D.J. Newbill: Another Game Changer in the Backcourt for PSU

posted December 2, 2014 in CommRadio, Sports by Mike D'Avella

 Penn State men’s basketball team is off to a fast start to the 2014-2015 season. Thanks to an explosive start to the season by senior guard D.J. Newbill, the Nittany Lions have won 6 of their first 7 games.

After an impressive 2013-2014 season alongside his predecessor Tim Frazier, Newbill has come into this season with something to prove. He is averaging 25 points per game with a .492 field goal percentage and a .500 percentage from three-point land.  It’s safe to say Newbill has done a tremendous job picking up the slack after losing Frazier to graduation.

Newbill’s explosiveness in the backcourt is nothing new to Penn State basketball. As a sophomore transfer from Southern Mississippi, Newbill had big expectations to live up to.

Newbill came to Penn State as a backup to Tim Frazier, a first team All-Big Ten guard from the 2011-2012 season. Frazier led the Big Ten for two seasons in assists, averaging 4.7 per game.

Dating a bit further back in time, when Frazier was a freshman, Penn State had Talor Battle at the point guard position. Battle averaged 16.5 points per game during his career at Penn State with a field goal percentage of .403, a three-point percentage of .341, and an average of 3.9 assists per game.

This year it’s Newbill’s time to shine, but a few years down the road, current freshman Shep Garner could be continuing the tradition of game-changing guards at Penn State. He has impressed early this season averaging 10.9 points per game with a .456 field goal percentage.  Penn State will heavily rely on Garner going forward after losing Newbill to after this season.

To put Newbill’s impressive start into perspective, he is third in the nation in points per game thus far. Newbill is producing big numbers in comparison to some of college basketball’s biggest names including UNC’s Marcus Paige, Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison, UConn’s Ryan Boatwright, and Big Ten rival Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell.

Newbill’s average of 25 ppg is the highest among all 5 players with Boatwright averaging 20.8, Ferrell averaging 18.2, Paige averaging 15.2, and Harrison averaging 8.3. Going into the season, Yogi Ferrell was seen as the Big Ten’s top point guard, but Newbill has certainly made a case for himself to steal that title from Ferrell. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for both guards.

As the Lions go into their 8th game of the season on Wednesday against Virginia Tech, they will look to Newbill for another strong showing against a 4-2 Hokies team. Expect big things from D.J. Newbill in his senior season if he can stay healthy.

Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Mike D’Avella is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mfd156@psu.edu.