Malik Monk

De'aaron Fox, Malik Monk Don't Help Draft Cases In Elite 8

... with his man. Moreover, Fox’s snake-quick hands led to his two steals. However, the Tar Heels went under screens set for him, thereby letting him shoot from beyond the arc — and a pull-right 15-footer was airmailed. Moreover, although Fox was repeatedly able to take his left-handed slants into the paint, five of his layups attempts were blocked. Although he’ll still be an upper-echelon draft pick, Fox needs to work on his shooting and his ability to finish in a crowd to excel in the NBA. Given his superior athleticism, this should take him one, perhaps, two seasons. MONK — 4-of-10 (3-of-6 from 3) for 13 points in 30 minutes. AP Photo/Brandon Dill. At 6’3” and 200 pounds, Monk is a tweener. He lacks the skills to be a point guard in the NBA, but is somewhat undersized to play shooting guard. And shooting is what Monk does best. Not super-quick with the ball, Monk needs screens to get his shots off. Tightly defended by Justin Jackson, Monk forced and missed several jumpers from near and far. Besides his trio of triples, his only other bucket was a layup on a fast break. Monk ...

The Return Of Malik Monk's Shot Was A Warm Welcome For Kentucky

... Tournament record against UCLA, but more important for Kentucky’s future, fellow freshman Malik Monk broke out of his slump. The “S” word is one Monk never used to describe his recent string of shooting woes. Senior guard Mychal Mulder never associated Monk and slump either. But the sharpshooter was firing blanks prior to Friday night. Monk was 18 of 54 (33 percent) from the field and 5 of 22 (23 percent) from 3-point range in his first five postseason games dating back to the SEC Tournament. After going 3 of 11 in the first round against Northern Kentucky and 3 of 10 against Wichita State, Monk went 8 of 17 and 4 of 9 from 3-point land against UCLA to help propel the Cats to the Elite Eight. “I feel like we’re unstoppable if he’s hitting,” senior guard Dominique Hawkins said. It was Monk’s outing that backed up Fox’s center stage performance. Fox’s 39 points set an NCAA Tournament freshman scoring record. He delivered a knockout blow in the Fox vs. Lonzo Ball bout. But Monk’s perimeter shooting opened wide lanes for Fox. “Don’t nobody leave me,” Monk said. “I tell him to come to my side of the floor if he wants to score.”. And the slashing Fox, ...

Tar Heels Know There's More To Wildcats Than Malik Monk, But

... you get better,” Pinson said. “Just keeping the ball out of his hands as much as you can, but great scorers, they’re going to get the ball in their hands.”. Of course, things have changed since that meeting on Dec. 17, with Carolina players looking back on the loss as a turning point in their season — a night that they learned a tough lesson on defending with effort on every possession. More often than not, the Tar Heels would be good enough to outscore opponents, but why chance it. It’s not just Monk who’s a cause for concern, with De’Aaron Fox posting a career-high 39 points in Friday night’s victory over UCLA. Isaiah Briscoe is capable of a 20-point night, while Dominique Hawkins and Derrick Willis can spread the floor with their 3-point shooting. There’s only one solution, and that’s to defend the way the Tar Heels never did during the track meet in Las Vegas. That starts with setting the tone by making life tough on Monk and going from there. “Coach always says, ‘Try to guard someone like how you don’t like to be guarded,’ ” guard Joel Berry said. “If we can get up into him ...

Malik Monk Could Become A Darling Of The Dance

... end of February, Monk has made just 32.5 percent of his shots, including only 3 of 15 from 3-point range. RELATED: Calipari’s preseason prediction for Bam is coming true. But in his mind, that merely means the next nuclear explosion is just around the corner. He’s yet to go more than four consecutive games without scoring more than 20 points –  his current drought ties that mark – so look out. Monk is the first freshman in UK history to score 30-plus four times and he’s the second-leading scorer nationally among freshmen at 20.4 per game. Remember when he swished seven 3-pointers against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in his third college game? Or when he dropped 47 points and the winning 3-pointer on North Carolina in Las Vegas? How about that time he poured in 31 of his 37 points after halftime, including the late jumper to force overtime, when starting point guard De’Aaron Fox sat out against Georgia. It’s easy to imagine Monk becoming a darling of the 2017 NCAA ...

