6’5 John Newman last two years has been filled with many ups and downs. Prior to his freshman year, Newman missed the entire season with a torn ACP. Since then, he’s been on full recovery mode and will be tracking as one of the premier players in the North Carolina 2018 class.
In one of his first events back from his injury, we were impressed with his play at the NC Phenom 150 camp. We wrote, “Newman was one of the hardest working players all day. He has a great skill set and the sky is the limit for him. While he is not currently in the nationally dialogue as one of the top 2018 prospects in the country, we strongly feel he will be in the very near future. Not many young prospects have the athleticism, skill set and work ethic and those three ingredients will separate him from many of his peers.”
He was an instrumental player as Greensboro Day won the NCISAA 3A state championship. In speaking with Coach Freddy Johnson, he stated “Newman is a tenacious defensive player. He uses it to get his offense going and has really become effective at creating his own shot off the dribble.
The thing that separates Newman is his work ethic.” That being said, we personally feel Newman is only scratching the surface on his long term potential . He plays for legendary high school coach Freddy Johnson and there will not be many players better coached anywhere in the country. He combines a nice blend of athleticism and skills, but it is clearly the work ethic that will take Newman to another level. In addition, he’s the perfect team player.
Newman always plays within the team structure. His high basketball iQ and understanding of the game translates well for college coaches.