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By Taylor C. Snow | @taylorcsnow
The University of Kentucky has had its fair share of high-volume freshmen
scorers over the years, but no rookie in program history ever put on a clinic
like Malik Monk did this season. The Arkansas native established Wildcat
freshman single-game and single-season scoring records, after scoring 47 points
against No. 7 North Carolina and totaling 754 points over the course of the
38-game campaign. Monk’s offensive efforts resulted in him winning the Jerry
West Award for the top shooting guard in the nation, and he’s widely believed to
be the best at his position in the 2017 draft class.
By Marc D’Amico | @Marc_DAmico
Possessions Scouted from 2016-17 Season: OFFENSE: 16.4 percent of possessions
DEFENSE: 20.0 percent of possessions
Malik Monk is an undersized 2-guard who plays with a shoot-first mentality. That
mentality is warranted, because he can shoot the rock. Monk is an excellent
shooter off of nearly every perimeter shot type. He shoots it at a high clip off
of the catch, off of pull-ups, off of dribble hand-offs and off of step-backs.
He has a quick release. The negative to Monk’s offensive game is that he doesn’t
provide much else outside of shooting. He is a below-average scorer in the paint
and is a below-average ball handler, particularly going left. He will not create
offense outside of creating his own perimeter shot. He doesn’t have a quick
first step and is not explosive off the dribble. His defensive ability looks
worse than it really is because he puts himself in bad positions by
ball-watching; there were many instances this season in which he completely lost
his man because he was watching the ball. He showcases average reaction time
defensively and average foot speed. He gives up on plays and possessions. He
verbally placed blame on teammates on many occasions during game action, and
whether it was warranted or not, that shouldn’t happen. Monk will provide his
future team with perimeter shooting, but as an undersized 2-guard who, for now,
can’t play point guard, his upside is limited.
By Taylor C. Snow | @taylorcsnow
Malik Monk was born Feb. 4, 1998 in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Michael Scales and
Jackie Monk. He has one older brother, Marcus, played Division I college
basketball and football at the University of Arkansas. Marcus was an All-SEC
wide receiver for the Razorbacks and was drafted in the seventh round of the
2008 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. The younger Monk attended Bentonville High
School and was widely considered to be the top shooting guard in his class of
2016. During his senior season, he averaged 28.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.4
assists per game. He established a single-game program record with 53 points,
and led the Tigers to the 2016 state title game. Monk was named Arkansas Mr.
Basketball and earned 2016 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year honors. He also
starred in the Jordan Brand Classic, as he logged 22 points, five rebounds,
three assists and three steals, and shared MVP honors with fellow University of
Kentucky signee De’Aaron Fox. Monk was ranked as the No. 11 overall recruit in
the nation by 247Sports, was listed at No. 13 by Scout, and was ranked No. 9 by
both ESPN and Rivals. He chose to commit to UK over Alabama, Arkansas, Florida
State, Kansas and Oregon. Monk excelled during his lone season in Lexington,
Kentucky, as he established a number of Wildcats scoring records. He averaged a
team-best 19.8 points per game, while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and
39.7 percent from 3-point range. He scored a UK rookie-record 754 points and was
the top-scoring freshman in the nation. Monk also set the UK freshman
single-game scoring record on Dec. 17, when he tallied 47 pointson 18-of-28
shooting (including 8-of-12 from 3-point range) to lead the No. 6 Wildcats over
No. 7 North Carolina for a 103-100 win. He scored 20-plus points 19 times and
eclipsed the 30-point mark on four occasions. Monk earned a number of awards at
season’s end, as he was named SEC AP Player of the Year, AP Newcomer of the Year
and received the Jerry West Award for top shooting guard in the nation. Monk
declared for the NBA Draft on April 4.
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/celtics/draft/profile-malik-monk
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Taxonomy: NBA Draft, Draft Profile Series
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