The best measure of Newman to me is what he's done with USA basketball. There have been a few exceptions where guys put up numbers on the age group teams simply because they were getting so many easy opportunities, but generally, guys who have excelled for USA Basketball have excelled in college. USA Basketball is highly motivated to pick the best players, because they want those guys to be excited about playing in the Olympics if they turn out good enough to be selected when they become pros.
And Newman excelled. Last summer, he was the leading scorer on the 17 and under team, and he did it while shooting 48%. He also led the team in assists, and went for 5 rebounds a game. That was a squad with Diamond Stone, Ivan Rabb, Harry Giles, Caleb Swanigan, Jayson Tatum, and Josh Jackson. The year before, he did almost the exact same thing with the 16 and under squad. And while it's true he led both those teams in shots, it was not by some huge amount, and his percentages were solid, if not great. Those numbers are a sign of major ability, and, hopefully, a sign that he can reign in his "volume" instincts when he's surrounded by other talented players (and not in an All-Star game setting).
With that said, it seems less and less likely that he's UK bound. What the hell is it with Mississippi? UK seems to pull players from almost any SEC state, but almost never Mississippi. Mississippi has produced some major talent, but UK has had exactly 3 guys from the state- Carlos Toomer, Dale Brown (and Brown came via a JUCO), and Devin Booker (who I"m pretty sure grew up more in Michigan than Mississippi).
This post was edited on 4/19 7:37 AM by mj2k10
