Evin Demirel: Buzzer Beater – Malik Monk (Excerpt)

 

Editor’s Note: The following feature on Malik Monk is excerpted from Max Preps.

Another Malik Monk Dunk Courtesy of John David Pittman

Another Malik Monk Dunk – Courtesy of John David Pittman

Only a month past his 16th birthday, Bentonville (Ark.) sophomore Malik Monk is considered by many to be the nation’s best shooting guard in his age group. In socks, he is a 6-foot-3-inch combination of shooting skill, world-class athleticism, timing and balance that makes him at times look like Ray Allen’s NBA Jam avatar mixed with the real Michael Jordan.

“I’m used to doing that,” Malik said matter-of-factly after a state tournament alley-oop finish that prompted one blogger to deem him the “God of Dunk.”

It doesn’t take much YouTube-ing to realize, scarily enough, he isn’t exaggerating. And it’s not hyperbole to say Monk, already one of prep’s most electrifying players, is also on the cusp of becoming one of its hottest recruits. He has already gotten scholarship offers from Arkansas, Memphis, Kansas, Florida, Connecticut Baylor and Indiana. And Kentucky and North Carolina have recently shown strong interest.

The No. 6 player in the 2016 class according to 247 Sports averaged 22.7 points on 43 percent shooting, along with 2.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game this season, leading the Tigers within one game of the state 7A (largest classification) title game which took place Thursday night. This in a program that was 67-102 over seven seasons starting in 2005.

But Monk’s impact goes well beyond typical stats or even wins and losses. Few high school players match Monk in number of “oohs” and “aahs” elicited from the crowd. He has a way of playing to the crowd while looking all the time like he is simply going about his business in a workshop.

Continue reading the full feature here.

 

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