Malik Newman was a five star recruit in the class of 2015, ranked 8th nationally by 247 Sports coming out of high school. A McDonald’s All-American, Newman committed to Mississppi State, which was entering its first year under Ben Howland. Naturally, when he transferred to Kansas, his pedigree as a recruit was the main highlight for fans.
Unfortunately, holding a college player accountable to his recruiting rankings is frequently unfair. Wayne Selden found himself frequently maligned by the Jayhawk faithful during his three years in Lawrence, despite being a generally solid player. True, part of this was due to his tendency to disappear at times (more on this later), but it seems unlikely he would have drawn such ire if many mock drafts hadn’t considered him a one-and-done with lottery potential.