Asa Newell

Initially attending Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Asa Newell was named area Player of the Year as a sophomore behind 14.7 points and 8.7 rebounds. Before his junior year, he transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida and became a five-star recruit, eventually committing to play collegiately at Georgia. He also earned gold for the United States during the 2022 U17 World Cup. During his lone season at Georgia (2024-25), he averaged 15.4 points on 54/29/75 shooting, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and was a four-time SEC Freshman of the Week. Newell is most comfortable offensively in the paint as a talented finisher, including some mid-range jumpers, and he's an elite offensive rebounder. He's working on his 3-point range, but his generally good touch suggests that development shouldn't be an uphill battle. Defensively, he's dynamic and athletic enough to guard multiple positions and should be able to switch at the NBA level. Newell makes hustle plays with effort and athleticism on both ends of the floor. Newell should be able to find minutes in the NBA through his defensive versatility and pure effort on both ends of the floor. His development path could be affected by how he balances wanting to shoot threes versus pounding the offensive glass for putbacks. That gives him a range of outcomes, but his playstyle could end up sharing similarities to Paul Millsap, Day'Ron Sharpe or Paul Reed.