There still remains nine uncommitted basketball prospects from the Class of 2015 with scholarship offers from the University of Kentucky basketball program. Of those prospects, Malik Newman’s commitment is one of the most highly anticipated.
Malik Newman is from Jackson, Mississippi and attends Callaway High School. He is a 6’3″ shooting guard and is rated by ESPN as a five-star recruit. He is also ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 shooting guard and as the No. 4 overall player in the Class of 2015.
247Sports and Rivals.com rate Newman as a five-star recruit as well. 247Sports’ rankings of him match with ESPN’s as they rank him as the No. 1 shooting guard and as the No. 4 overall player in the class. Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 3 overall player in the class. Clearly Newman is widely and consistently considered as a highly talented player by expert analysts.
247Sports national analyst Jerry Meyer is now saying that Newman may end up at Louisiana State University.
Heard some very positive news this weekend on LSU's chances w Malik Newman. http://t.co/0YKtwwF7DE @Sheadixon
— Jerry Meyer (@jerrymeyer247) March 2, 2015
If LSU were to land Malik Newman, would have the #1 ranked class in 247Sports Composite Rankings per Class Calculator http://t.co/zrlYxETdEU
— Jerry Meyer (@jerrymeyer247) March 2, 2015
However, the 247Sports Crystal Ball overall prediction still has Newman selecting Kentucky. Keep in mind, however, that a lot of the Crystal Ball picks are not as current and are months old in some cases. I’d say in immediate accuracy, Meyer has his finger on the pulse a bit more.
If Newman did pick LSU and the Tigers were able to hold onto the bulk of this years team, who would be looking at a preseason top 10 team, if not five. The combination of Newman and Ben Simmons would give LSU two of the six player of the year finalists in addition to five star guard Antonio Blakeney.
"LSU basketball signee Ben Simmons and LSU target Malik Newman are among six finalists for the McDonald’s All-American All-Star Game Player of the Year award, McDonald’s announced Tuesday.Other finalists are Isaiah Briscoe of Newark, New Jersey (committed to Kentucky); Jaylen Brown of Marietta, Georgia (undecided), Jalen Brunson of Lincolnshire, Illinois (committed to Villanova) and Stephen Zimmerman of Las Vegas, Nevada (undecided)."
Last month, Newman took an unofficial visit to LSU for the LSU-UK game. He has also been on unofficial visits to Ole Miss and Mississippi State, whom he is still considering in his college commitment. He was also at UK last October for Big Blue Madness.
UK and Kansas are expected to get official visits from Newman following his senior season. Other than those aforementioned colleges, Newman is also considering Alabama, Miami (FL), North Carolina State, Ohio State, and Texas A&M.
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Newman has said that he will not announce a college choice before April 1st. Yet, no timetable for his decision has been determined following April 1st. Newman has also hinted that he could announce at the McDonald’s game.