Malik Newman is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and plans to return to Mississippi State for his sophomore season, his father told SNY.tv Tuesday night.
“Yeah, he’s going back to school,” Horatio Webster said by phone. “He’s going to pull his name out [Wednesday]. As far I know he’s going back to Mississippi State. He still has a scholarshp at Mississippi State. I hope they didn’t give it away.”
Once projected as high as the No. 4 pick by DraftExpress.com, the 6-foot-3 1/2 Newman is currently slotted at No. 52. He has not hired an agent and had until Wednesday to decide about returning to campus.
In his lone season on campus, the preseason All-SEC Second Team honoree averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists and the Bulldogs failed to make the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla thinks coming back for a sophomore year would be a good idea.
“Injuries slowed Malik down this year,” he told SNY.tv. “He had a couple of moments of brilliance at the Combine but I think it’s best to put together a solid sophomore season.”
