Malik Newman’s unusual path: From top 10 recruit to transfer
Until Monday, only one Rivals top 10 prospect in the past decade had transferred from the school with which he originally signed.
Now former Pittsburgh and UNLV forward Khem Birch has company on that list.
Mississippi State announced Monday that guard Malik Newman intends to transfer after an inconsistent, injury-plagued freshman season with the Bulldogs. Newman entered the NBA draft without signing with an agent last month before withdrawing last Wednesday.
“I appreciate all of Malik’s hard work, and I wish him the very best moving forward,” Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said in a statement. “I want nothing but the best for Malik and his family.”
Transferring is unusual among top 10 prospects because most expect to reach the NBA within a year or two. A freshman who transfers must sit out a full year before playing his sophomore season, something most top 10 prospects are unwilling to do even if they’re unhappy with their playing time or how they’re being used.
That Newman is the rare exception suggests he must have felt returning to Mississippi State was a very unfavorable option.
Expectations were sky high for Newman after he chose Mississippi State over Kentucky last spring, but he wasn’t even the best freshman guard on his own team, let alone in the nation. He averaged a modest 11.3 points on anemic 39.1 percent shooting and tallied a mere nine more assists than turnovers the entire year.
When the feedback Newman received from NBA scouts reflected that he wasn’t certain to be taken in the second round if he stayed in the draft, it left Newman with a difficult choice.
He could stay in the draft and try to fight his way into the NBA via the D-League. He could endure another year at Mississippi State in an ill-fitting system and hope to regain the trust of Howland. Or he could seek out another program that would provide a better opportunity to showcase himself even if it meant delaying his NBA dreams at least two years.
Newman chose option three, instantly making him one of the most coveted transfers on the market.
Only once in the past decade has a top 10 prospect been available on the rebound. Expect just as much interest in Newman this spring as there was for Birch four-plus years ago.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
