One of two returning starters from UConn’s 2023 title team, Tristen Newton is set to have more on his shoulders coming into his graduate season. The point guard was the focal point at East Carolina, then grew into his role at UConn. Newton has all the tools to be a top piece for the Huskies, as illustrated through his performance in flashes last year. Let's take a deeper look into what he did well and how he can build in 2023-24.
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LAST SEASON
Newton had an up and down senior campaign, but it ultimately ended on a high-note. He played well enough in the Huskies’ opener against Stonehill and Boston University, but really turned things up in the third game. In a 20-point win over Buffalo, Newton recorded a 22 point triple double, also adding four steals. The first such performance for Connecticut in years, Newton showed fans what he’s capable of when he’s playing with energy.
Two more unaggressive showings later, Newton exploded against Oregon, hitting five of six threes for 23 points, as he dished out six dimes. After two solid games to close out the PKI tournament, Newton began his month-long struggle. Aside from 17 points on efficient splits against a struggling Georgetown squad, the guard couldn’t find his spark. He did well as a distributor, but had trouble putting up his own shots.
A 13 point game against Creighton helped move Newton in the right direction, but he reformed to his struggles in three straight losses. A blowout against Butler was just what the doctor ordered. Though the point guard didn’t see his individual production rise, the team functioned well as a unit. Newton’s play improved over the next few games, ultimately culminating in his second triple double of the year, this time in a home rout of No. 8 Marquette.
The rest of the year was fairly stable for Newton, with few poor games and few stellar ones. His inconsistency throughout the year turned into general steadiness, although his field goal percentage wasn’t particularly high. In the NCAA tournament, Newton mixed a steady dose of scoring in with great passing, thriving in the distribution role for the Huskies. The team, as a whole, had hot hands during the tournament, increasing the benefit of Newton’s skills swinging the rock.
In the championship, Newton produced his best offensive game since January, with 19 points and 10 boards on 11 shots. He turned the ball over five times that game, consistent with his habits throughout the year, but his passing and scoring more than made up for it.
OUTLOOK / UNDERLYING QUESTIONS
This season, Newton will be in a similar battle for the point guard role. Last year he competed with Andre Jackson Jr., but this time he’s set to share duties with freshman Stephon Castle. The question: what will this split look like? Castle, a McDonald’s All-American already is renowned as a top-class distributor, which could take the heat off Newton as a passer. Especially with coach Dan Hurley likely looking to do his part in boosting Castle’s draft capital, he may elect to use Newton more heavily as a two guard.
That brings up the question of what Newton would look like in that position. He’s a fantastic scorer when things are clicking and he’s aggressive, but he’s developed a habit of going through passive phases. If the team is going to succeed with Newton in a more off-ball role, he’s going to need to put the pedal to the floor.
There’s also a chance that we see an even split between the two guards in on-ball play. This would let Newton defer to that comfortable part of his game when things aren’t going as well from a scoring perspective. As we saw last year, a championship team can handle two point guards on the floor at once, as long as both are unselfish and let their moments/opportunities come to them. Jackson and Newton both went through lulls, but the team survived.
FLOOR
The floor for Newton is comparatively high. With his pedigree, it’s highly unlikely that he loses his starting role to backup Hassan Diarra for any extended period. Newton still kept his starting spot even through his dry spell in December, a good sign of Hurley’s trust in him. If the point guard really loses his shooting touch, it could be rough for him. If all else fails, Newton will still be a good enough passer with his abilities to find his teammates. Being especially careless with the ball and losing his shooting would be the perfect storm of disaster for the Texan, but at the end of the day his floor still sits at an 8-4-4 points-rebound-assist line.
CEILING
Newton's ceiling is being the top option on a national championship team. With his passing, scoring and rebounding abilities, the main thing stopping him is his aggressiveness and role in the Huskies’ system. He has the skills to notch a 16-6-6 line, which would put him in position to be UConn’s ninth All-American. He’s set to take on a bigger role this year with last year’s top three of Jackson, Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo gone to the NBA, but making the statistical jump to become a top three player this year will require a mindset change. He has what it takes though and will likely be closer to his ceiling than floor.
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