Indiana basketball freshman guard Jakai Newton will likely have to hold out until next season to make his collegiate debut. On Monday night, Mike Woodson provided an update on Newton — who has been dealing with a knee injury since he enrolled at IU.
Woodson says it’s likely that Newton will not suit up for the remainder of this season.
“Unfortunately he’s not going to probably play this season because of the knee injury,” Woodson said during his radio show. “We’ve 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.”
On Aug. 16, the Indiana basketball program announced that Newton would be out indefinitely after undergoing a knee procedure on a pre-existing injury.
Newton committed to Indiana over offers from Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Xavier, Clemson and many others. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game a junior at Newton (Ga.) High School.
He missed the majority of his season season with a knee injury that he suffered in the summer.
“He’s a tough competitor, a little bulldog. He just plays hard. He loves to compete,” Woodson added. “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 was a four-star prospect in the 2023 class and finished his high school career ranked No. 117 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
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