By Reese Merritt
@reesemerritt_
The first fingers to touch the ball on the tip-off of the Montverde Academy vs. Oak Hill Academy game was those of Montverde forward Asa Newell, sending the ball in a beeline to his teammate, Cooper Flagg, standing attently to his right. In other words, it is simple to say that Newell’s 6-foot-10 frame helps in this early stage of the game.
Despite only having five total points in the second to last game on Friday night of the 2024 Spalding Hoophall Classic, his ability to take advantage of loose balls underneath the basket and the mistakes of Oak Hill was his strong suit. With 10 rebounds, a team high, Newell helped deliver a comfortable 80-50 victory over Oak Hill Academy.
Obviously, vertical length and explosiveness make up a great deal of Newell’s abilities, but these same abilities have earned him the No. 11 ranking on ESPN’s top 100 recruits for the Class of 2024. Newell will be attending University of Georgia this coming fall; Georgia being his birthplace.
The Springfield Student sat down with Newell to learn more about his life off the court.
Can you describe your relationship with God and your faith in God both within and outside of basketball?
“Yeah, this year, [I] started every year – I like to go on a 21-day fast. Right now, I’m giving up sweets and chips. I just believe that if you give some for him, it’s going to be a blessing in return. I grew up in church, so faith is extraordinarily important. I pray to myself. Every night, I have devotional on the Bible app. I do that everyday. I believe God has his hand on us all.”
In a Pro Insight interview, you said your sister, Zoe, might be the best athlete in the family. Why is that?
“She’s the youngest, so me and my brother, Jaden, we were the guinea pigs, so we had the blueprint for her. She just gave up volleyball, so she’s taking basketball now, so she’s gonna be killing. She has her own game, and she’ll have to get to the next level.”
You were named to the 2024 USA Men’s Nike Hoop Summit team along with your teammate, Cooper Flagg. What do you think Flagg and yourself can bring to such a talented group of athletes?
“I feel like at Montverde we’re team first, so I feel like we’re going to go out there and show the world what we can do. We’re just gonna go out there and show up.”
Since your brother, Jaden, is on the Georgia basketball team, and you are originally from Georgia, were these the main factors to attend and play basketball at the University of Georgia?
“I feel like that definitely played a role, but I feel like the program that they put in front of me was very good. I want to get to Georgia basketball, and so many players come out of Georgia. I feel like we need a momentum changer. Anthony Edwards started it. I just feel like it was the player development program, [and] relationship with the coaches. They’re taking good care of us.”
Which person or people are most proud of you?
“I definitely feel like my parents are proud. I haven’t done anything yet, but I feel like one day I’ll be able to provide for my family, so that’s the end goal. They sacrificed so much for me. They sold their business to move down to Orlando. So, I felt like they [made] a lot of sacrifices.”
Photo by Patrick Fergus/The Student.