Sophomore Markus Howard’s basketball career has had some twists and turns since the season ended in February.

First, in March, Howard announced that he was decommitting to Arizona State University, then came the real bombshell – the state’s leading scorer announced that he was leaving Perry, and Arizona altogether, for the chance to play at one of the nation’s best high school basketball programs – Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev.

Howard will be one of only twelve students who will be attending school, which is a college preparatory academy for basketball players only, and he is not guaranteed a spot as a starter, but he’ll have to work his way to the top.

The Pumas are not only losing a great on-court presence – he lead all players in Arizona with 32.4 points per game – but a great leader as well.

Howard said he’ll miss everything at Perry from his teammates, to his friends, and his family.

“Thank you for all the support throughout the years, I’ll always be a Puma,” he said, noting that being able to play at PHS has been like a second family to him. In fact, Howard has grown up around PHS basketball, as his two older brothers (Desmond and Jordan), as well as his father have all played and/or coached for the Pumas.

Howard admits he is going to have to leave his friends who have been by his side throughout his career at Perry, including teammates like junior Kyle Van Haren.

“He’s my best friend on and off the court,” Van Haren said.

Part of the allure to Findlay Prep is that top universities from around the nation have their eyes locked on the small Nevada school.

“Getting looked at by some of the top schools in the country and playing against the best each and every day,” is a big reason why he accepted Findlay’s offer to transfer.

When asked of his dream college, Howard has many.

“Duke, Kansas, UNLV, North Carolina, Arizona, and Kentucky,” he said.

Since decommitting from ASU, Howard has been contacted by Duke, Kansas, University of Arizona, Florida, and UNLV.

Howard originally committed to ASU as a freshman, but soon felt like he rushed through the recruiting process.

“I feel like I didn’t give myself time to look at my options and it was an in-the-moment decision. Who wouldn’t take an offer to a school freshman year?”

In addition to being an all state player for PHS, Howard was also recently named to the MaxPreps All American second team.