In April 2019, following a senior season in which he averaged more than 37 points per game, Newton signed with East Carolina. Steve Roccaforte, an East Carolina assistant and native of Port Arthur, Texas, had found out about Newton from his contacts in the state and liked what he saw. Newton’s other Division 1 offers were from Delaware State, Evansville, Northeastern, Jackson State and Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
“He was a little bit shy, which you have to get out of a point guard, and he had to get stronger,” said Joe Dooley, Newton’s coach at East Carolina who is now the director of student-athlete development at Kansas. “But he’s always been a tough shot taker and a tough shot maker. Late in the clock, he’s able to find ways to get shots off and be creative.”
As a freshman, Newton was second on the team in points (11 per game) and rebounds (4.5) and first in assists (3.7) and steals (1.7). The next season, he played in 17 games in a COVID-19-shortened season and averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He then had a breakthrough as a junior, averaging 17.7 points, 5 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game and making second team All American Athletic Conference (AAC).
After that season, Dooley was fired, and Newton entered the transfer portal. About an hour later, Newton received a phone call from UConn assistant Kimani Young. Shortly afterward, he spoke via FaceTime with Hurley, who had coached against Newton when UConn was in the AAC during Newton’s freshman season.
Since Newton arrived, UConn has gone 10-0 in NCAA tournament games, winning each of them by at least 10 points, the longest streak in history. A year ago, Newton started 38 of 39 games and averaged 10.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. During UConn’s 76-59 victory over San Diego State in the national title game, Newton was arguably the best player on the floor, leading the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds and making all eight of his free throw attempts.
Newton declared for the NBA draft following the season, but he withdrew on May 31 and returned to UConn. He has played a bigger role this season and leads the Huskies in points (15), rebounds (6.7) and assists (6) per game. Hurley has been so impressed with Newton that he compares the point guard to former UConn stars such as Napier, Walker and Allen, all of whom were first round NBA picks.
“I think it’s more of a confidence thing,” Newton said of Hurley comparing him to other ex-UConn players. “We know what those guys did in the past. Those are UConn greats that nobody’s going to reach. He’s just trying to instill confidence in me.”
Although Newton has the best statistics and won the most individual awards this season among UConn players, the other four Huskies’ starters are considered better NBA prospects. ESPN’s most recent mock draft published this week has UConn center Donovan Clingan as the No. 3 pick, guard Stephon Castle as the No. 15 pick, forward Alex Karaban as the No. 50 pick and guard Cam Spencer as the No. 58 pick. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Castle (No. 6), Clingan (No. 11), Karaban (No. 39) and Spencer (No. 52) getting selected in his most recent mock draft, which was published before the NCAA tournament.
Newton, meanwhile, is not listed in either of those mock drafts. Hurley isn’t buying it.
“These front offices, a lot of it is analytics based,” Hurley said. “A lot of teams value him a lot more than these mock drafts do…He’s 6-5. He rebounds. He facilitates, play makes, and shoots NBA threes with pretty good efficiency, and he's a champion. I think he's going to play in the NBA for 12 to 15 years.”
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