Tristen Newton adjusting well to UConn’s culture
PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s not hard to see the differences between the UConn men’s basketball program and the men’s program at East Carolina.
UConn boasts an impressive practice facility and, while Gampel Pavilion is starting to show its age a bit, is still one of the better environments in the sport for a sold-out game. National championship and Hall of Fame banners hang from the rafters.
East Carolina plays in Minges Coliseum, essentially a glorified high school gym in a building with all the atmosphere of a college study hall. James Bouknight’s dunk may be the best basketball thing ever to happen there.
UConn is a basketball school.”The Basketball Capital of the World,” they’ll tell you.
ECU not only isn’t a basketball school, it may not even be a football school. Baseball might be biggest at a school Mike
Trout once committed to.
Tristen Newton spent three years at ECU before transferring to UConn and ... let’s just say he’s noticed the difference.
“Culture is really different,” the senior point guard noted. “This is a basketball school. Everything is basketball, so you have that approach like it’s the professional level. (The Werth Family Champions Center) is an NBA facility that we are in every day. We’re prepared to do that, that’s
what we came here to do. They give us the stuff that we need to play at our best.”
Newton has certainly been at his best lately. In Thursday night’s Phil Knight Invitational opener, Newton buried five 3-pointers (including one from bout 30 feet) and had 21 points by halftime, finishing with 23.
“Coach has given me the confidence and tells me, ‘If I feel like I can make it, just shoot it. As long as it’s nothing crazy,’ ” Newton reported. “My one right before halftime against Oregon, that was crazy. But they give me the confidence and the green light to shoot those shots. So, I’m definitely going to keep shooting.”
He was much quieter offensively the following night against an aggressive Alabama defense, but drew a bunch of fouls and finished with eight assists against just one turnover in another convincing UConn win.
“I came here to win, so I’m going to do whatever I can do to win,” Newton said. “If I wanted to score 25, 30 points a game, I wouldn’t have come to where we have a Big East Player of the Year, AllAmerican (candidate, Adama Sanogo). I’m not worried about scoring. Obviously, scoring is nice, but if it’s not going that night, you just help the team win.”
Newton did everything a couple of weeks earlier against Buffalo, notching the program’s first tripledouble in seven years, notching 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. After the game, coach Dan Hurley opined: “Maybe that’s the moment where he’s not a transfer guard, he’s a UConn guard now.”
No doubt, it was a tough transition for Newton when he arrived on campus this summer. Three high-scoring yet losing seasons at ECU isn’t great preparation for the intensity of Hurley’s practices and the scrutiny that comes with being a UConn basketball player. Hurley was clearly disappointed with Newton at times throughout the preseason and even after Newton’s self-described “terrible” season debut against Stonehill.
“It took a couple of games to get used to learning the new guys, Andre ( Jackson) not playing, just getting used to playing with these guys,” Newton admitted. “I feel like it’s been a smooth transition.”
On Sunday night, Newton will help lead UConn into the Phil Knight Invitational championship game against Iowa State. Earlier in the day, the UConn women’s team played Iowa in the Phil Knight Legacy finals.
“With us both being in the finals, that’s what they expect to do and that’s what we expect to do,” said Tristen Newton.
Quite a difference from East Carolina.