UConn lands transfer Tristen Newton from East Carolina; Akok Akok to transfer
Apr. 13—UConn coach Dan Hurley got a courtside view of Tristen Newton's game a couple years ago.
As a freshman at East Carolina, Newton had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds in an American Athletic Conference game against UConn on Feb. 29, 2020.
His performance in a 21-point loss apparently impressed Hurley, who filled a roster need for a scoring point guard by receiving a commitment on Wednesday from the 6-foot-5 Newton.
"When he first called me, he remembered that game," said Newton on Wednesday after announcing his commitment on his Twitter account. "He said that he knew then that I was going to be a good player."
Newton, a highly-sought after transfer with two years of eligibility remaining, seems like a great fit for the Huskies.
He gives UConn a much-needed scorer after the loss of four of the team's top five point producers.
As a junior, Newton was named to the All-AAC second team after averaging a career-best 17.7 points, 5.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds. He also shot 87.9 percent from the foul line, 43.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
Newton, from El Paso, Texas, scored in double figures in every game but two and broke the 20-point mark eight times. He also led the team in turnovers with 104.
Until Newton committed, the Huskies didn't have a true point guard on the roster and only two other backcourt players in Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins.
"I'm an all-around player," said Newton when asked to describe his game. "I make plays for my teammates. I can score whenever I need to."
Newton became convinced that UConn would be the next stop in his journey after visiting the Storrs campus last weekend.
"It was a family environment," Newton said. "It felt like I was there for years, so I liked that."
Newton is looking forward to playing with his future teammates. He regularly talks with Jackson, his future backcourt teammate.
"(Adama) Sanogo is a first team All-Big East," Newton said. "Andre Jackson is an athletic wing. I think he's going to have a great year and he's going to blow up this year. And Jordan Hawkins. I know a lot about pretty much every player that's coming back."
Hurley and his staff still have work to do on the recruiting trail. The Huskies only have eight scholarship players on the roster for next season.
On Wednesday, redshirt junior forward Akok Akok became the fourth Husky to enter his name in the transfer portal. The news was first reported by Stockrisers, a national basketball recruiting site.
Guards Rahsool Diggins, Jalen Gaffney and Corey Floyd, Jr., also have left the program as transfers.
After a promising start to this past season, Akok ended up appearing in 23 games, starting seven. He averaged 3.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14 minutes per game.
Injuries hampered Akok throughout his UConn career. A season-ending Achilles tendon tear limited him to just seven games in 2020-21.
A foot injury caused him to miss over three weeks in February. After returning to the rotation, Akok played in just six games and scored a total of seven points.
Akok had his best season as a freshman after joining the UConn program in January 2019 and sitting out as a redshirt. He averaged career bests in points (5.8), rebounds (5.5) and blocks (an AAC leading 2.6) in 2019-20.
