There’s no rule that says Indiana has to declare during the season Jakai Newton is taking a redshirt freshman year.
That part can wait.
But as has been the case for a while, all signs are pointing towards the Covington, Ga. product still having four years of eligibility remaining after this his first season in Bloomington.
On his radio show Monday night, coach Mike Woodson told Don Fischer everything is pointing toward Newton not seeing the floor at all this year.
“Unfortunately he’s not going to probably play this season because of the knee injury,” Woodson said Monday. “So we just got to get him ready this summer and get him ready for next season. I haven’t made that decision for sure yet, but it looks like it’s heading in that direction.”
The 6-foot-3 and 203-pound Newton had a knee procedure in August, and was at IU’s media day in September on crutches. He’s progressed to walking around without a noticeable limp and participating in some light shooting. But he’s still a long way away from full contact 5-on-5 basketball.
If Newton plays even a minute this season, he’d burn a year of eligibility. That makes the decision relatively straightforward as this 2023-24 campaign rolls forward.
Newton missed a chance to play in his home state this weekend against Auburn.
The Hoosiers could have used him on the defensive end in a 104-76 blowout loss. Woodson particularly likes that area of his game.
“He’s a tough competitor, a little bulldog,” Woodson said. “He just plays hard. He loves to compete. He can play the one and the two, that’s what he played in high school. That’s what attracted us to him, in terms of him being able to play both ways and score and initiate the offense. But defensively is where I think he’s going to really excel because he’s just tough.”
Newton suffered a knee injury that required surgery in the late spring of 2022. He didn’t play from May of 2022 until February of 2023, and Newton wasn’t a part of live 5-on-5 at IU before the August procedure.
Newton told The Daily Hoosier last November (2022) that there were multiple aspects to the injury he initially suffered, including microfracture surgery.
Ranked No. 84 on ESPN, No. 86 on 247Sports, and No. 64 on Rivals, Newton helped guide Newton H.S. (Newton, Ga.) to the 2022 AAAAAAA state semifinals. He averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game as a junior.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
