Malachi Flynn has spent much of his basketball career flying under the radar.
During the three seasons he starred for Tacoma’s Bellarmine Prep, where he averaged a stunning 29.7 points per game as a senior, he was still an overlooked recruit.
The two seasons he played for Washington State — the only high-major program to offer him — he stood out as the Cougars’ starting point guard, but little attention was given to a program that tallied only six Pac-12 wins in that stretch.
When Flynn decided to transfer, and landed at San Diego State, he had to sit out a season per NCAA rules.
Last season, the spotlight finally found him. He emerged from the redshirt season as one of the nation’s top point guards, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, and led the Aztecs to a 30-2 record before the college basketball season was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was a consensus All-American and named the unanimous Mountain West Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
“I’ve always been under the radar — even as a kid, and in high school,” Flynn said in June, after returning home following his breakout season with the Aztecs.. “No matter where I’ve been, I haven’t been talked about as much.
“But, I think when we started winning, they had to show us some attention. They showed our whole team attention, and then some of that came back on me, too.”
The deserved attention and accolades finally peaked Wednesday night, when the 22-year-old finally heard his name called in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft — fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Flynn was a late first-round pick, selected No. 29 overall by the Toronto Raptors.
He’s no longer flying under the radar.
“A guy we followed for a big year,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster told reporters Wednesday night. “Had an incredible season at San Diego State. We actually just recently went out to see him in Las Vegas, so it was good to see him after probably about a 6-7 month layoff. Got a chance to speak to him, and spoke to him on Zoom earlier during the pandemic.
“So, someone we felt really comfortable with obviously and his character. Obviously had a really successful season. Won a ton this year at San Diego State.”
Lui Kit Wong lwong@thenewstribune.com
BELLARMINE’S BEST
Flynn may have been overlooked by college programs around the country, but across the South Sound, and Washington state, he became widely respected as the Lions’ top scorer.
He wrapped up his three-year varsity career in 2016 with 1,625 career points, which trails only Abdul Gaddy (1,985 career points in four seasons) in Bellarmine’s record book.
Flynn set the program’s single-season scoring record with 743 points as a senior while shooting 48% from the floor and 88% from the free throw line. His point total eclipsed the previous record of 722 set by Avery Bradley in 2008. Bradley has played in the NBA for the past decade.
Bellarmine reached the Class 4A state regionals twice with Flynn as its starting point guard.
Despite consistent production, though, Flynn didn’t receive much recruiting attention until late in his high school career.
“I think it’s just been my size,” Flynn recalled. “I don’t understand it, because I feel like every time I play somebody, I am right up there with them.”
He received offers from mid-major schools, and initially committed to Pacific as junior, but didn’t have an offer from a high-major until his senior season.
The summer before his senior season, while leaving for a recruiting trip, Flynn’s father, Eric, spotted WSU coach Ernie Kent in the airport.
Kent wasn’t familiar with Bellarmine’s sharp-shooting guard, so Eric introduced his son. Flynn kept in contact with WSU after the chance meeting.
Kent saw Flynn play in person the following winter when he dropped into Auburn High School for the 4A West Central District tournament, where Bellarmine was playing perennial state power Curtis in the semifinals.
“Next thing I knew, we were invited up to Pullman,” Eric said.
Players celebrate after a three-point-shot by Washington State guard Malachi Flynn (22) in the second half. The Washington Huskies played the Washington State Cougars in a basketball game at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Wash., on Sunday, January 1, 2017. Joshua Bessex jbessex@gateline.com
ON THE PALOUSE
Flynn committed to WSU not long after his high school season wrapped up, and was out to prove he belonged in the Pac-12.
“I just felt WSU was the best chance to go to a stage where I felt like I could compete and show everybody else I could,” he said.
He started all 31 games for the Cougars as a freshman — he was the third true freshman in program history to start every game — and made a quick impact, averaging 9.7 points, 2.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds.
Flynn built on those numbers as a sophomore, leading WSU in assists (4.3 per game) and steals (1.6). His 15.8 points per game ranked second behind small forward Robert Franks, who now plays professionally, and his 3.4 rebounds per game ranked third.
But, even with Flynn showing glimpses of greatness, the Cougars finished near the Pac-12 basement both seasons.
“It just wasn’t the right situation anymore,” he said.
He also knew transferring meant sitting out a season, which wasn’t ideal, but looking back said, “I think it just helped everything.”
