Mississippi State Basketball: Should Malik Newman transfer?

Malik Newman is pulling his name out of the NBA Draft pool but will he return to Mississippi State basketball?

Malik Newman was a top-10 recruit coming out of high school. He had offers from blue bloods across the country, including Kansas and Kentucky, but instead, chose to stay at home and play for Ben Howland at Mississippi State.

That commitment didn’t work out for the best last season as the 6’3″ combo guard dealt with a nagging toe injury that impacted the team’s overall success.

The Bulldogs finished the year at 14-17, good for just 11th in the SEC Conference, and were not even mentioned on the NCAA Tournament or NIT radar.

Newman himself didn’t produce to the level of expectations, as he was the team’s fourth leading scorer and averaged 2.2 assists to 1.9 turnovers. In fact, Newman wasn’t even the team’s best freshman – that honor went to Quinndary Weatherspoon who put up 12.0 points per game.

From day one, Newman had his sights set on a one-and-done college career. He did indeed declare for the 2016 NBA Draft following his freshman campaign and was invited to the NBA Combine in Chicago.

Newman struggled with his shot selection, efficiency and decision making in the Windy City. He also dropped a couple of clean passes out of bounds and overall, did not impress NBA decision makers and scouts.

On Tuesday night, a day before the deadline to decide whether to stay in school or become a professional, Newman opted to return to school for his sophomore stint.

But ESPN’s Jeff Goodman dropped an interesting tidbit in the process.

Malik Newman’s father, Horatio Webster, declined to comment to ESPN — but multiple sources said Newman strongly considering transferring.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 25, 2016

Webster later denied the report to Adam Zagoria of SNY.

“Yeah, he’s going back to school,” Webster said to SNY. “He’s going to pull his name out. As far I know he’s going back to Mississippi State. He still has a scholarship at Mississippi State. I hope they didn’t give it away.”

Regardless of the comments, it has been no secret that Newman wasn’t particularly happy with his role in Mississippi State’s offensive attack last year. The guard was often placed in the corner and didn’t play as much with the ball in his hands in year one as he expected.

Newman’s greatest strength, and one of the main reasons he was originally projected as a top 10 selection in the 2016 NBA Draft, is his ability to score the basketball. He can shoot the rock from downtown, make plays off the dribble and create for himself, but if he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, how is he supposed to make plays?

To be fair to Howland – who is an excellent coach that made three straight Final Fours at UCLA – Newman was bothered by injuries, had difficulty getting his teammates involved, and his play didn’t warrant molding the offense around him.

If Newman thinks he can be utilized better with a different program, should he make the move and transfer?

It wouldn’t be the brightest of ideas.

More from Busting Brackets

Newman would have to sit out a season, which could significantly affect his draft stock, turning him into a three-year player instead of a one-year prospect. Also, if he transfers to a blue blood program, similar to the likes of Duke, Michigan State or Kansas, would he be comfortable playing off the ball and deferring to his teammates?

The Mississippi native is surely not a selfish player and was still adjusting to the speed of the college game last year, so it’s certainly possible that Newman would join one of those programs if they are indeed interested.

He would be playing on national television almost every game, gain high exposure and of course, have a chance to play in the biggest event in college basketball: The NCAA Tournament.

Not only that, but when you are apart of a winning organization your stock is more likely to be coveted by professional teams.

Newman has a difficult decision to make: Does he want to re-join Mississippi State, battle through the adversity and show that injuries were his main problem, or does he want to take his talents to a more intriguing program where he will likely get less court time but more exposure?

Next: Big Ten teams wait on key draft decisions

The Bulldogs are still in the rebuilding phase, while Newman is looking for the next step in his college career.

Home/Mississippi State Bulldogs