used length and agility to his advantage to get to the rim and shot just under 55-percent from the field during MVC play.
• Tallied 11 points in a Feb. 21 win at Indiana State that locked up the MVC regular season title.
• Played well in three NCAA Tournament contests, averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 boards while totaling five steals.
• Had seven points and seven rebounds in a First Four win over Vanderbilt.
• Tallied 10 points in 21 minutes in a First Round takedown of sixth-seeded Arizona.
• Scored nine points in 23 minutes in the Second Round loss to Miami.

 
High School: Played for Hall of Fame head coach Bob Hurley Sr. at Saint Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J… Averaged a team-high 15.0 points along with 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals as a senior in 2014-15, earning Second Team All-New Jersey honors…  Helped his team to a pair of sectional titles and state runner-up finishes in his final two seasons, including a 28-2 record as a senior… Team posted an undefeated record during his freshman year and captured Hurley’s 27^th state championship since 1968…An honor roll student… Played AAU summer ball for Sports University and averaged a team-high 12.5 points in the summer of 2014… Chose WSU over VCU, Boston College, SMU, Maryland, Rutgers and several others… Rated No. 95 on ESPN’s Top-100 list for the Class of 2015 and No. 15 among small forwards…
 
Personal: Full name is Markis Derek McDuffie… Born Sept. 6, 1997… Son of Derek and Sandra McDuffie… Left-handed… Sport management major.