Prospect Introduction: Malaki Sylvia

Who is he?:

Malaki, a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, just completed his final season playing with Parkersburg South High School (Parkersburg, WV). They finished the year at 16-8 overall and had already punched their ticket in the Class AAA state tournament before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus. Malaki averaged 18.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 assists. Over the past year, he has really improved upon his skills. He has improved his jump shot and handle and was able to display that this year, opposed to everything being layups and dunks as a junior.

He spent this past summer playing with Garner Road WV for Coach Stacy Shannon. There he played alongside CJ Allison (current Potomac State guard), Tayon English (current Potomac State guard), Ethan Kent (current Potomac State guard), Torin Lochow (Marietta College commit) and many other college prospects.

Sylvia is a 6'5" power forward/small forward that can really fill up the stat sheet. At 6'5", he is extremely athletic which made him very intriguing to college coaches. Malaki possesses good foot speed and jumps very well. He has developed into a solid mid range and 3 point shooter. He is also a good finisher and has good body control when absorbing contact. Malaki is also capable of guarding 1-4 at the collegiate level because of his size, mobility and toughness.

Watching him play this year, he reminded me of Thaddeus Young. Each display high level athleticism, the ability to put the ball on the floor as a 4 and SPRINT the floor every play.

Recruitment?:

Sylvia has committed to play basketball at Marietta College (D3) in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). He also was receiving interest from Shepherd University (D2), the University of Charleston (D2), West Virginia State University (D2), West Virginia Wesleyan College (D2), along with some other D3 schools.