Julian Newman

Julian Newman (born September 6, 2001) is an American amateur basketball player who most recently attended Prodigy Prep in Orlando, Florida before graduating in 2020. He stands 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) and plays the point guard position.[1]

Personal information
Born (2001-09-06) September 6, 2001
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight140 lb (64 kg)
Career information
High school
PositionPoint guard

Newman came to attention in 2012 for his viral highlight videos on YouTube, while playing varsity basketball for Downey Christian School in fifth grade. He sparked polarized opinions, with some outlets touting him as a child prodigy and others criticizing the way he was marketed.

Early life

At age three, Newman began showing interest in basketball and his father Jamie soon had him play with regulation-size balls and in recreational leagues with older boys. His father trained him rigorously from a young age, with Newman reportedly making 100 free throws, 200 floaters, and 200 jump shots each day at practice.[2]

High school career

In the fall of 2012, after initially attending public schools, Newman transferred to Downey Christian School, a small private school in Orlando, Florida, after his father began coaching basketball and teaching history at the school.[2][3] As a fifth grader, he began playing basketball for the middle school team. But after seeing immediate success, scoring as many as 91 points in a game, he was promoted to the varsity team.[2] His team competed outside the jurisdiction of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).[4][5] An 11-year-old point guard, Newman stood 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) and weighed 70 pounds.[6] Despite wearing the smallest available uniform, he had to tighten the shoulders of his jersey with a hair tie and roll the waistband of his shorts to prevent them from falling off.[3] Through his first three starts, he averaged 12.4 points, 11 assists, and 4.3 steals per game.[6] He led Downey Christian to a 21–6 record while leading the state of Florida in assists.[7]

In sixth grade, Newman averaged 17 points per game. On December 19, 2012, Newman featured in an article on high school sports website MaxPreps, titled, "Fifth grader starting for Florida varsity team." A highlight video of Newman posted to YouTube by recruiting website ScoutsFocus went viral, receiving over 3.5 million views.[8] He soon began making national headlines, including in Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, for being a fifth grader playing varsity basketball.[2][4][6] Newman made television appearances on Steve Harvey, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, and other programs.[8][9] He was also invited to perform at half-time during an Orlando Magic NBA game.[10]

In December 2013, Newman was tabbed "The Best Sixth Grade Basketball Player You've Ever Seen" by The Huffington Post. By that time, he was averaging 13.6 points and 10.5 assists per game.[11] In 2014, he was labeled by the Tampa Bay Times as "the most marketed 12-year-old basketball player in the world".[8] The efforts to market Newman's career were criticized by some media outlets, who compared him to a child star.[12][13][14] As a seventh grader in 2015, Newman became the youngest player to record 1,000 career varsity points.[15] He finished the 2014–15 season averaging 19.8 points, 10.2 assists, and 3.2 steals per game.[16] On October 4, 2016, Newman scored 52 points in a highly publicized match-up with top 2020 class recruit Kyree Walker at the MiddleSchoolHoopsTV camp.[17] His highlight video from the game received over 12 million videos on YouTube.[18] By 2018, when he was a sophomore in high school, Newman had recorded 3,873 total points, surpassing the Florida prep record set by Teddy Dupay in 1998.[19] In the 2018–19 season, he averaged 34.7 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and four steals per game.[20]

For his senior season, Newman transferred to Prodigy Prep, a new school based in Orlando and created by his father, who would coach the basketball team.[20]

Personal life

Julian Newman is of Jewish and Puerto Rican descent.[2] His father, Jamie Newman, played basketball as a point guard for Colonial High School in Orlando.[19] In 2012, he became a history teacher and head basketball coach at Downey Christian School.[2] Newman's mother Vivian Gonzalez is Puerto Rican.[21] Gonzalez played point guard for University High School in Orlando, before serving four years in the United States Navy and then working for the United States Postal Service.[19] Newman's younger sister Jaden began playing varsity basketball for Downey Christian in third grade, drawing national attention and appearing on television programs like The Queen Latifah Show.[22] She was reportedly recruited by NCAA Division I program Miami (Florida) at age nine.[23]

