Jayhawks land former 5-star recruit Newman from Miss St

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Former five-star recruit Malik Newman is transferring to Kansas, where he will be forced to redshirt during the upcoming season and be classified as a sophomore beginning in 2017-18.

The 6-foot-3 Newman started 21 of 29 games as a freshman at Mississippi State last season, averaging 11.3 points. He hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points in a game against rival Ole Miss.

Newman declared for the NBA draft following the season, but chose to return to school after the annual scouting combine. At that point, he decided to continue his career at a different school.

Kansas coach Bill Self said he recruited Newman hard coming out of high school, and that his coaching staff jumped at getting a second chance with him. Self said the year Newman will spend as a redshirt will help him to address the things NBA scouts wanted to see out of him.