BENTONVILLE —Malik Monk, one of the nation's top basketball prospects in the 2016 high school recruiting class, is transferring from East Poinsett County to Bentonville.

Monk's brother, former Arkansas Razorbacks football and basketball player Marcus Monk, confirmed Wednesday that his younger brother and his mother, Jacaynlene, are moving from Lepanto to Bentonville.

“I wanted to keep it low-key," said Marcus Monk, who resides in Fayetteville and confirmed the move during a telephone interview from Lepanto, where he was helping the family prepare for the move. "It’s not a big ordeal. We’re talking about a 15-year-0ld kid moving to another school in the same state.”

Malik Monk, a 6-foot-4 incoming sophomore shooting guard, averaged 22.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a freshman last season for an East Poinsett County team that went 25-8 and lost to Cedar Ridge in the Class 2A state championship game. He also was a member of the Arkansas Wings team that won the 16U AAU National Championship this summer.

Bentonville boys basketball coach Jason McMahan said he couldn’t comment on a transfer student until the student officially enrolls with the school and attends classes.

East Poinsett County coach Josh Hill said Wednesday that no one had said anything to him about Monk's move and that he wasn't aware of the circumstances surrounding it, but he wasn't caught completely off guard by the news.

“For elite-level players, this is probably more common than what you think,” said Hill, who is in his seventh season as EPC's coach. “At about this age, it gets so wild and crazy that all of a sudden people think they need to make changes and all that.

"It’s not that uncommon, really."

Marcus Monk said there are better job opportunities for his mother in Bentonville and that Malik will have better academic opportunities at Bentonville.

“It’s a better situation for both of them,” Marcus Monk said. “We’re now in the process of moving, and we just have to take care of the small things first."

Jacaynlene Monk had worked in the East Poinsett County School District, where she made $14,649 over a 178-day contract for the 2012-13 school year, according to school’s classified contracts. She had looked for work elsewhere, but was unsuccessful.

Marcus Monk said he brought his mother to Northwest Arkansas for a visit, and a two-week stay convinced her to make the move. She searched for an apartment in the Bentonville area Wednesday, and Marcus Monk said his brother will enroll at Bentonville as soon as an apartment is found and a physical address can be provided.

“There are just no jobs to be found in Lepanto,” Marcus Monk said. “People have to go out 40-45 minutes from here to find work. There are way more opportunities for my mother here so she can support my little brother.

“The schools up here are second-to-none. As far as academics, Malik is going to be taken care of, and that’s first and foremost. He has decent grades, but here he’ll have to focus on his work and take care of business. As far as basketball, he’ll be somewhere with a staff I can trust and know they are going to treat him like they will treat the other players on the team.”

Malik Monk will join a team that enjoyed its most successful season in 25 years last year. The Tigers return two starters, sophomore guard Tyrik Dixon and junior forward Daniel Head, from a team that went 21-9 and reached the semifinals of the Class 7A state tournament.