In 2015, Newman began starring in his own documentary series, "Born Ready," uploaded by YouTube channel Elite Mixtapes.[24] Newman and his family also feature in the reality show "Hello Newmans," launched by sports network Overtime in 2019.[25]

Newman is associated with his family's sports apparel brand Prodigy. Brand merchandise has been sold at his games.[1]

Hello Newmans

Hello Newmans is a reality TV show presented on YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook by Overtime. The show features the whole family but is mainly focused around Julian, his sister Jaden, his father Jamie, and his mother Vivian. The show has racked up millions of views and gained the Newman even more fame. The show is often compared to Ball in the Family.

References
  1. Smith, Cam (January 21, 2019). "Brands in high school: Both LaMelo Ball, Julian Newman peddled their own gear before big game". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  2. Tierney, Mike (February 16, 2013). "Julian Newman's Age and Size Stand Out, but So Does His Talent". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  3. Liston, Barbara (February 23, 2013). "Pint-sized Florida kid Julian Newman a basketball prodigy". Toronto Sun. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  4. Axson, Scooby (December 19, 2012). "Florida fifth-grader starts for high school basketball team". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  5. "11-Year-Old Becomes Varsity Basketball Star". Inside Edition. January 4, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  6. "Julian Newman, 5th Grader, Starts For Florida High School's Varsity Basketball Team". HuffPost. December 19, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  7. Hemsley, Landon (July 1, 2013). "11-year-old, 4-foot-5 Florida basketball star Julian Newman aiming for the top". Deseret News. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  8. Kruse, Michael (February 27, 2014). "Meet the world's most marketed 12-year-old basketball player". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  9. Newman, Julian (July 5, 2018). "The Julian Newman Blog: Friendship with Drake, dealing with hate, recruitment and more". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  10. Sonnone, Brendan (March 6, 2013). "From Conan to Kobe, 11-year-old Orange boy's hoops tale hits wide audience". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  11. Saul, Isaac (December 17, 2013). "Julian Newman Is The Best Sixth Grade Basketball Player You've Ever Seen". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  12. Hansen, Lauren; Edelheit, Eve (March 21, 2016). "The shadows and the spotlight of child phenoms". The Week. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  13. Cook, Bob (February 27, 2014). "Julian Newman And the Misguided Overhyping Of 'Sports Prodigies'". Forbes. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  14. Fires, Rick (April 14, 2018). "Youth sports shouldn't be about player rankings". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  15. Smith, Cam (January 23, 2015). "Hoops phenom Julian Newman hits 1,000 career varsity points ... in 7th grade". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  16. "13-Year-Old Varsity Baller Julian Newman Hits NBA-Range 3-Pointers Blindfolded". Bleacher Report. July 10, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  17. Bohn, Rodger (October 13, 2016). "2016 MSHTV Camp Recap". Slam. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  18. Julian Newman Drops 52 vs Kyree Walker! Crazy Match-Up at MSHTV (Video). Elite Mixtapes. October 4, 2016.
  19. Collings, Buddy (February 24, 2018). "Julian and Jaden Newman talk about NBA, WNBA dreams and naysayers". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  20. Jordan, Jason (June 8, 2019). "YouTube sensation Julian Newman to attend father's new school Prodigy Prep". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  21. "Internet sensation Julian Newman dribbles his way to #3x3WT San Juan". FIBA. August 10, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  22. Hatfield, Jenn (March 13, 2019). "Jaden Newman is not your ordinary high school freshman". High Post Hoops. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  23. Carson, Dan (June 16, 2014). "University of Miami Recruiting 9-Year-Old Basketball Star Jaden Newman". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  24. Julian Newman "Born Ready" Episode 1: NYC (Video). Elite Mixtapes. June 29, 2015.
  25. "Hello Newmans". Overtime. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
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