Malik Newman spurned Kansas out of high school, but he couldn’t say no to Bill Self twice. The former blue-chip recruit has decided to transfer to Kansas after one season at Mississippi State, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
Former 5-star recruit Malik Newman is transferring to Kansas
Newman will have have to sit out a year before debuting for the Jayhawks.
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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 was the No. 10 player in the class of 2015 after a decorated high school career in Jackson, Miss. He picked the Bulldogs over Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina State, Ole Miss and LSU, but things didn’t go as he planned in his first year of college ball under Ben Howland. Mississippi State finished just 14-17 while Newman averaged 11.3 points per game on 39.1 percent shooting.
Newman put his name in the NBA draft, and announced his intentions to transfer shortly after pulling his name out. He was reportedly down to Kansas or Western Kentucky, the latter of which landed five-star center Mitchell Robinson in the class of 2017 one day earlier. After choosing the Jayhawks, Newman must sit out a year and make his debut in the 2017-18 season.
Newman told ESPN that part of the reason he picked Kansas was so he could practice against the Jayhawks veteran backcourt of senior Frank Mason III and junior DeVonte Graham all year. Newman could become the starting shooting guard next to Graham one year from now.
While Newman’s first year of college basketball registered as a bit of a disappointment, there’s no denying his talent. He still made 38 percent of the 5.6 three-pointers he attempted per game at Mississippi State. Newman was considered one of the best shooters and scorers in the class of 2015 and could be a major piece for Kansas moving forward.
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