The Wild Card
As things stand right now, we should get our first glimpse of Jakai Newton on a college basketball court this season.
The Newton hype has been building since he committed to Indiana in 2021, though he’s dealt with injury troubles dating back to high school that have kept him off the court.
We here at Crimson Quarry were very high on Newton, projecting him to be closer to his pre-injury top-70 ranking than his final high school ranking. It did not escape our attention that Mike Woodson recently called him the most explosive athlete on the team.
That said, Woodson also said in the same press conference that his staff has been cautious with Newton, keeping him from full participation as he recovers from a knee surgery he underwent last season.
Between his conditioning, his health, and his ability to adjust to the speed to the college game, Newton remains probably the greatest variable for this Indiana team.
There is no doubt that his athleticism and defense would have helped Woodson and company last year, when guards were in shorter supply. I suspect this is why he didn’t formally announce that he was redshirting until closer to the end of the season.
The roster is different now though, and it’s not clear where even fully healthy Newton would slot into the suddenly crowded Indiana backcourt.
On paper, there are some things that Newton can do that other guards can’t, starting with his explosiveness. In addition to being able to make plays above the rim, his athleticism and frame give him the tools to being a plus defender, something that Woodson loves in his guards.
At the same time, Newton is not on the same level as Trey Galloway, Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, or Gabe Cupps when it come to handling the ball. He has a good first step, but is more of a straight-line driver and mostly focused on scoring rather than passing.
With all of the good guard options, there could be more minutes available at the two spot – where Newton will play most of his minutes – for guys that can impact the game other than off the dribble.
There’s also the potential for more three guard lineups, which would obviously bode well for Newton and the other guards fighting for minutes. Woodson has indicated that Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo won’t be sharing the court constantly, so that seems like a reasonable possibility.
Of course, the hope would be that Newton is healthy and conditioned enough to force Woodson’s hand and give him time at the second or third guard spots.
Having a guard of Newton’s caliber in the rotation consistently would raise Indiana’s ceiling for this season significantly.