John Sylvester Newman, Junior. is a retired American professional basketball player.
Education
Born in Danville, Virginia, Newman attended George Washington High School in Danville, playing for the Eagles under local Hall of Fame coach Harry Johnson before going on to play college basketball at Richmond. Newman graduated from Richmond in 1986 as the school"s all-time leader in points with 2,383.
Career
A 6" 7" and 210 lb (95 kg) guard/forward, Newman starred at the University of Richmond, before going on to play in the National Basketball Association. He was known as an expert marksman in college, with a.532 career field goal percentage and.800 career free throw percentage mark. Newman led Richmond twice to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.
In the 1984 Tournament, Newman and the underdog, 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders upset the 5th-seeded Auburn Tigers, led by future Basketball Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley, in the first round.
They fell to the 4th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the 2nd round. In the 1986 National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, Richmond was seeded 11th in the East region and lost in the first round to 6th-seeded Saint Joseph"son
After college, Newman was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2nd round, with the 29th overall pick, of the 1986 National Basketball Association Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers" group of selections in the 1986 National Basketball Association Draft was one of the best ever for the franchise, and among the best for any team
In that draft, the Cavaliers acquired the rights to future All-Stars Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Ron Harper.
Since Harper and Newman played the same position, Newman was forced to ride the bench during his rookie season. Newman joined the New York Knicks for the 1987-1988 season, and slowly worked his way into the starting lineup. Along with teammates Mark Jackson and Patrick Ewing, Newman lead the Knicks into the playoffs and averaged 19.0 ppg (including 35 points in game 3) in an opening round loss to the Boston Celtics.
In 1988-1989, Newman further grew into his role in the starting five.
He averaged 16.0 ppg and led the Knicks to the National Basketball Association"s Atlantic Division title. After the 1989-1990 season, Newman signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets, an expansion franchise in its 3rd year of existence.
Newman was traded by the New Jersey Nets along with Stephon Marbury after the 2000-2001 National Basketball Association season in exchange for Jason Kidd. Newman scored 12,740 points in his National Basketball Association career.
Newman was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Membership
In his 16 seasons (1986–2002) in the National Basketball Association, he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Buckinghamshire, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks. Newman is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.