Though there wasn’t a team from Texas playing for the NCAA men’s national championship on Houston Monday, an El Paso native is still giving the Lone Star State reason to celebrate.
El Paso native Tristen Newton was the lead scorer for the UConn Huskies as they brought home their fifth national title since 1999, the most by any school in that timeframe.
Newton, who played high school basketball at El Paso’s Burges High School, transferred to UConn after three years at East Carolina. It was a move he said he made to realize his full potential.
“I knew when I got to this level, I could make it happen and make my dreams come true,” he told Spectrum News after the team’s 76-59 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs. “That’s what we did, and it feels great.”
Newton’s 19 points accounted for a quarter of the team’s total; he also had 10 rebounds.
The path to Monday’s ultimate prize wasn’t the easiest, however. After scoring more than 3,200 points at Burges High School and being the state’s leading scorer his senior year, Newton wasn’t highly recruited and was even passed up by UT El Paso and nearby New Mexico State University, two notable programs. His only scholarship offer came from East Carolina.
After transferring to UConn, however, Newton began to gel with his new team, despite a rough patch in January the team was able to rebound from, The Athletic reported.
After the victory Newton’s father, Montreal Newton, told the publication of the teams that initially passed on his son: “I hope they’re looking at this now.”
If Burges High School sounds familiar to people outside the El Paso sports world, there is a good reason: Newton’s cousins are Aaron and Alvin Jones, twin brothers and former Burges High and UTEP standouts who made their way to the NFL.
Aaron Jones is a pro-bowl running back for the Green Bay Packers and Alvin Jones was drafted out of college by the Baltimore Ravens. The brothers were seen throughout the last days of the tournament cheering on Newton in Houston.
“[We’re] super proud of him,” Aaron Jones told Spectrum News after Monday’s championship game. “Despite all the Texas schools sleeping on my boy, we came to Texas and we did that s**t.”
In a nod to his Texas roots, Newton urged recruiters to visit his hometown to realize what the city’s athletes could offer if given the right chance.
“Just go out there and recruit,” he said to the Houston Chronicle. “(The players) are as good as anybody.”
