[gopack10Participant]

…this is without a doubt the best decision for him.  I don’t even think he was going to get drafted.

According to Jeff Goodman he may look at going JUCO for a season, likely to be THE GUY, put up big numbers and try again next year.

I never understood him going to Mississippi State in the first place.  Bad team in a bad market for basketball right now.  I hope it works out for him next year wherever he ends up or if he stays with the Bulldogs.

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

I don’t understand why scoring guards continue to sign up to play for Ben Howland.

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

I don’t understand why scoring guards continue to sign up to play for Ben Howland.

[IlladelphParticipant]

It’s sad to see the Malik Newman saga play out like this.  I followed him for his last 2 years in high school.  Incredible amount of hype.  He really did dominate in his home state in high school.  A little undersized for a future NBA shooting guard, and I think that he wanted to make the transition to PG his senior year of high school but he didn’t quite get there.  

I understand why he chose Miss State.  His father went there, and it’s his home state school.  And then there’s the thought that he could be a starter and get lots of touches.  Be the big fish in a small pond for a year before coming out.

The problem for him is that he didn’t deliver at Miss State.  We can criticize Ben Howland, but the fact is that Newman got a lot of burn and he just didn’t perform at an elite level.  And he had some injuries too which didn’t help.  What’s worse is that Quinndary Weatherspoon, who was Newman’s lesser heralded high school teammate, completely outshined him in college.  At this point, Weatherspoon is the much better college player while Newman has completely fallen out of favor and was never able to separate from the competition.

Way back when, Newman was widely regarded as a Kentucky lock until late in his recruitment when Miss State hired Ben Howland and Newman started leaning that way.  I think Newman would have been much better off from an NBA standpoint at Kentucky.  He would have played less than he did at Miss State, and he wouldn’t have been "the man".  But, he would have probably still had his draft status as a likely first rounder.  He would have been protected to some extent given the lineup of guards that Kentucky had.  Ulis, Murray, and Newman would have likely been as deadly as Ulis, Murray, and Briscoe.

At any rate, the NBA hype for Newman has officially evaporated.  He wouldn’t be a first round pick, and he might not even be drafted had he stayed in the draft.  But will he go back to Miss State?  His father thinks that Ben Howland "didn’t use Malik the right way", so I highly doubt Newman is going back.  Howland, for his part has been saying for the last few months that Newman is definitely a "one and done" guy and hasn’t talked much about him coming back to Miss State.  Doesn’t seem like Howland wants him to come back.  So, I think Newman transfers to another D1 school, but more than likely transfers to a Juco so that he can play right away.  Weird how this is playing out.  I really thought Newman was a lock for one and done NBA stardom.  It will be intersting to see how he handles what can only be described as a major disappointment for him.  I think the best thing for him would be to go back to Miss State and improve and regain his mojo.  A lot of great players need more than a year to shine. 

[IlladelphParticipant]

It’s sad to see the Malik Newman saga play out like this.  I followed him for his last 2 years in high school.  Incredible amount of hype.  He really did dominate in his home state in high school.  A little undersized for a future NBA shooting guard, and I think that he wanted to make the transition to PG his senior year of high school but he didn’t quite get there.  

I understand why he chose Miss State.  His father went there, and it’s his home state school.  And then there’s the thought that he could be a starter and get lots of touches.  Be the big fish in a small pond for a year before coming out.

The problem for him is that he didn’t deliver at Miss State.  We can criticize Ben Howland, but the fact is that Newman got a lot of burn and he just didn’t perform at an elite level.  And he had some injuries too which didn’t help.  What’s worse is that Quinndary Weatherspoon, who was Newman’s lesser heralded high school teammate, completely outshined him in college.  At this point, Weatherspoon is the much better college player while Newman has completely fallen out of favor and was never able to separate from the competition.

Way back when, Newman was widely regarded as a Kentucky lock until late in his recruitment when Miss State hired Ben Howland and Newman started leaning that way.  I think Newman would have been much better off from an NBA standpoint at Kentucky.  He would have played less than he did at Miss State, and he wouldn’t have been "the man".  But, he would have probably still had his draft status as a likely first rounder.  He would have been protected to some extent given the lineup of guards that Kentucky had.  Ulis, Murray, and Newman would have likely been as deadly as Ulis, Murray, and Briscoe.

At any rate, the NBA hype for Newman has officially evaporated.  He wouldn’t be a first round pick, and he might not even be drafted had he stayed in the draft.  But will he go back to Miss State?  His father thinks that Ben Howland "didn’t use Malik the right way", so I highly doubt Newman is going back.  Howland, for his part has been saying for the last few months that Newman is definitely a "one and done" guy and hasn’t talked much about him coming back to Miss State.  Doesn’t seem like Howland wants him to come back.  So, I think Newman transfers to another D1 school, but more than likely transfers to a Juco so that he can play right away.  Weird how this is playing out.  I really thought Newman was a lock for one and done NBA stardom.  It will be intersting to see how he handles what can only be described as a major disappointment for him.  I think the best thing for him would be to go back to Miss State and improve and regain his mojo.  A lot of great players need more than a year to shine. 

