After trying on UConn for just a brief time, newcomer Tristen Newton finds Huskies a perfect fit
Tristen Newton will never forget the day he entered the NCAA transfer portal.
The date was March 28 and the former East Carolina guard likely set a personal record for time spent on his iPhone with 11 straight hours of talking to coaches around the country.
Newton was coming off an impressive junior season averaging 17.7 points, five assists and 4.8 rebounds, but he felt some coaches were just looking at his numbers. He wanted to play for a coach that also had done the research on who he was on and off the court.
Finally, one school checked all his boxes and emerged at the top of his list: UConn.
With the departure of Huskies star guards Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole to the pros, Newton felt it was the perfect fit.
“I knew what they were losing and what they needed,” he said. “What I bring to the table is what they need. What I needed was here. The style of play, the players are tough, the coach, the facility and just everything really.”
Newton arrived in April and is one of the Huskies’ four transfer guards, including Nahiem Alleyne (Virginia Tech), Hassan Diarra (Texas A&M) and most recently Joey Calcaterra (San Diego). who joined UConn on Monday.
Newton, a 6-foot-5 guard from Texas, in now in the midst of the team’s first session of summer workouts. Newton and Diarra are the only transfers at this session, but all four players keep in touch. The other two will attend the second session in July.
"Me and Hassan, we pretty much hang out every day,” Newton said. “Nahiem and I talk a lot. And Joey, we just went out to eat the other day. I know he’s going to be a great fit with the team.”
UConn coach Dan Hurley feels all four players bring plenty of basketball experience, but these summer sessions are about teaching newbies about the Huskies’ brand of basketball.
“They’re all veteran players,” he said. “The new guys that we brought in, the transfers, all have experience. They pick things up quickly and they’ve played a lot of basketball. So it’s more just understanding our culture, how we guard, how we play, and relationships.”
Newton watched plenty of UConn basketball while at East Carolina, but he got a firsthand glimpse of the culture when the Pirates played the Huskies on Feb. 29, 2020.
Even though UConn won 84-69, Newton had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Although Newton’s performance left a lasting impression on Hurley, the coach didn’t quite remember everything.
“When Kimani Young (UConn associate head coach) presented (Newton) as a portal candidate, I did not immediately remember him per se. I just remember somebody killed us that game,” Hurley said. “When they showed us the clips and bio, I was like yes, that’s the guy we had a whole lot of trouble with.”
After two weeks in Storrs, Newton is slowly getting used to it all. It’s very different from what he experienced in his three seasons with East Carolina.
“It’s been a lot different with the pace and physicality,” he said. “I have a feeling we are going to be good.”
Still, Newton is an expert at adapting to different cultures as he grew up in a military family that moved all around the country. One of the trademarks of UConn culture is the high level of mental toughness in Hurley’s players; Newton feels he fits right in.
“It’s just basketball, really,” he said. “The yelling and stuff are not really to get under your skin, but it’s the message. Pay attention to the message and not the yelling and the big environment. I have played in big games before. I am looking forward to doing it night in and night out.”
Hurley sees Newton as a natural fit.
“Tristen is the type of guard that I just enjoy coaching — diligent worker, can score and can create and he’s got a really, really good feel,” he said. “College basketball is going to see the best version of him. He’s got resources at his disposal in terms of what he can do physically in the weight room, becoming a better and stronger athlete. He’s what we expected. He’s a great kid on top of that, too.”
Shreyas Laddha can be reached at sladdha@courant.com or @shre98 on Twitter.
