Name: Roderick Newton
Age: 17
Year: Junior
Winter Sport: Basketball
Position: Point Guard
Years on Varsity: 2 years
Height & Weight: 5’6”, 145 lbs.
Experience: 12 years (played organizational basketball since he was five)
Roderick Newton has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week presented by McNair Auto Sales. In his second season as a member of the Raiders’ varsity basketball team, Newton has helped run the point guard position for Richmond. His nomination comes as a result of his impressive second-half against Scotland High School last week, in which he netted 14 points and had a game-high four three-pointers.
RSHS Academics: As a junior, Newton is currently enrolled in Richmond Senior High School’s “business cluster.” This semester, which is nearly over, Newton is taking Honors Math III, a class that he says he enjoys very much. He is also taking Chemistry, English IV and Marketing. Newton said he’s looking forward to taking Weight Training and Honors Accounting in the spring.
“My favorite class is math,” Newton said. “I’ve just always liked working with numbers.”
RSHS Sports: Newton has dedicated himself mostly to playing basketball, as he’s played all three years he’s been at Richmond. He was moved up to the varsity level last year as a sophomore, and noted that he was on the junior varsity team as a freshman. Also during his ninth grade year, Newton played on Ninth Grade Academy’s football team, but has since directed his focus to basketball.
Extracurricular Activities: One organization that Newton is involved with at Richmond is the African American History Club led by teacher Cherice Washington.
“I’ve always liked history,” Newton said. “And a lot of my peers encouraged me to join the club. We’ve done a lot of cool things like movie nights and a college visit to Winston-Salem (State University).
Newton said that he wasn’t able to attend the college visit because of a prior commitment to the basketball team, but noted he was excited about future events with the AAHC.
Hobbies: Even when he’s not at practice or playing in games, Newton can be found playing pickup basketball with his friends, noting it’s one of his favorite this to do in his downtime.
When he’s not on the court somewhere, Newton said he also likes to just “hang out with friends” and expressed his interest in playing video games.
“I like to play video games with my friends,” Newton said. “We mostly play Madden and 2K (NBA) on PS4.”
Interesting Fact: Like many of the Richmond Observer’s official athletes, Newton’s interesting fact involves watching an older, but still popular cartoon.
“I really like watching Dragon Ball Z,” Newton said with a chuckle. “I guess I really like the fighting scenes in the show. And Goku is my favorite character.”
College Aspirations: Newton is set to graduate high school in 2019, and he says he’s still taking his time to make the right decision about what he wants to do afterward. He noted that he does want to pursue a college education, and is wanting to do “something with the business cluster because that has always interested” him.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet on what I want to study or where I want to go,” Newton said. “But it can be anywhere as long as I get a good education.”
Newton also expressed that his primary goal in conjunction to getting a college education is to play college basketball. Where, he said, wouldn’t really matter, as long as he could play and get a degree. He mentioned that North Carolina A&T is a school he may look into.
Mentor: For his mentor, Newton chose an individual who has impacted is life on and off the court. He selected friend, and former Richmond basketball player, Josh Calhoun. Currently, Calhoun is a senior guard on Pfeiffer University’s men’s basketball team.
“Josh is a great friend,” Newton said. “He has always helped me with my game on the court. And he’s always there to talk to me when I need to.
“And Josh has shown me what it takes to play hard enough to get to the next level,” he added.
Player of the Week Stats: Newton is coming off his hottest stretch of the season, in which has earned him a role in the Raiders starting five rotation. Last week against Scotland, he was a large part of the Raiders’ offense, even though they fell to Scotland 67-53. Newton scored all 14 of his team-high points in the second half, including three three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone.
With Richmond trailing 41-31 at the start of the last quarter, Newton got things going for Richmond when he hit a floater in transition. Following a dunk by teammate Malik Flowers, Newton hit his first three-pointer from downtown to cut the lead to 51-39. Despite the Fighting Scots being able to answer almost every Richmond basket, Newton didn’t stop his attack, as he hit two more triples, most notably one with 1:23 left in regulation to cut the lead to 10 points.
Just after Christmas, Newton had his best shooting performance of the season when he dropped 23 points against Windsor Forest High School (Savannah, Ga.) in the Holiday in the Pines tournament at Pinecrest High School. It was his first start of the season, and he has since built upon his playing time and that performance.
What has the season been like for you and team so far, even after a slow 5-10 start?
“The season has been up and down,” Newton admitted. “But we still have time to turn it around. And I think we can finish out the season strong. Turnovers have hurt us a lot, but we are getting better at keeping control of the ball.”
Describe what it’s like to run the point guard position and call plays.
“It’s definitely an exciting experience,” Newton noted. “I like being able to scope out the floor and call plays out to my teammates.”
What has been your most exciting moment so far this season?
“My most exciting moment this season was the last game of the Holiday in the Pines tournament (against Windsor Forest),” Newton explained. “It was my first start and I scored 23 points. I just caught fire and my shots were falling.”
Coach’s Corner: First-year head coach Donald Pettigrew may be new to running the Raiders program, but he has had past coaching experience with Newton through AAU ball. Pettigrew was quick to say that he’s glad to see Newton has turned a corner and is playing much better during the last six games, explaining that his progression has been impressive.
“Rod has played AAU ball for me, and this year, he started off slow,” Pettigrew said. “His confidence wasn’t there. But over Christmas break, he had a good game against (Windsor Forest) out of Georgia. And he started looking different.
“I always tell him and the other guys that they have to play with confidence,” Pettigrew continued. “Early in the Scotland game, Rod’s shots weren’t falling. But he was still confident and continued to put up shots. He’s been our best guard, and going forward, he’s got to continue to be good and play with confidence. I expect him to keep it going.”
Look for Newton on the Richmond Observer’s flagship news program LIVE AT 5, as he’ll be in studio for Friday’s edition.