Visiting Lepanto, Arkansas

... want to know. It’s their business.”. Added Hope Young: “He has a backbone in his mom and Marcus. They deal with some heavy stuff.”. Buy Photo. Damani Coleman, 5, (left) and D'Marious Buchanan, 3, play at "The Woodz," the courts where University of Kentucky standout freshman Malik Monk shined during his early years in Lepanto, Ark. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal). 'A Benedict Arnold'. For better or worse, Lepanto always served as Monk's natural insulant. It is still the type of place where, “you don’t even have to lock the doors to leave the house because everybody knows everybody," Madden said. And so, as Sam Young leaned against his truck one day last week, it seemed as if every passerby knew him. The 69-year-old can't stand for too long anymore, his body as battered as his ride. Arthritis from a tractor accident years ago is catching up with him. But he's often been told his mouth does more than enough running for his body, and today he's trading stories with Sylvester Brown, a retired truck driver who happened to be biking down the street. The conversation bounces between topics both playful and portentous. How Young could never dare Malik because ...

With Josh Jackson, Malik Monk Out, What Impression Did They Leave

... struggled mightily to contain his ability to change speeds on a dime. Fox's shot needs some work, particularly from deep. He made a few 3-pointers and demonstrated nice form and a good follow-through particularly against North Carolina in the Elite 8, but while the potential is there, we are yet to see consistent results. If Fox becomes a decent shooter, especially from three, he could be one of the best point guards in this loaded class. Where the Celtics will likely be drafting, however, he would probably be a reach, especially given the team's stockpile of great defenders who struggle to shoot. Malik Monk, Kentucky. Here's the slightly uncomfortable question top lottery teams are going to need to answer regarding Monk: Are you super super sure that Malik Monk isn't a star in the making. After all, Monk is a deadly 3-point shooter who can heat up in a hurry. When he heats up, he can go berserk, as he proved against Michigan State earlier this year when he scored 47 points on 28 ...

Malik Monk Is Uk’s Sixth Wooden All-american In Calipari Era

... Jackson (Kansas), Justin Jackson (North Carolina), Luke Kennard (Duke), Frank Mason III (Kansas), Caleb Swanigan (Purdue) and Nigel Williams-Goss (Gonzaga) on the team. Ball, Hart, Mason III, Swanigan and Williams-Goss are the five finalists for the Wooden Award. Monk is the sixth Wildcat named a Wooden Award All-American in the John Calipari era. He joins Tyler Ulis (2016), Willie Cauley-Stein (2015), Anthony Davis (2012), De Marcus Cousins (2010) and John Wall (2010) as other UK players to earn the distinction. Monk finished his freshman season averaging 19.8 points per game, second among all freshmen nationally, and reached double-figure scoring in all but two games this season. With 14 points in the second-round game against Wichita State, he became UK’s all-time leading freshman scorer with 721 points, passing Jamal Murray’s output of 720 from a season ago. His record-breaking ...

Tar Heels On Bam Adebayo, Isaac Humphries, Malik Monk

... Bam Adebayo, Isaac Humphries, Malik Monk. Subscribe via Email. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address. Tar Heels on Bam Adebayo, Isaac Humphries, Malik Monk. Bam Adebayo (Jeff Houchin Photo). Here is what North Carolina players had to say after Sunday’s 75-73 win over Kentucky in Memphis. Q. Kennedy and Justin, can you talk about the game plan to make things difficult for Bam Adebayo? And then did you expect for Isaac Humphries to play the way he did even though you all were so effective on Bam. KENNEDY MEEKS: I feel like our main objective coming into the game was to play them straight up, wall when you got the ball inside, and try to do our best job of boxing him out because he is a strong guy and does a tremendous job of hitting the boards. As the big man, I think we did a tremendous job of executing that game plan. We did a great job of running down the floor like Coach asked us to do, posting up, setting screens for our teammates to get them open. And for Humphries, he’s a great ...