The Next Super Star?

Over the past couple of years, a few players in particular have been hyped in the basketball community. One of which is an 18 year old from Jackson, Mississippi named Malik Newman. Currently Malik is a freshman at Mississippi State University following his father Horatio Webster who played there from 1996 to 98. As a senior at Callaway high school, he was named as the #1 shooting guard in the country with a five star rating according to Rivals.com Malik managed to win state with his school team. Along with this, he played in McDonald's All-American Boys Game in 2015 and the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship where he was named MVP.

This is a pretty impressive resume for anyone to have. Of course experts and basketball fanatics all question what will happen with this young prospect. Is it possible that Malik could become the next Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and dare I say, Michael Jordan? As of now it is nearly impossible to know for sure he will go on the ranks of legendary point guards and hall of fame players. At the very least, I hope that he makes it to the NBA by the end of college. For these guys, sports are everything and they have been competing and training for basically their whole lives. With such dedication and accomplishment I feel like these kind of athletes like Malik Newman deserve to get far in a career that they love above everything else. I know how it feels to love something so much that you dedicate all of your time to it. Sports are the center of my life as well.

Now as much as I list all of Malik's accomplishments, one must think about what would happen if he is not drafted to a professional team. My father once told me that he went to school with a guy who was the valedictorian of the high school and was accepted into Harvard University. He was such a big shot until he started the curriculum, couldn't handle the pressure, and then moved back to Kearney, Nebraska to study Russian literature. My one worry is that Malik has potentially reached his "peak" in skill and can't progress any further or even starts to stack off during his college season. Let's say that he doesn't become part of a team like the Houston Rockets or Miami Heat and can barely pass any of his classes in college. Wouldn't it be sad if he went from a starter in the McDonald's All-American Game to working behind one of McDonald's cash registers?

Of course this are unlikely situations that Malik could be in, judging by his progress as a basketball player, but I can't help but wonder if he is in over his head or if he doesn't continue to put forth the same amount of effort in university. I personally support Malik Newman and his future and hope that he becomes successful. Where do you think he will be in ten years time? Is he overly hyped?

To read more about Malik Newman, check out him and his stats at espn.com