Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Marquette’s Markus Howard were both born in New Jersey, Powell in Trenton and Howard in Morristown.
Howard’s family left the state when he was young, while Powell is a proud Garden State lifer.
They are the stars of their respective programs and the current faces of the Big East Conference.
And one of them will win Big East Player of the Year honors next month. Each has won four Big East Player of the Week honors thus far.
“Yeah, of course [I hope it’s me],” said the 6-foot-2 Powell, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year. “He got one under his belt last year so hopefully I can get one this year.”
Although they have been Big East rivals for four years, their mutual respect and admiration runs deep.
When Powell twisted his ankle in November, the two engaged in a couple of FaceTime calls in which Howard said he was praying for his friend. They stay in touch on a regular basis, talking about life and the things they share in common.
“When we talk, it’s a real relationship,” said Powell, who's averaging 21.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. “It’s not even really about basketball.”
The coming days will be filled with emotions for the two senior stars who are both in the mix for various National Player of the Year awards as well as Big East Player of the Year honors.
On Saturday, Powell and No. 13 Seton Hall (20-7, 12-3 Big East) visit Marquette (18-9, 8-7) on the Golden Eagles’ Senior Day (2:30, Fox). The 5-foot-11 Howard, who leads Division 1 in scoring at 27.1 points per game and recently became the all-time leading scorer in Big East history, will be honored.
“The emotions that’s going to be running through that building, I can only imagine what he’s going to be feeling,” Powell said.
Although Powell engages in trash talk with other Big East stars, he and Howard never go down that path.
“I never found me and Markus talking trash together,” Powell said. “Other good guys, we get on the court and we talk trash and stuff like that but Markus, he’s just so nice it’s kind of hard. I respect him so much as a man and I hope he does well in the future.”
Howard, meantime, says he’s a fan of Powell, who has battled an ankle injury and concussion this season to lead Seton Hall into first place in the Big East, where they hold a narrow one-game lead on Creighton and Villanova with three games remaining.
“He’s definitely somebody who I talk to a good amount,” Howard said at Big East Media Day. “Me and him are pretty close so just to have somebody who you are close to like that from a competitive standpoint and also away from the court is good to have.”
Powell will have his own Senior Night on Wednesday against Villanova when Romaro Gill and Quincy McKnight will also be honored.
“My palms are already sweating just thinking about it, just talking about it,” Powell said.
Howard may even tune in to watch his friend.
“I like watching a lot of teams in the Big East but I know, especially when I have time and he’s playing, I’ll watch him,” Howard said. “First and foremost, as a competitor, I love to watch the games. But with him being a close friend of mine I want to be sure that I’m trying to support him the best I can. It’s definitely cool to see him play.”
The Jersey boys will play against each other one more time before the postseason begins and their careers end.
And they will be rooting for each other when they’re not sharing the same court. Just not when it comes time to hand out Player of the Year honors.
“What he’s done for this league, his university, it’s a dream come true,” Powell said. “That’s one of my friends, my brothers off the court, and I’m sending love and prayers his way.”
Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.