He’s exuded NBA-level confidence for a while now.
Asa Newell, the 6-foot-10 forward suiting up in the Georgia Bulldogs’ red and black this upcoming season, is primed to be one of the best front court talents in his class, and is expected to be a touted prospect in the 2025 draft.
It doesn’t come to much surprise. Just over a year ago, seeing Newell walk into the Duncanville Fieldhouse for an AAU tournament — competing with the 1Family program out of Orlando, Florida — it was clear the type of caliber he had the capability of living up to based off just a couple games and how it easy it seemed to come for him. He had his challenges and shortcomings, as any incoming high school senior would, but that didn’t alter his potential and raw talent that the Fort Walton Beach native possessed.
Now heading to Athens, Georgia, Newell holds an opportunity to propel the Bulldogs past a 6-12 conference record from a year ago, as the team placed just 11th in the conference while having a 20-17 overall record on the season. Beyond the 2023-24 season, the Georgia basketball program has been, well, flat-out bad.
The program’s irrelevance has remained constant — it’s been nearly a decade since the Bulldogs have captured a tournament bid. This past season was the first time they’d reached 20 wins in a year since 2015-16, with their worst since the 1970s coming in 2021-22 having just six wins and 26 losses two years after the depature of Anthony Edwards.
Now it’s Newell’s time, it’s his time to make a grand entrance into the Stegeman Coliseum and attempt to sway things in a positive direction for this program for at least one season, and also solidify his spot as a lottery lock in the 2025 draft.