Ja’Quan Newton will be crucial member off the bench this season

Newton
Newton
Newton

Sophomore guard Ja’Quan Newton will come off the bench for the Hurricanes this season, but he will still have a key role to play. Miami has high expectations for the highly touted guard out of Philadelphia.

Ranked 58th overall in ESPN’s top 100 coming out of high school, Newton led his high school team to the Catholic League Championship and averaged 21.3 points per game (ppg) during his senior season. The Canes will count on Newton to bring his dexterous and aggressive style every game with guard Manu Lecomte’s recent transfer to Baylor University.

As a freshman, Newton established his capabilities during the university’s summer basketball tour in Europe, averaging 13.5 ppg. During the regular season, Newton showed his potential in limited time, totaling 135 points, 47 assists and 43 rebounds in 459 minutes.

Newton shot 40.5 percent (45 of 111) from the field and 40.0 percent (4 of 10) from three, demonstrating his shooting ability. With an impressive capacity to handle the ball in traffic, Newton can get to the rim on a consistent basis, while also having a wide array of pull-up jump shots and medium range shots in his arsenal.

Although he has established his skill as a shooter, Newton has also demonstrated the capacity to develop into a reliable and potent facilitator. His creativity and strong passing skills maximize his ability to find open teammates and make quality decisions. With more practice and experience, Newton can mature his game to further improve his decision-making and successfully run the team.

With his second season in the ACC coming up, Newton can improve and gain the experience he needs to lead the team and become the top point guard behind Angel Rodriguez.