Mississippi State just landed its biggest recruit in program history. Malik Newman, a five-star guard from Jackson, Mississippi, chose to stay close to home when he picked Mississippi State over Kentucky, Kansas and others on Friday. The commitment puts an end to one of the most heavily speculated recruiting sagas of the year.
5-star guard Malik Newman chooses Mississippi State over Kentucky
The highly touted guard is staying home for college.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Newman is ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 1 shooting guard in the class of 2015 by ESPN. The 6’3 guard was a four-time state champion at Callaway High School and the leading scorer on the USA Basketball U17 team that won a gold medal in the FIBA World Championships in the summer of 2014.
Newman’s father, Horacio Webster, starred at Mississippi State during the 1997-98 season. The Bulldogs fired coach Rick Ray after three seasons in March and hired former UCLA coach Ben Howland. Howland helped coach and develop Russell Westbrook during his time with the Bruins.
Newman joins a Mississippi State team that finished 13-19 last season. The Bulldogs return last season’s leading scorer, guard Craig Sword, and big man Gavin Ware, the team’s leading rebounder last season.
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