When Coach Cal arrived to the University of Kentucky many felt the rebirth of the Bluegrass State in terms of basketball. But an AAU program not far from the campus has already planted the seed of resurrection. Hoop Dreams has become the household name for upcoming prospects including one of the top sophomores in the country Jaylen Beckham. Their future also looks bright with the emergence of 6th Grader Malik Dow. Dow is a 6’3 forward that made his Spotlight debut last year at the MDC.
Dow is a lanky forward that has the potential of moving to the guard spot. Hoop Dreams founder and coach Mike Scott agrees “He has the potential to move to the wing and develop into a big time guard. OJ Mayo played the post position at the same age and you see the end result” Scott added. Right now Scott is willing to take the benefits of Dow dominating his age group and even dunking the basketball. Dow is a constant shot blocker and has developed some decent post moves. During the MDC he showed major promise but his coach knows he has great room for improvement. “He needs to develop his ball handling, shooting and strength. But I do feel he’s a promising high major prospect” Scott finished.
I think I have the gift of identifying top prospects and having seen Dow play a few times I’m comfortable giving him the nod. No, he didn’t get the “The Stamp” yet but I do see a lot of good tools in his arsenal. His coach doesn’t think he’s no-where near is potential “He’s young right now but he has the potential to be very good with hard work and dedication” Scott added. Dow and his Hoop Dreams teammates will once again make the trip to the Basketball Spotlight MDC and we will keep you updated on his progress.
