Sacramento Kings star Malik Monk was inducted into the Bentonville High School Athletics Hall of Fame, and Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari expressed his happiness about the achievement. Calipari mentored Monk in his freshman year at Kentucky before he joined the Charlotte Hornets as the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
Other inductees included: Harvey Ricketts, Robert Bertschy, Jim Sellers, Erik Ragsdale, Shayne Wiedemann Reed and Kasey Ford. Calipari congratulated all the honorees and wrote on X, formerly Twitter:
“So happy for Malik Monk and his family! Malik was inducted into the Bentonville High School Athletics Hall of Honor tonight!”
The Hall of Honor at Bentonville High School was established in 2020 for the recognition of distinguished graduates of the school. Monk played as a sophomore at the school after transferring from East Poinsett County.The guard was born and raised in Arkansas. He went to the Kentucky Wildcats in 2016 as a top-rated basketball player, where Calipari coached.
He averaged 19.8 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.5 rebounds at Kentucky, and he shot 45% from the field and 39.7% from the 3-point range.
Monk signed with the LA Lakers in August 2021 before signing a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings in July 2022. This year, he averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists for the Kings.
Support of Malik Monk for coach John Calipari
John Calipari left the Kentucky Wildcats after serving the program for 15 years. He went to Arkansas after signing a five-year contract worth $ 7 million per season.Calipari led the program to a national championship victory in 2012 and four Final Four appearances.
Several top talents from Kentucky followed Calipari to Arkansas. Calipari took the decision in April and found support from Monk. The Sacramento Kings star wrote on X:
“Yall gone see me in Bud Walton”
The home games of the Arkansas Razorbacks are held at Bud Walton Arena. Because Monk was born and raised in the place as well, he had two strong reasons to be “seen” in Bud Walton.