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It's official, 5-star combo guard Malik Newman has committed to play basketball at Mississippi State University. Newman made his decision Friday during a ceremony that was live streamed on clarionledger.com.
Newman, a 6'3" 175 pound guard from Callaway High School in Jackson, MS is considered the 8th best overall player in the country by 247 Sports, 10th overall by ESPN, and 8th overall by Rivals.
New MSU head coach Ben Howland has only been on the job for one month and grabbed what could be considered the biggest recruit commitment in the history of MSU basketball today. For much of Newman's recruitment, it was predicted that he would commit to Kentucky, LSU, or Kansas but when Howland took his post at MSU after Rick Ray was fired in March, everything shifted in the Bulldogs' favor.
With an already senior-laden team, Newman's commitment instantly makes MSU one of the top teams in the SEC in 2015 and brings a huge amount of hype and excitement back to a program that has been withering over the previous three seasons. Newman joins 4-star SG Quinndary Weatherspoon and 3-star PF Joseph Strugg in MSU's 2015 recruiting class. 3-star juco PF Ray Kasongo is also expected to commit to the Bulldogs sometime in the next few weeks.