[GBeeParticipant]

 Howland is not and never has been the problem.  If you play under him and accept coaching, you will learn something and come out a better, all-around player on both ends of the floor.  He had to compromise his style to placate the UCLA boosters towards the end of his run there, but I never once questioned his ability to coach and teach.

Miss St as a program was in a tough situation because it was left in such a sorry state under the previous administration, but Howland’s just getting started.  Newman was a great get, but it’s the current class coming in (top 10, some say top 5) that can really change the fortunes of that program. They could use Malik since they don’t have a great returning core coming back outside of Weatherspoon, but they don’t need him, especially if he and his father are crying about the way he was used, aka they just want Malik to be given the ball so he could do his thing for better or worse.

If he does go the JUCO route and tries to declare from there, I think I’ll officially write him off as a legitimate NBA prospect.  Rarely has that worked well because NBA teams aren’t fooled by performance vs JUCO comp.  If he wants to transfer, that’s fine, but he and his camp need to realize that after his freshman year, getting to the league will likely be a 2 year process at the least.  There is no more capatilizing on hype for him. He’s actually going to have to… gasp… show improvement as a basketball player.

 

  

 

 

[GBeeParticipant]

 Howland is not and never has been the problem.  If you play under him and accept coaching, you will learn something and come out a better, all-around player on both ends of the floor.  He had to compromise his style to placate the UCLA boosters towards the end of his run there, but I never once questioned his ability to coach and teach.

Miss St as a program was in a tough situation because it was left in such a sorry state under the previous administration, but Howland’s just getting started.  Newman was a great get, but it’s the current class coming in (top 10, some say top 5) that can really change the fortunes of that program. They could use Malik since they don’t have a great returning core coming back outside of Weatherspoon, but they don’t need him, especially if he and his father are crying about the way he was used, aka they just want Malik to be given the ball so he could do his thing for better or worse.

If he does go the JUCO route and tries to declare from there, I think I’ll officially write him off as a legitimate NBA prospect.  Rarely has that worked well because NBA teams aren’t fooled by performance vs JUCO comp.  If he wants to transfer, that’s fine, but he and his camp need to realize that after his freshman year, getting to the league will likely be a 2 year process at the least.  There is no more capatilizing on hype for him. He’s actually going to have to… gasp… show improvement as a basketball player.

 

  

 

 

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

 Cases like Newman and to a lesser degree Simmons make Coach Cal and Coach Ks lives so much easier. If Newman went to UK he’d most likely be a first rounder and now might never reach the league and on the flip if James Young went to Miss St. he’d most likely still be there…. That being said the Harrison twins kind of blow up my argument some. 

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

 Cases like Newman and to a lesser degree Simmons make Coach Cal and Coach Ks lives so much easier. If Newman went to UK he’d most likely be a first rounder and now might never reach the league and on the flip if James Young went to Miss St. he’d most likely still be there…. That being said the Harrison twins kind of blow up my argument some. 

[MopgrassParticipant]

I can still see a boatload of potential. Even in his subpar combine games. He needs one, maybe two years of solid production. I don’t think he put it all together this year. His being a tweener is a problem. I was dying for him to return to college and resurrect his dominance. Returning is a brilliant move. It’s hard to delay an achievable dream for a year. Kudos to whoever was in his ear about returning… and to him for listening.

[MopgrassParticipant]

I can still see a boatload of potential. Even in his subpar combine games. He needs one, maybe two years of solid production. I don’t think he put it all together this year. His being a tweener is a problem. I was dying for him to return to college and resurrect his dominance. Returning is a brilliant move. It’s hard to delay an achievable dream for a year. Kudos to whoever was in his ear about returning… and to him for listening.

[McDunkin]

It looks like he is trying to work things out with Howland and return to Miss. State.

From what I’ve heard the JUCO talk started when Malik’s “people” (parents?) were asking around about questions that players should really know the answer to before even entering the draft. Such as “If he goes undrafted could he return to school ?” The talk also stemmed from them asking around about JUCO and not knowing that he isn’t eligible to play because players that have entered a draft are no longer eligible for JUCO ball ( A rule that I honestly didn’t know either)

[McDunkin]

It looks like he is trying to work things out with Howland and return to Miss. State.

From what I’ve heard the JUCO talk started when Malik’s “people” (parents?) were asking around about questions that players should really know the answer to before even entering the draft. Such as “If he goes undrafted could he return to school ?” The talk also stemmed from them asking around about JUCO and not knowing that he isn’t eligible to play because players that have entered a draft are no longer eligible for JUCO ball ( A rule that I honestly didn’t know either)

[Author]

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