KU assistant says Malik Newman ‘a little bit better’ on Monday

By Matt Tait     Dec 11, 2017

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Kansas guard Malik Newman (14) leaves the game with a concussion during the second half, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Filling in for KU coach Bill Self on Hawk Talk on Monday night, Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts provided a brief update on the injury status of sophomore guard Malik Newman.

Newman left Sunday’s 95-85 loss to Arizona State late in the game after taking a knee to the head and winding up down on the floor for several minutes.

Self said after the loss that he was told Newman had suffered a concussion and Roberts indicated that Newman’s condition had improved in the 24 hours since KU’s loss.

“He’s got a bit of a headache and that stuff,” Roberts said midway through the show. “But he seemed to be doing a little bit better.”

As for whether Newman will be ready in time for Saturday’s 7 p.m. game at Nebraska, Roberts said the team was hopeful that Newman would be ready to go for KU’s next game.

“Yeah, hopefully he will,” Roberts said. “He’s got a few days here. (He’ll) just take some time and everything, but I think he took a pretty good shot there when he hit his head on the guy’s knee.”

Newman, who is in his first year of eligibility with Kansas after transferring from Mississippi State following his freshman season, has started eight of nine games for the Jayhawks (7-2) and is averaging 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game while shooting .405 from 3-point range.

If Newman is unable to play — or even if he is limited in any capacity — freshman guard Marcus Garrett, who started the one game that Newman did not, likely would receive an increase in his minutes.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.