Malik Newman commits to Mississippi State
Published 4:00 am Saturday, April 25, 2015
- Malik Newman, of Jackson, Miss., competes in the three-point shootout during the McDonald's All-American Jam Fest, Monday, March 30, 2015, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles)
(AP) Mississippi’s top basketball recruit has made his college decision official.
During a live streamed announcement on ClarionLedger.com on Friday, Callaway star guard Malik Newman announced his decision to commit to Mississippi State.
Flanked by his Callaway, McDonalds All-American and Team USA jerseys, Newman was more than ready to get the announcement over with.
After a momentary pause, Newman put on a flat-billed maroon MSU hat and rang a white cowbell.
“I think I can go there and really have an impact,” Newman said. “… With the new coach, I think he’ll push me. He expects great things out of me and the team and I think that is something that will happen.”
Finalists for Newman’s signature were MSU, Kansas and Kentucky.
Can Newman and the new-look Bulldogs win a title with a player who is expected to be one-and-done?
“Of course we can,” Newman told host Courtney Cronin. “I think we have the pieces around us. That’s a team that I watched closely last year. There were a lot of games they were in last year. Down the stretch, I don’t know if it was fatigue, but they just didn’t have that one player they could get the ball to to win the game for them.”
Friday afternoon’s announcement served as confirmation after CBSSports.com broke news of Newman’s commitment earlier in the week. At the time, Newman’s family, through the Clarion Ledger, denied any decision was a “done deal.”
Regardless of who broke it or when or how, Newman will end up in maroon and white when he signs his National Letter of Intent.
Newman’s signature is huge for a MSU program looking to turn the corner after firing Rick Ray and bringing in established veteran Ben Howland.
The 6-foot-2 Newman is ranked as the No. 5 recruit in the nation by 247 Sports and is considered the top point guard.
As a senior, Newman averaged 29.7 points with 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game for the Chargers, according to MaxPreps.com.
Newman joins a MSU signing class that already includes 6-foot-5, 170-pound shooting guard Quinndary Weatherspoon out of Velma Jackson High, and 6-foot-9, 185-pound center Joseph Struggs out of Carver High.
