After a long stretch of being basically irrelevant in the college basketball landscape, it appears Arkansas may be making its way back into the limelight. The Razorbacks, led by head coach Mike Anderson, have made the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons and are on the rise in the SEC. Arkansas' current 2016 recruiting class is ranked 13th in the nation, but that may be given a major boost as consensus top ten recruit Malik Monk has named his top six schools with one of them being Arkansas, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
The full list is Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida State, Kansas, North Carolina and Oregon. Monk has also scheduled official visits to four of the six with Florida State and North Carolina yet to set a date. Oregon will be the first school he visits (Sept. 18), and Arkansas will be the last (Oct. 24), but as of now it appears Arkansas is the favorite to land the combo guard, according to 247 Sports.
Monk is a native of Bentonville, Ark., which could be the main reason the Razorbacks are considered the early favorite, but he has also taken an unofficial visit there and said it was "a nice experience." A lot can change after official visits, but staying home to play ball is usually very appealing to a lot of recruits.
Monk is officially listed as a shooting guard, but he can also handle the ball really well and has the ability to play the point which adds to his value. Monk is ranked as the fifth overall prospect and the number one shooting guard in the 2016 class, according to ESPN, and is at his best when he is in transition and able to use his tremendous athleticism. Monk will need to work on making his perimeter jump shot consistently and his shot selection, but his high level of athleticism cannot be taught and he should be able to score immediately upon arrival at a college campus.
Although Arkansas is the favorite to land Monk, Kentucky is still a huge factor, like it usually is. If the Razorbacks were to land him, it would be doubly great as they will be getting a five-star recruit and they would also prevent their SEC rivals from getting a five-star recruit. Arkansas may take a step back in the 2015-16 season after losing key players from last year's team, but the potential addition of Monk for 2016-17 would make it a big-time factor in the SEC, as the program's 2016 recruiting class is already very good.
