BOSTON — At the time, the addition didn’t generate much buzz.
Sure, Tristen Newton averaged over 17 points and had strong rebound and assist numbers at East Carolina two years ago, but that was in a pedestrian AAC bottom-feeder program.
No one at the time could have predicted what would happen to either Newton or Connecticut.
After the transfer, he played in 76 games and won 65 of them.
He is undefeated in nine NCAA Tournament games and was named an Associated Press First-Team All-American and AP Big East Player of the Year this season.
Coach Dan Hurley said of the 6-foot-5 point guard, who averaged an elite 15.3 points per game, “This is the best career guard ever in a college uniform.” I can claim that.” He had 6.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and shot over 42 percent from the field.
That may be an exaggeration, considering that Connecticut State counts guards Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier, Richard Hamilton and Ray Allen among its alumni.
But when it comes to transfers, few players have had more success than Newton.
The El Paso, Texas, native heard from many schools when he entered the transfer portal, but only visited Connecticut.
Unlike other teams who wanted him to play off the ball, the Huskies employed him as a point guard.
Newton liked the players around him, like Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo, who complemented him.
That appealed to him.
So were the additional demands Hurley placed on his players.
“Practice was a lot harder and tougher than I expected,” Newton said of No. 1 Connecticut, which will play No. 3 seed Illinois in Saturday’s Elite Eight.
“Obviously, I wanted to be pushed to another level. Where I’ve been, I haven’t been pushed to be the basketball player that I can be. Having that push really helped me this year. However, this year has been good for us.”
Newton added: “I’m not a very social person. Me and Coach Hurley are polar opposites in personality. That was what really attracted me, because it’s nice to have someone like me be casual and comfortable.” Because I couldn’t do it.”
That obviously doesn’t happen with Crazy Harley, which is as intense as Coach comes. Connecticut State spoke to Newton extensively during his recruiting efforts.
During the first recruiting call, assistant coach Kimani Young brought up last year’s Final Four in Newton’s home state of Texas.
The plan was to get there.
Expectations were through the roof, but Newton exceeded them.
“When I committed here, I knew we were going to do good things, get to the Final Four, win a lot of games, things like that,” he said. “I feel like it was planned and Coach Hurley had the right roster and a plan and plan to get to the Final Four. He can do the same thing when he comes back for a second year. That’s what I thought.”
