WATCH: Indiana Commit Jakai Newton Rejects Nation's No. 1 Recruit at the Rim

Wheeler High School's Isaiah Collier, the nation's No. 1 recruit, went up for a dunk on Monday night, but Indiana commit Jakai Newton met him at the rim to block the shot. Watch it here.

via @jakai.newton on Instagram

Jakai Newton is back in a big way.

On Monday night, Wheeler High School hosted Newton High School in a matchup outside of Atlanta, Ga. featuring plenty of Division I talent.

Late in the second quarter, Wheeler point guard Isaiah Collier – the nation's No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023 who's committed to USC – drove off a screen to the middle of the paint. He elevated toward the basket looking to dunk the ball, but Jakai Newton met him at the rim and swatted the ball away.

Indiana signee Jakai Newton, in only his second game back from a meniscus injury, hasn't lost his hops 🐰@jakai_newton @NewtonRamsHoops @PaulBiancardi pic.twitter.com/wbh9Y6RjE1

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) February 7, 2023

Monday marked Newton's second game of his senior season after recovering from knee surgery. He made his season debut on Friday and scored 12 points in a win over Archer, and he finished with 17 points on Monday in a 79-60 loss to Wheeler. It's good to see that Newton still has impressive bounce after his knee injury.

Newton is a consensus four-star recruit, and he's committed to Indiana in the class of 2023 along with four-star guard Gabe Cupps from Centerville, Ohio. Newton is ranked No. 63 by Rivals and No. 107 by 247Sports, but he is not in the 2023 ESPN 100 rankings. 

"Jakai is an outstanding two-way player who takes pride in his ability to be a lockdown defender," Indiana coach Woodson said when Newton signed his national letter of intent to Indiana on Nov. 10. "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.”

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