Julian Newman was a FL basketball prodigy; Where is he now?
ORLANDO, Fla. (BVM) – Julian Newman was predicted to be the next big basketball player when he was just 11 years old. The 4-foot-5 fifth grader was the starting point guard for the varsity team at Downey Christian High School in 2012. But, as of today, the 21-year-old has failed to live up to the hype.
Here’s more information on Julian Newman and what he’s up to these days.
Why was Julian Newman so hyped?
Newman was labeled as a basketball prodigy for his eye-popping stats. As a fifth grader, Newman was averaging 17 points on the varsity squad at Downey Christian. As a sixth grader on varsity (2013-14 season), he averaged an astonishing 17.4 points, 9.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds.
As a seventh grader in 2015, Newman became the youngest player to record 1,000 career varsity points at just 13 years old. He finished his seventh-grade varsity season with 19.8 points, 10.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds on average.
As an eighth grader, Newman averaged 23.9 points, 11.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds. The future looked promising, especially because of his highlights (shown below) that continuously went viral.
Julian Newman’s high school career
By his senior season (2019-20), Newman was averaging 32.3 points, 6.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. However, the hype had died down. The likes of ESPN and 247 Sports never ranked him for the Class of 2020.
Newman isn’t playing high school basketball anymore. He attended Downey Christian for the majority of his career before he transferred to Prodigy Prep for his senior season. He graduated high school in 2020 – after a seven-year-long varsity basketball career.
Newman finished his high school career with 6,246 total points. This lands him at No. 4 overall on the nation’s all-time boys leading scorers list. That point total includes Newman’s years on varsity from 2013 to 2020.
Newman is also the nation’s all-time 3-points leader (1,178) and the nation’s all-time assists leader (2,211).
Is Julian Newman still playing basketball?
Unfortunately, Newman has never played college or professional basketball – and many believe it’s because of his height. So, how tall is Julian Newman?
“I’m 5-foot-5/5-foot-6, 5-foot-7 on paper,” Newman stated on the Thanalysis podcast (May 2023).
Although there were claims by others that Newman had 15 D-I offers, he himself has described it differently.
“[Around the 11th grade] I was thinking about colleges,” Newman said on the Thanalysis podcast in May 2023. “I had a couple: UTSA, USF, UCF – hometown schools – and a couple more. More importantly, I had a couple of deals to go overseas. I had a deal to go to the NBL – it fell through. That was my plan after high school.”
In a February 2023 interview on The Everyone’s Different Podcast, Newman further described why he didn’t play in the National Basketball League:
“I definitely had a deal,” Newman said. “I was talking to the coach and everything. But, I don’t know what happened.”
Where is Julian Newman now?
Newman moved from Orlando and currently lives in Las Vegas.
On the Thanalysis podcast (May 2023), Newman stated that he’s in the process of starting a YouTube channel. He’s also working on a show that will likely be called, “Beat Julian Newman” – where players can play one-on-one with him.
It appears that Newman is finally getting that YouTube channel off the ground. In mid-July, he posted a teaser with the caption, “The wait is finally over. Watch me and [my friends] get active on the tube this Saturday.” Based on the teaser, Newman will likely focus more on “comedy” than basketball.
In terms of Newman’s playing career – he’s waiting for a shot in the G League.
“He (Mark Cuban) told me to stay ready,” Newman said on the Thanalysis podcast in May 2023. “He told me he’d give me a shot on [his] G League team and everything. He told me when I’m ready – and I’m ready.
“I’m ready for any opportunity to come – to play real basketball because that is my goal,” Newman continued. “Entertainment is cool, but fame is not what I want. I really want to hoop.”
After a shot in the G League, Newman plans to play professional basketball. The NBA is not far out of reach for his dreams.
“Definitely (going pro) – that’s my number one goal,” Newman said on The Everyone’s Different Podcast (February 2023). “That’s been my goal since I was a kid. It’s been my fault in anything I’m lacking – as in weight, or anything, it’s been my fault. I’d already be playing somewhere pro if I got my act together years ago, two years ago – as in gain weight, simple stuff like that. I’ve gotten smarter, matured more, so now it’s simple. I have to eat more, gain weight, stay in the gym and I could play somewhere pro.”
However, if basketball never works out, Newman still has his family’s clothing company, Brand Prodigy, to fall back on. He told The Everyone’s Different Podcast that he wants to make a designer brand one day.
“Whether I’m a legend in the NBA, or I never play in the NBA, I feel like I want to take the Brand Prodigy to the next level and make it a brand for everybody,” Newman said on the Thanalysis podcast (May 2023).
Newman’s net worth is unclear, but he does have countless sponsorship deals. Those include Fashion Nova, Boost Mobile, Ethika and Trustnonela, according to his Instagram. He also has an “exclusive training program” in the works.
Although Newman has multiple sources of income to fall back on, he claims that he’ll never give up on basketball.
“I would hate to just stop and let this be the end for me, especially because a lot of kids look up to me and I’d love to inspire them,” Newman said on the Thanalysis podcast in May 2023.
Overall, Newman is very active on Instagram and often posts videos of himself hooping on TikTok. While he may not have a future in the NBA, he does have a lot going for him as a social media influencer.
Photo: Julian Newman in high school (left) versus now (right). (Photo credit: Juliannewman4/Instagram)