Bentonville senior Malik Monk, one of the top-rated prep basketball players in the country, announced Wednesday he will sign with Kentucky.
Monk made his announcement via Twitter, ending months of speculation of where the guard will play college basketball. He narrowed his choices to Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas and Oregon and made official visits to each school before he made his decision.
Monk, a 6-foot-5 guard, led Bentonville to the Class 7A state finals last season where the Tigers lost to North Little Rock.
Monk released the following statement on Twitter Wednesday morning:
First and foremost I want to thank God for his many blessings for for all the people he has placed in my life. I want to thank my Mother and Brother for being there for me throughout this entire process. I want to say thank you to my family and friends in Lepanto, and for the Bentonville coaching staff and community for accepting me as their own. I want to thank Ron Crawford and everyone in the Arkansas Wings organization for their support. I want to thank all my teammates who drive me everyday to be the best I can be on the court, I also want to thank ALL of the coaches who have reruited me over the past 4 years, its really been a great experience. Every coach and his staff treated myself and family with the utmost respect throughout the process and I’m very appreciative of this. This has been the toughest decision I have made in my life. With so many great coaches and historical programs recruiting me it has really been a tough but fun process. In saying this I will be continuing my maturation as a student athlete at The University of Kentucky. Having the opportunity to win a National Championship with my friends and the relationship I have with the coaching staff was very impactful in my decision.
Thank you and God Bless.
Monk, who transferred to Bentonville from East Poinsett County prior to his sophomore year, made an immediate impact when he helped the Tigers win a share of the 7A/6A-West Conference title that season and the outright 7A-West regular-season title last season. He averaged 26.9 points and 6.7 rebounds through 29 games last season and enters his senior season with 2,074 career points.
He broke the school’s single-game scoring record with a 47-point performance against St. Louis Chaminade Prep in the season opener in Tiger Arena last year, then broke it again in January when he scored 50 points against Chino Hills, Calif., in the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo.