Congratulation UConn Fans!
Victorious!
Yes, Tristan Newton had moments of excellence throughout the season & was really fantastic tonight in the championship game.
However, I am glad that UConn will have real point guard talent coming in next season, more of a coach on the floor than Tristen.
Unfortunately, Tristan was a human turnover machine all year long, even today when he absolutely had to take care of the ball.
Tristan's ball-handling skills are shaky. He often gets trapped (by himself) in corners because he doesn't have great court vision or the muscle to dribble out of it like AJAX does.
Tristan's outside shooting is not great. Often his shooting line was 2-8. Paradoxically, he nails his free throws, a must for a point guard.
Newton can drive, but he can't finish well at the rim because he's not a leaper, has no left hand or many moves, & is not strong enough to get a clean shot in off the backboard. He definitely does not have a Big East guard type of body strength.
Tristan often seems to take a whole half to wake up & often wilted under the pressure of trapping defenses.
So Newton often failed as much as he succeeded as the "appointed point guard" of a team whose other guards could not fill the bill for longer than a few minutes. He did a fair job for a guy who had the ball longer than any other Huskie & who often killed the clock & timing of plays by over-dribbling too much.
Congratulations to national champion Tristan Newton. But the Huskies can improve with a true point guard who can see the floor AND Shoot. Someone who is stronger.
Great year guys!
Father Demo