“When I think about it, I’m glad I did sit out,” he said. “You see guys now getting their year and playing right away. But, for me, I’m happy I sat out and just matured in my game and then was able to show it a year later.”
San Diego Malachi Flynn plays against Boise State during the first half of a Mountain West Conference tournament NCAA college basketball game Friday, March 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken) Isaac Brekken AP
‘THE BEST SEASON I’VE HAD’
It also helped that San Diego State was the perfect fit.
Flynn said he had narrowed his choices to Creighton, Gonzaga and San Diego State, and the Aztecs made him feel like a priority from the moment they started recruiting him.
“I just felt like they really wanted me, they had a need for me, and they win at a consistent level,” he said.
He spent his redshirt season working with the team’s strength coach and refining his game.
“The sit-out year for me was probably the most important year of my life, to be honest,” he said. “Just getting better, just getting stronger in areas I needed to, and then coming out the next year and doing what I was supposed to, and having the ability to go to the next level.”
When Flynn’s junior season rolled around, it didn’t take long for the national attention to follow.
“Probably the best season I’ve had,” Flynn said. “It was the most fun I’ve had in a season — just winning game in and game out.”
The Aztecs opened 26-0 with Flynn as their starting point guard and leading scorer, and Flynn’s draft stock rapidly rose.
It may have been even higher had the pandemic not shut down the season before Flynn got the opportunity to guide San Diego State through the NCAA tournament.
But, Flynn knew he was ready to take the next step.
“I think just looking back at everything I was able to do in college, just becoming an All-American, just really getting mature in my game, I don’t think there was too much that I could come back for that I couldn’t learn in the NBA,” Flynn said. “The only thing was the (NCAA) Tournament. But, as far as my game being ready, I think it was time to make that decision.”
STAYING SHARP
When the college basketball season abruptly ended in March, Flynn returned to Tacoma.
In early June, he spoke excitedly about the possibility of hearing his name called later in the month.
“There are a lot of teams I feel like I could come in and contribute (to),” he said. “It’s just a matter of seeing what happens, and when it does, just being ready for the opportunity.”
Then the draft — initially set for June 25 — was postponed.
But, Flynn stayed sharp, spending the summer months in Las Vegas alongside other draft hopefuls working out at the Impact Basketball facility.
“I think definitely going out to see him in Las Vegas helped us have that face-to-face and some familiarity with who he was and how he carried himself, the energy he gave off,” Webster said.
What did the Raptors learn about Flynn?
“He’s a serious kid. He’s professional. He’s about the hard work. He’s about winning,” Webster said.
Flynn returned home again last month, planning to spend draft night with family in Tacoma, where his prolific basketball career began so many years ago.
Eric Flynn said when his son was a first-grader at Bryant Montessori School, Malachi’s class was assigned to write about what they wanted to be when they grew up.
“In first grade, at 6 years old, Malachi’s essay was that he wanted to be a NBA basketball player,” Eric Flynn said.
And now he is.
Bellarmine Prep’s Malachi Flynn splits Timberline defenders Jarry Bush, left, and Jaelen Bush to score Wednesday in Lacey. Flynn poured in 34 points in the victory. Dean J. Koepfler dkoepfler@thenewstribune.com
T-TOWN TIES
Flynn becomes the third Tacoma native drafted in the past decade, joining current NBA players Bradley and Isaiah Thomas.
Bradley, who was a standout at Bellarmine before wrapping up his high school career in Nevada, was a first-round pick out of Texas in 2010, and has been in the league for the past decade.
Thomas, who starred at Curtis and Washington, and was selected with the final pick of the 2011 draft, has been in the league the past nine years.
Thomas tweeted Wednesday afternoon that this would be a “big day for Tacoma” with Flynn projected to hear his name called in the first round. Back in September, Thomas wrote he believes Flynn is the best point guard in the draft.
While working out with other local basketball products in Tacoma this summer, Flynn noted the importance of maintaining these relationships.
“Guys like Isaiah and Avery, they kind of started it, and then they’re passing it down to us,” Flynn said. “And, I think it’s going to be our job to do that with the younger kids right now.
“I think just the whole city of Tacoma has love for one another, no matter what it is.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 7:52 PM.
Lauren Smith is a sports reporter at The News Tribune. She has covered high school sports for TNT and The Olympian, as well as the Seattle Mariners and Washington Huskies. She is a graduate of UW and Emerald Ridge High School.
