#MUBB To Honor Crean, McNeal & Howard In 2025-26

Former Marquette University men’s basketball head coach Tom Crean and players Jerel McNeal and Markus Howard will each be recognized with banners at Fiserv Forum in 2025-26, the program announced Tuesday morning.

The 2005-06 team, the program’s first to compete in the BIG EAST Conference, will also be recognized during the season with a reunion celebrating 20 years of competition in the prestigious league.

“I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Coach Crean, Jerel, and Markus – and I’ve seen firsthand the impact each of them has had on Marquette Basketball,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Broeker said.  “They didn’t just play or coach here – they helped shape the identity of our program. Coach Crean changed the entire trajectory of Marquette basketball. His vision, passion, and belief in what this place could be laid the foundation for everything that’s followed.

“Jerel and Markus were fierce competitors, fearless leaders, and two of the most driven student-athletes I’ve ever known,” Broeker added.  “Now, all three of them are not just part of our program’s history—they’re part of who we are. We are thrilled and deeply honored to celebrate their contributions with this recognition.”

Crean will join former head coaches Al McGuire and Hank Raymonds in the rafters, while McNeal (22) and Howard (0) will become the 11^th and 12^th players, respectively, to earn the honor.  Last season, Consensus All-America selection Jim Chones (1970-72) had his No. 22 jersey added to the honorees, the first addition since Dwyane Wade in 2007.

“I’m so excited that we are honoring these three special Marquette gamechangers,” head coach Shaka Smart said.  “It’s impossible to quantify the incredible impact and legacy of Coach Crean, and it’s no exaggeration to say our program has never seen players quite like Jerel McNeal and Markus Howard.

“It’s fitting that all three will rise to the rafters after distinguishing themselves as trailblazers, record setters, and Marquette legends,” Smart added.

Marquette honors its all-time greats and storied tradition by retiring jerseys, but not numbers.

Details on each of the ceremonies and reunion will be confirmed when the complete men’s basketball 2025-26 schedule is announced in early September.

Marquette Retired Player Jerseys
44 – Don Kojis (1959-61)
43 – Earl Tatum (1973-76)
31 – Doc Rivers (1981-83)
31 – Bo Ellis (1974-77)
24 – George Thompson (1967-69)
22 – Jim Chones (1970-72)
20 – Maurice Lucas (1973-74)
15 – Butch Lee (1975-78)
14 – Dean Meminger (1969-71)
3 – Dwyane Wade (2001-03)

Tom Crean (1999-2008)

• MU record during his tenure (nine seasons): 190-96 (.664)
• Fourth all-time in winning percentage at Marquette
• 2003 NCAA Final Four (third Final Four appearance in program history)
• 2003 Conference USA regular season champion
• Head coach during MU’s transition into the BIG EAST and during the building of the Al McGuire Center
• Five NCAA tournament appearances (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008)
• Three NIT appearances (2000, 2004, 2005)
• Ray Meyer Conference USA Coach of the Year (2001-02 and 2002-03)
• USBWA District V Coach of the Year (2001-02 and 2002-03)
• NABC District 11 Coach of the Year (2001-02 and 2002-03)
• Basketball Times Mideast Coach of the Year (2001-02)
• Coach Clair Bee Award (2002-03)
• Naismith Coach of the Year (finalist)
• Three MU players were drafted in his tenure
  • Dwyane Wade (First Round (No. 5) in 2003)
  • Travis Diener (Second Round (No. 38) in 2005)
  • Steve Novak (Second Round (No. 32) in 2006)
• Coached three MU All-Americans
  • Dwyane Wade (2001-02 and 2002-03)
  • Travis Diener (2004-05)
  • Dominic James (2006-07)
• Also recruited and coached future All-Americans Jerel McNeal (2008-09) and Lazar Hayward (2009-10)

Jerel McNeal (2005-09)

• MU record during his tenure: 94-41 (43-25 BIG EAST)
• Graduated in 2009 as MU’s all-time leading scorer, breaking 40-year-old previous record
• Associated Press Second Team All-American, 2008-09
• BIG EAST First Team, 2008-09
• BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, 2006-07
• BIG EAST Second Team, 2006-07 and 2007-08
• BIG EAST All-Rookie Team, 2005-06
• All-BIG EAST Championship Team, 2007-08
• Three-year team captain
• Part of first four MU teams in the BIG EAST Conference
• Holds seven top-10 spots on the all-time single-season leaderboard
• Leading scorer as a senior with 693 points in 2008-09
• Four NCAA Championship Appearances
• MU career ranks:
  • 1st in steals (287)
  • 3rd in scoring (1,985)
  • 3rd in field goals made (726)
  • 7^th in career games (130)
  • 9th in assists (455)

