Newman's will to win sets him apart

By: LARRY VAUGHT


BENTON — Because he was a point guard and played against Kentucky in college, David Sanders knows what it would be like if his star player, Malik Newman, decided to play at UK.

“There are people who play for Kentucky and people who want to play for Kentucky,” said Sanders, the coach at Callaway (Miss.) High School.

He has his team here for the Marshall County Hoop Fest and knows it is a chance for Newman, one of the top-rated players in the 2015 recruiting class, to see the passion UK fans have for basketball.

“This atmosphere is something he can learn from. People here are basketball crazy,” Sanders said. “When I played at Kentucky, the first basket Kentucky scored was a layup and it got so loud in the building. I have never experienced anything like that before. I wanted him to see that, too.”

Newman 35 points on 11-for-24 shooting — he was 5-for-12 from 3-point range and 8-for-9 at the foul line — and had four rebounds, four assists and one steal. He also had nine turnovers — “We just didn’t have enough guys do things to help him,” Sanders said — in the 76-65 loss Friday to Archbishop Carroll of Philadelphia and UNLV committ Derrick Jones (16 points, nine rebounds).

“I was just trying to attack and do anything to help us get the W (win),” Newman said.

Newman, the most valuable player of the FIBA under 17 World Championships for the winning U.S. team, has already been projected as the No. 5 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com. However, he’s yet to narrow his college list even though coaches from UK, Kansas, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina State and Texas A&M all made home visits. He has not taken any official visits or set dates for any visits.

He did make an unofficial visit to UK’s Big Blue Madness.

“It was crazy,” Newman said after Friday’s game. “The Big Blue fans are crazy. It was really everything I expected. Maybe the fan thing was a little more. We went to two practices and the guys played hard and really got after it.”

He said he likes coach John Calipari’s style.

“Every year it is different with different players,” he said.

He was appreciative of the fan turnout and support — he signed numerous autographs after the game Friday — that he got here.

“Kentucky fans showed a lot of love,” he said. “It’s almost the same at home after every game.”

Sanders thinks Newman is as special as the fans do.

“I  have seen a lot of basketball,” Sanders said. “I have seen enough to know that Malik is the best player to every come through the state. Even when you count Chris Jackson. Malik has won three state championships, two gold medals (with USA Basketball). He’s accomplished so much and has been a major cog on all the team’s he has been on. Even with USA Basketball, he was the first player to face double teams while playing with the best players in the country.

“He’s just a dynamic player, but what makes him great is his will to win. He has talent and athleticism, but Malik wants to win. Last year we should have lost games and Malik would just look up and say we are not losing. We played at the No. 1 team in the state and Malik was throwing up. We were down nine with a minute left, and he scored 12 and willed us to a win. That was not against a cupcake team, but the No. 1 team on its home floor.”

Sanders, who played professional basketball overseas, said his players get to “ride with Malik” and get a lot of attention because of him and the way he plays.

“Malik knows who he is. He knows now how to play high Division I basketball,” Sanders said. “But he wants to win another championship with these guys.”

He’s friends with current UK freshman guard Devin Booker, another Mississippi product.

“They are pretty good friends and have been for a while,” Sanders said. “He’s a great kid just like Malik.”

He said he could see himself fitting in at Kentucky with guards Booker and Tyler Ulis, both freshmen, as well as incoming New Jersey guard Isaiah Briscoe.

“I like Briscoe. We would be good together if I did go to school there,” Newman said. “Our games compliment each other. We could not be doubled and it would open the floor for both of us.”

Sanders knows that Newman will continue to work to improve no matter where he goes or who he will be playing against.

“Malik doesn’t go to parties, prom, birthdays. He wants to be in the gym. I go, his dad goes, his trainer goes. Any chance he gets, he wants in the gym. My wife once actually thought I was stepping out on here because I was leaving for the gym at 10 p.m. for Malik. I had to take her with me one night to show here. I had to get her to understand what kind of kid he is.

“He won’t let anyone outwork him. We would run at 5 a.m. and he would come in at 4 a.m. He wants to outwork you and if he is not, he is not happy. He is just a rare kid. A lot of kids don’t like regular work, much less extra work. But he likes working all day if he can.”

Sanders also tries to make sure Newman, and his teammates, gets to have fun and did so on this trip.

“Most guys that coach high school have not played at a high level. I hate strict disciplinarians,” Sanders said. “They are high school kids. If they can’t have fun, they won’t do it. I am a young guy. A lot of things I allow them to do they come up with and have fun. If I let them have fun, then I can throw that in their face if they are not working. But with Malik, he never stops working. You have to almost make him have fun.”