PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — It's six days until the MaxPreps Holiday Classic and the sixth highest rated player in the land,
Malik Monk will be the tournament's No. 1 rated player.
The 6-foot-3½ senior from
Bentonville (Ark.) has been one of the most visible players in the country since his youth days because of his high flying ability, scoring prowess and ability to hit clutch shots.
Photos by MaxPreps Photographers/Graphic by Social Recluse Graphx
He drilled two buzzer-beaters in the same week as a sophomore that were replayed on SportsCenter. They weren't for the faint of heart. The degree of difficult on both were off-the-charts.
But Monk, a Kentucky signee, has a flair for the dramatic. He's a human highlight reel.
MaxPreps correspondent Evin Demirel, a freelance writer from Arkansas, said that Monk looks "like Ray Allen's NBA Jam avatar mixed with the real Michael Jordan."
See Beyond The X piece on Malik Monk"I'm used to doing that," Monk said matter-of-factly after a state tournament alley-oop finish that prompted one blogger to deem him the "God of Dunk."
Bentonville, winners of 67 games since Monk and coach Jason McMahan entered the same year (2012-13), was a late entry into the tournament.
Bentonville senior Malik Monk is a scoring and dunking machine.
Photo by Marc F. Henning
The Tigers are off to a 5-1 start, with its only loss come at Chaminade (St. Louis). Bentonville is set to begin the tournament versus
St. Petersburg (Fla.), which is led by a pair of 6-4 guards and top recruits,
Travis Bianco and
Darius Banks.
Should be an interesting matchup in the 16-team Invitational Division of the 117-team, 11-Division Tournament that runs Dec. 26-30 in Palm Springs.
See MPHC Open Division bracketAs a sophomore, Monk 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.
This in a program that was 67-102 over seven seasons starting in 2005.
As a 10th grader, Monk already ranked with all-time great Arkansas prep players like Jackie Ridgle, Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer, Corliss Williamson and Joe Johnson, according to long-time observers.
"God blessed me with something special," Malik told Demirel then. "I want to be a superstar."
Earlier this month at the Natural State Shootout in Jonesboro, Monk scored 40 in the second half en route to an event record 53 points in an 84-76 win over Arlington (Tenn.). He made 16 of 30 shots, including seven three-pointers. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.
See MPHC site for all teams, brackets, storiesIn the first five games of 2015-16, Monk was averaging 35.4 points per game.
