STORRS, Conn. — Star point guard Tristen Newton was inducted into the Huskies of Honor on Tuesday less than 24 hours after the UConn men’s basketball team won its second consecutive national title.
Newton’s number was unveiled on the back wall of Gampel Pavilion next to the program’s all-time greats during a pep rally after the team returned to campus from the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.
Newton, a fifth-year transfer student from El Paso, Texas, scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out seven assists in the Huskies’ victory against Purdue in the national championship game on Monday. His team-high 19 points in last year’s national championship game led UConn to a victory over San Diego State.
Last month, Newton was named an AP First Team All-American, and last Saturday, he received the Bob Cousy Award, distinguishing him as the best point guard in Division I men’s college basketball. This season, Newton averaged 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game while shooting 41.5% from the field en route to becoming an All-Big East First-Team selection.
Featured for both men’s and women’s basketball, the Huskies of Honor is a recognition program that essentially serves as UConn basketball’s Hall of Fame. Consisting mostly of former players and coaches, there are 26 individuals and two teams, the 1998-1999 and 2003-2004 Huskies, who are part of the men’s Huskies of Honor.
The 2023-2024 team, which set the program’s all-time win record with 37 and secured its sixth national title, will likely join the ranks down the line.
Newton joins fellow Bob Cousy Award winners, First Team AP All-Americans and national champions Kemba Walker (2011) and Shabazz Napier (2014) as the only UConn men’s basketball players inducted into the Huskies of Honor while they were still students on campus. Like Napier, Newton is a two-time NCAA national champion.
Other famous Huskies of Honor include Emeka Okafor, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Donyell Marshall, Cliff Robinson, Khalid El-Amin, Rudy Gay, Caron Butler, Chris Smith and Jim Calhoun.
Newton transferred to UConn from East Carolina in 2022; few could have imagined then that he would be a Husky of Honor before his time in Storrs ended, but in the process of leading the Huskies to multiple titles, Newton became an all-time UConn great.
As his eligibility expires, the next stop for Newton will be the National Basketball Association, where he is currently projected as a second-round pick.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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