March Madness star Markquis Nowell thrilled to join Raptors: 'I didn’t want to be anywhere else'

Markquis Nowell couldn't be happier that the Toronto Raptors signed him to a two-way contract after he went undrafted last month. So much so that he admitted he didn't want to play anywhere else.

In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports Canada’s Amit Mann, Nowell talked about his pre-draft workouts and what it was like speaking with teams. When discussing his meeting with the Raptors, the 23-year-old said he felt the love from them instantly, and that the feeling was mutual.

“The first conversation I had with the Raptors was at pre-draft,” Nowell said. “You know, where we had interviews with different teams. I spoke with them in the room and they asked me a bunch of questions on my childhood and what I thought about basketball and how much I love basketball and stuff like that.

"It just really clicked right away. I saw how much they really loved me and how much they really wanted me to be a Raptor. I didn’t want to be anywhere else besides Toronto, so I’m glad I’m here.”

Nowell added that joining the Raptors is extra special to him because of their history with undersized guards.

“Just to see that an NBA team took a chance on me, you know it was like a full-circle moment,” Nowell told Mann. “Let alone it was a team that I wanted to go to and who took chances on smaller guards before me. So it was just a blessing, for real.”

Nowell takes pride in being a smaller guard

Standing at 5-foot-8, the former Kansas State guard who made history at this year's March Madness tournament, takes pride in studying the undersized players that came before him.

“Kemba Walker was my favourite point guard growing up,” Nowell said. “Then it kind of shifted into Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry. I feel like I play different than everybody else. I’m a smaller guard; normally smaller guards are more pesky defenders and not offensive minded but I feel like I could do both.

"I feel like I could guard; I could defend; I could pass; I could shoot. And I just try to take every part of, you know, Kemba Walker’s game, Stephen Curry’s game and put it into mine. Shake it all in the box and see what I come up with — and that’s what Markquis is.”

Touching more on his defence as a smaller point guard, Nowell said he’s well aware that players will try to post him up at the NBA level. Fortunately for him, he’s been targeted on that end of the floor his entire life, so he’s learned how to handle it.

“You can tell when a guy is trying to post you up,” Nowell explained. “He gets real happy and real energetic but I’ve been posted up my whole life and I’ve always been a smaller guy and a smaller guard. So I kind of know how to maneuver my way through a post-up. I take on the challenge. I like to take on the challenges of being posted up and being tested on defence.”

Nowell and the Raptors will tip off their Summer League schedule against the Chicago Bulls on Friday.