Kansas assistant Jerrance Howard was on hand Tuesday night to watch 2015 guard Malik Newman put on quite a show.
The 6-foot-3 Newman went for 31 points, including a key late 3-pointer, as Callaway (MS) beat rival Provine 76-73.
“That’s why we call him a machine,” Callaway coach David Sanders told the Clarion-Ledger. “When he looks up and sees we need a basket, he just turns it on and gets us one, no matter what kind of night he’s having.
Newman is a top priority for Kansas in 2015.
“[Howard] told me that Malik could start for them right now,” Sanders told SNY.tv, adding that Kansas head coach Bill Self “is supposed to come soon.”
Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Florida and N.C. State are among those also involved.
“I don’t think there’s any [college] list right now,” Larry Stamps, the director of the Jackson (MS) Tigers AAU program, recently told SNY.tv.
“The top programs in the country, he’s been contacted by all of them. From what I’ve seen he’s still open.”
By all accounts, Newman has a tremendous work ethic and wants to be come an elite player.
“The young man, the thing that really impressed me about him is his work ethic,” Stamps said. ”He’s been working out early morning on his own forever, and he has positioned himself to go to the highest level. He just has ‘it,’ but that ‘it’ has come with a lot of hard work.
“Many people who are smarter than me think he’s a pro.”