UConn point guard Tristen Newton named AP First Team All-American

HARTFORD, Conn. — A former Pirate, Tristen Newton has earned himself a spot on the wall, even before the team won back to back national titles on April 8.

The UConn point guard was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press on March 19, becoming the first UConn player on the AP’s First Team list since Shabazz Napier in 2014. He will be the 12th player whose banner hangs on the All-American wall in UConn’s Werth practice facility.

Newton, in his graduate year, guided the Huskies (31-3) to Big East regular-season and tournament championships and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament while leading the team in points (15.2) and assists (6.0) per game. He is also UConn’s second-leading rebounder with 7.0 per game.

“The beautiful thing for Tristen is this is exactly what we talked about when he had to make the decision. Last year he was at the combine, he had to decide what he wanted to do and it was: Come back to school, become a first-teamer or player of the year in the league and improve your position with the NBA,” Head Coach Dan Hurley said during the Big East Tournament.

“It’s just great when you push a kid to make a decision to return and it plays out like this. But he’s one of the best guards in the country, he’s obviously a First Team All-American.”

That, he is.

The 6-foot-6 guard from El Paso, Texas, was unanimously voted First Team All-Big East at the end of the conference season and earned First Team All-America honors from the Sporting News, the Field of 68 and 247Sports, in addition to his AP Big East Player of the Year award.

Newton was also named a national semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year and a top 40 candidate for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which goes to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year.

Newton has recorded two triple-doubles and 10 double-doubles this season. In the Big East title game on Saturday he became the first player in UConn men’s basketball history to record at least 500 points, 200 assists and 200 rebounds in the same season.