Markus Howard (2016-20)

• MU record during his tenure: 82-49 (39-33 BIG EAST)
• Consensus All-America First Team (2019-20)
• Consensus All-America Second Team (2018-19)
• One of just three two-time Consensus All-Americans in program history (Butch Lee and Tyler Kolek). One of nine Consensus All-Americans ever at MU.
• BIG EAST Player of the Year (2018-19)
• Program’s all-time scoring leader (2,761) was the first player at MU to reach 2,000 career points
• BIG EAST’s all-time leading scorer is 23rd in NCAA Division I history
• BIG EAST scoring leader in league games (1,587)
• Third in league history in points per game (21.6)
• BIG EAST career leader in 3-point field goals (434) is 13th in NCAA Division I history
• BIG EAST all-time leader in offensive box plus/minus (7.9), points produced (2,522), points produced per game (19.7)
• Third in BIG EAST history in career free throw percentage (.882) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.427)
• Three-time All-BIG EAST selection (twice on the first team in 2018-19 and 2019-20)
• Senior CLASS Award winner (2019-20)
• Two-time Bob Cousy Award finalist (2018-19 and 2019-20)
• Wooden Award Finalist (2019-20)
• Two-time Wooden All-America First Team selection (2018-19 and 2019-20)
• Two-time Naismith Award Semifinalist
• Two-time USBWA All-American (first team in 2019-20)
• Two-time Associated Press All-American (first team in 2019-20)
• Two-time USA Today First Team All-American
• Two-time Sporting News All-American (first team in 2019-20)
• Two-time NABC All-American (first team in 2019-20)
• Two-time BIG EAST scoring leader (2018-19 and 2019-20)
• NCAA Division I scoring leader in 2019-20 at 27.8 points per game
• NCAA Division I 3-point percentage leader as a freshman in 2016-17 (.547)
• Twice led the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (.938 in 2017-18 and .890 in 2018-19)
• Only player in program history with three single-season scoring averages of at least 20.0 points per game
• All-BIG EAST Championship Team (2019)
• BIG EAST All-Freshman Team (2016-17)
• 13 BIG EAST weekly honors (league record)
• Three-time team most valuable player
• Three 50-point games and seven with at least 40 points
• Third major conference player to record a 50-point game in three consecutive seasons (Wayman Tisdale and Pete Maravich)
• Fourth major conference player with 40 points on consecutive days (Pete Maravich, Bob Pettit and Johnny Neumann)
• Owns three of the four 50-point games in BIG EAST history
  • Two-time gold medalist for Team USA
  • 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship
• 2015 FIBA U16 Americas Championship
• Owns numerous single-season MU records by class (freshman-senior)
• Marquette’s McCahill Award Winner (2020)
• Marquette’s Ralph H. Metcalfe Senior Award Winner – Leadership through Service to Others (2020)
• Marquette’s Ralph H. Metcalfe Senior Award Winner – Leadership through Athletic Excellence (2020)
• Three-time team captain
• Played 68 games in two seasons with the Denver Nuggets of the NBA
• 2024-25 is his third season with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz of the Spanish Liga ACB, generally regarded as the No. 2 professional league in the world, and the EuroLeague.
  • 2023-24 EuroLeague Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy Winner
  • 2023-24 EuroLeague Round 34 MVP
  • Led 2023-24 EuroLeague in scoring (19.5)
• MU single-game ranks (as of June 2025) – not exhaustive
  • Owns school record for points in a game (52) and top five single-game marks at MU
  • Owns single-game records for field goals made (17) and 3-pointers made (11)
• MU single-season ranks (as of June 2025)
  • Nos. 1, 2 and 5 in points
  • Nos. 1 and 2 in scoring average
  • Nos. 1, 6 and 8 in field goals made
  • Nos. 2, 4 and 5 in 3-pointers made
  • No. 1 in 3-point percentage (.547 in 2016-17)
  • Nos. 1 and 3 in free throws made
  • Nos. 1 and 3 in free throw percentage
• MU career ranks (as of June 2025)
  • No. 1 in points (2,761) – 23rd-best total in NCAA history
  • No. 1 in scoring average (21.6 ppg.)
  • No. 1 in field goals made (864)
  • No. 1 in field goals attempted (1.945)
  • No. 1 in 3-point field goals made (434)
  • No. 5 in 3-point field goal percentage (42.7 pct.)
  • No. 1 in free throws made (599)

Keep up with the Marquette men’s basketball program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteMBB) and Instagram (@marquette.basketball) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/MarquetteMensBB). Fans interested in tickets can contact the Marquette Ticket Office online or at 414-288-GOMU (4668).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.