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Newton's first season was 2023, with Hawkins-Jackson-Sanogo, not with Castle.Would I like the backcourt to play better? Of course.
But, it's only mid-December and there's definitely a bit of a 2024 vibe with this backcourt w/ an early-season injured five-star freshman (Castle in 2024 and Mullins in 2026) just scratching the surface of his potential while a big-guard transfer slow start once buy game season ended (Newton in 2024 and Demary in 2026).
We love Newton now, but remember how panned he was on the Boneyard during his first mid-season struggles.
Newton's per-game from Game 4 to Game 19 as a UConn Husky: 8.0 ppg, 38 FG%, 3.9 APG, 2.1 TOPG
Demary's per-game from Game 6 to Present (just one cupcake in this span): 9.5ppg, 38.5 FG%, 6.5 APG, 2.5 TOPG
Stylistically, they are so similar: big guards who are end-game closers in their ability to take the rock, create offense off the dribble, draw fouls and get to the line.
Here's how I look at this backcourt: it's not what it could be, but damn, we're winning games against very good teams despite this group not jelling yet.
The most dangerous teams are the ones that peak in March. UConn can be one of those teams, especially since we haven't seen the best of what this backcourt can be this season, but I feel confident we will.
But I think that's a decent comp for Demary. Newton was a question mark for a lot of that season, and then he came on and was arguably the MVP of the championship game, scoring, distributing, rebounding, at the FT line.