9th March, 2025—It was the last home game of the Florida State Seminoles in the Donald L. Tucker Center for Leonard Hamilton and the team’s star center. HC Hamilton already announced his retirement after 23 seasons and the star center, Malique Ewin, entered the transfer portal after finishing the season with Florida State. As expected, both made their mark in the game with a win.

Hamilton got his 200th ACC regular-season win while Malique Ewin scored a career-high 26 points, with 8 rebounds. With a game left in the season, Ewin just upped his impressive stats at the Seminoles, making him ready for the new challenge.

The 6-foot-10 Ewin was an impactful transfer for the Noles program from Ole Miss last season. He appeared in 14 games as a sophomore for the Ole Miss and clocked just 6.1 minutes per contest. Taking his opportunities on the Sunny side of the country, his average reaches an all-time high with 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Now, a year-long stay was about to end for the Lawrenceville-born star. Interestingly, Ewin is the ninth Seminole to enter the transfer portal following the 17-15 season. This looks like a major overhaul at the Florida State side.

One would say that his time at Florida State makes him best suited for lucrative offers from top colleges. Although it could be the case, he is already reaping the fruits of his decision to enter the transfer portal following a high-output season. According to On3, Malique Ewin’s NIL valuation is now in millions.

No, there is no decimal point missing in the calculation. Ewin’s earlier valuation was expected to be in thousands. But after a breakout season and entering the transfer portal, the new valuation reached $1.5 million. This rise also puts him in the 20th position in the college basketball ranking.

It is important to know that On3 determines NIL valuations for college athletes, including basketball players, using a proprietary algorithm. This algorithm combines Roster Value (compensation from schools/collectives) and NIL Value (market value for licensing/sponsorship) based on factors like performance, media exposure, and social media presence.

While the ex-Florida star has around 16.6K followers across major social media portals, his on-court performance certainly played a major role in the massive surge. Now with this, Ewin can attract a few high-paying deals in the future. Will it help in his progress in his basketball career? Yes, a high NIL value indicates a high-impact player, both on and off the court. And this could give his recruitment a slight push.

Malique Ewin’s next destination could shape his career

The big man has the quality and potential to be part of a championship contender side. Finishing his only season at FSU as the second-leading scorer and ACC’s leading field-goal shooter with 59.6%, many title-aspirant teams will look to pick him in the transfer portal.

A few points that could work in his favor are his work rate, frontcourt dominance, and eligibility. Currently, he is one of the top big men available on the market with one year of eligibility remaining. Ranked as the nation’s No. 10 center and No. 3 player in Georgia, Ewin has chances to play for his former side Ole Miss and this time take a more active role.

Another option is the Kentucky Wildcats, where Ewin could be a perfect substitution for Amari Williams. Coach Mark Pope can form a dominant pairing with Ewin and Otega Oweh. If Ewin stays true to the crystal balls and ends up committing to Arkansas, he gives Calipari a solid veteran presence in the front court. Ewin will have a good chance of making a deep run with either side in the NCAA tournament. Who can win the bidding war? We will keep a close eye on it for sure.