6/5/2023 basketball Edit

South Florida gains commitment from Ole Miss transfer Malique Ewin

Russ Wood • BullsInsider

Managing Editor

Since accepting the South Florida men’s basketball head coach job Amir Abdur-Rahim has been busy building his roster for the 2023-24 season. Today he added another important piece from the transfer portal with a commitment from Mississippi big man Malique Ewin.

He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

South Florida, USF, Bulls — Dec 10, 2022; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels forward Malique Ewin (12) dunks during the second half against the Valparaiso Beacons at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)

The 6-foot-10, 220-pound Ewin appeared in 14 games for Ole Miss last season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds. He is a former consensus four-star recruit and was the No. 16 ranked center and the No. 103 overall prospect in the class of 2022. Ewin posted a career-high 10 points, going 4-4 from the field with five rebounds and five blocks on Dec. 14 against UCF.

Ewin has not played since Jan. 10 due to an investigation into an on-campus “one-car motor vehicle incident that occurred Jan. 13 involving a student that resulted in the death of a visitor to campus,” per a University of Mississippi statement.

Ewin joins fellow transfers Brandon Stroud, Chris Youngblood and Kasen Jennings (Kennesaw State), Jose Placer (North Florida), Kobe Knox (Grand Canyon) Kasean Pryor (NW Florida State) on the Bulls roster this season. USF has also added two high school prospects in 7-foot center Daniel Tobiloba and four-star Rivals150 point guard Jayden Reid.

RUSS’ REACTION

I had a chance to see Ewin during the 2021 travel team season and in limited action last November at the ESPN Invitational at Walt Disney World. He is a physically strong, skilled big with good size who can score on the block, finishes well in the paint and can finish with either hand. I liked his footwork in the post. Ewin’s face-up game extended almost to the high school three-point line. He is a capable rebounder with good athleticism. You can run your offense through Ewin because he has good hands and is comfortable with the ball beyond the three point arc. He can also play off the bounce to score with space.

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