DUBAI, U.A.E- It hasn’t take long for Malik Newman to make the transition from prodigy to future NBA star..
The exciting 6-4 rising senior guard from Jackson, Miss was elected national Freshman of the Year by ESPN HS, national Sophomore of the Year by MaxPreps and and is considered the best guard in the Class of 2015 after leading his Callaway High team to three straight Mississippi state Group 5A championships.and being selected as the MVP in the 2013 FIBA U16 Americas tournament in Uruguay.
Newman, who is avearging 13 points and 3.2 assists and is the captain of the U.S. U17 team that is blowing through the 2014 World Championships here, already has a nickname, “The Machine” which he picked up as a juniior when he averaged 29.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists Newman has even started building his own brand with his own sophisicated web site known as “IAmMalikNewman.com” which comes complete with a history of his career accomplishments, dating back to middle school and plenty of video evidence to back it up.
Newman, whose father Haratio Webster was a star at Mississippi State and played professionally in Argentina, is by far the most media savvy kid ever to play high school basketball in our country. He has already blogged for USA Today and has 11 thousand followers on his personal Twitter account, which most recently included a picture of him enjoying the view from the Burj Khaifa, the 162-floor skyscraper that is the tallest building in the world..
The kid even has his own logo, with a bold letter “M” sitting on top of an “N,” prominently displayed on the web site.
It never too early to think about your image, as Newman will tell you. It’s all part of growing up in today’s youth basketball culture, which is predicated on players becoming the biggest name possible before entering the NBA draftt after a one-and-done season. “The web site is a unique thing,” Newman admitted. “My uncle made it. It just lets you know where I am at, my accolades, things I have accomplished and things like that. It was a unique thing for him to do for me. He didn’t ask me, he just did it and told me about it. I was pleased and excited about it at the same time.”
Newman’s uncle is a clothes designer and there are photos of Newman modeling some of his product line in a section known as “Lifestyle” as well as a video called “Beyond the Game” that was put together by a high school friend Courtney Cronin, who followed him around during high school season on a daily basis to give fans a feel for what his life is like.
Newman, is just living in the moment, trying to improve the image high school basketball has in a state where SEC football is king. “We get overlooked a lot,” he claimed. “That’s why we have to play with a little chip on our shoulder”,
Playing for this country has taken on special significance for Newman since he has an aunt who serves in the U.S. Navy. He has been constantly wearing a U.S. Army Desert Stromn hat since he arrived, in part to deal with the oppressive 100 degree heat and in part for family reasons. “It’s always an honor to play for your country so when my dad got the email they wanted me to come and tried out, it was a blessing. For me, in a way, because with her going out and traveling to fight, I never know when she could lose her life,” he told FiBA in an interview. “For her to fight and do that, I can only come out here and do that to represent USA to the best of my ability.”
Newman has been core member of USA Basketball youth development program and a big reason for this country’s unbeaten record under head coach Don Showalter in the the 2013 U16 and 2014 U17 international competitions.
He scored 15 points and had 6 assists as the U.S. defeated Japan, 122-38, rolling over an Asian representative who, like the Philippines, lacked the height and physical size to deal with America’s old school power centers and the best goruip of athletic wings ever to represent this country.
The game was over before it started, with the Americans– who have gotten better in each game since a 83-73 wake up call victory against Greece in the opener, jumping out to a 22-0 lead at the start .
“I think we’ve got another gear left in us, too” Newman said.
The United States– which as seven players averaging in double figures– has become the team to beat and it is hard to believe anyone can beat them. But the journey will not be anywhere as easy was it was last year when the US U16s– which produced nine members of this U17 roster– cruised to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas, winning all five games by an average of 53 points. “I actually think I have to do better here because the competition has gotten better. We really can’t say we have the front row.”
It should be interesting to watch the Americans when they play China in Thursday’s quarterfinals at the Hamden Sports Complex, a state of the art 15,000 seat arena located 25 miles from downtown Dubai. The Chinese are a team with two potential future international stars– 6-4 forward Yanhao Zhao, who is averaging 22.1 points, had 32 in a Round of 16 victory over Italy and is one of the top 5 players in this tournament not wearing a USA uniform; and 6-9 forward Jinqiu Hu, who is the leading rebounder in the competition. Like everyone else in the tournament, China’s biggest problem against the Americans will be a lack of depth. Zhao, Hu and Fu Hao, who have combined to score 75 percent of their team’s points
The American’s side of the bracket also includes Canada and Serbia, who both have superior back courts but no true big man to test 6-10, 264-pound senior center Diamond Stone.
If 60-year old Showalter, a high school lifer from Iowa, wins this competition, it will be his sixth gold medal in youth development competition and it may be time for FIBA to give him more than a passing glance when they meet to seriously consider candidates for their Hall of Fame.
If Newman wins a second gold, it could help him make up ground on 6-9 forward Ben Simmons from Monteverde, Fla. Academy, in the race for national High School Player of the Year and add some drama to his recruitment. Newman, who is being recruited heavily by Kansas, Connecticut, Kentucky and Mississippi State, has been lobbying for Stone, his best friend, to join him at the same college and has taken to social media to push for the two to go as a package the way center Jalil Okafor and point guard Tyus Jones did last year when they both opted to sign with Duke. “With him being the dominant person he is on the inside and me being a dominant scorer, I think we compliment each other’s game, so I wouldn’t;t mind playing with him,” Newman admitted.
Newman doesn’t plan on signing until next spring.
That should be worth more than a few hits on his web site and Twitter.
