KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Less than one week after playing in the Final Four, KU sophomore guard Malik Newman declared Wednesday for the NBA Draft.
"First off I want to thank God for the opportunity," Newman said in a release. "I want to thank Coach Self and the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity to come to Kansas.
"I definitely want to thank my teammates. The journey with these guys has been nothing short of amazing. My two years here was everything that I asked for. My redshirt year, I had a chance to develop and Coach Self took me under his wing and really prepared me. This year I had a chance to come out and play and this was the plan, to try to put myself in position to chase my dream. I sat down and talked with Coach Self and my family and this is the best time to do it. With that being said, I'll forego my junior year at Kansas and I will put my name in the NBA Draft and plan on signing with an agent."
Malik Newman announces he is departing #KUbball, plans to hire an agent and enter the NBA Draft.
Wishing you the best, @iammaliknewman!
➡️ https://t.co/ItLwUzFimk pic.twitter.com/MKdFwcy2c1
— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) April 4, 2018
Newman averaged 14.2 points and five rebounds per game this past season. But in the NCAA Tournament, he scored in double digits in all of KU's five games, averaging 21.6 points per game.
"He came to Kansas and knew after a redshirt year he would hopefully put himself into a position to be a professional basketball player after one year competing," said head coach Bill Self in the release. "He had a terrific season this year and was one of the best players in the NCAA tournament. I think this is good timing for Malik. We wish nothing but the best for him and appreciate all his efforts. We all know his best basketball is still ahead of him."
The NBA Draft is June 21.
