Jakai Newton Signs National Letter of Intent With Indiana Basketball

Jakai Newton, a four-star guard from Covington, Ga., signed his national letter of intent with the Indiana basketball program on Thursday.

Jakai Newton is officially a Hoosier.

On Thursday, Newton signed his national letter of intent with Indiana, joining coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers for the 2023-24 season. 

"Jakai is an outstanding two-way player who takes pride in his ability to be a lockdown defender," Woodson said. "He has tremendous athleticism and is aggressive at getting to the rim. He is well-coached and comes from a very well thought of high school program. He continues to improve and better himself with an outstanding work ethic. He has quick feet, a 6-10 wingspan, and a tremendous ability to elevate which will help him on both ends of the floor. He is a skilled player with a great build that should translate well to the Big Ten.”

Jakai Newton - MIC’D up with the BEST 🎤🤩
-#UANEXT pic.twitter.com/oh2p0Nb8Qu

— Boys UAA (@UANextBHoops) April 9, 2022

Newton is a 6-foot-3 guard for Newton High School in Covington, Ga., where he averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game as a junior. He plays AAU basketball for Atlanta Xpress, but he missed the summer circuit with a knee injury. 

Newton is a consensus four-star recruit and ranked No. 64 by Rivals, No. 84 by ESPN, No. 86 by 247Sports and No. 88 by On3. He joins Gabe Cupps, who signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday, in Indiana's two-player 2023 recruiting class, which is ranked No. 29 by 247Sports and No. 31 by Rivals. 

Indiana commit (23’) @jakai_newton did his thing tonight. 17 points in Newton’s dominant win over Norcross. pic.twitter.com/l82MxjkZYh

— GREENLIGHT MEDIA (@atlgreenlight) November 21, 2021

“We are thrilled to welcome Gabe, Jakai, and their families to the IU Basketball program," Woodson said. "They are two competitive individuals who offer a great deal to what we are building here and both will be great additions.”

Related stories on Indiana basketball:

• CUPPS SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT: Gabe Cupps, a four-star guard from Centerville, Ohio, signed his national letter of intent with Indiana basketball on Wednesday. CLICK HERE
• HOW TO WATCH INDIANA VS. BETHUNE-COOKMAN: Indiana basketball (1-0) takes on Bethune-Cookman (0-1) on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Here's how to watch, three leading storylines, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history and more. CLICK HERE
• OPENING LINE: No. 13 Indiana plays its second game of the regular season on Thursday night, taking on Bethune-Cookman at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are huge favorites, according to oddsmakers. Here are the numbers, plus Indiana's history against the spread. CLICK HERE
• HOOD-SCHIFINO ADDS NEW DIMENSION TO INDIANA: The pressure was on Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson to perform at a high level on a nightly basis last season, but the addition of five-star freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino adds another layer to the Indiana offense this time around. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS CRUISE PAST EAGLES Trayce Jackson-Davis and Malik Reneau each had 15 points and Jordan Geromino led Indiana's bench on several long runs in the Hoosiers' 88-53 victory over Morehead State on Monday in their season opener. CLICK HERE