Five-star power forward recruit Asa Newell names Gonzaga among four finalists
Gonzaga is back in the final four – that is, the final four of Asa Newell, a five-star recruit who named the Bulldogs as one of four potential college destinations on Wednesday afternoon.
A top-10 recruit in the recruiting class of 2024, Newell narrowed a long list of colleges down to Gonzaga, Texas, Georgia and Alabama, revealing his finalists to On3.com’s Joe Tipton.
The five-star power forward is attending Montverde Academy, a Florida-based prep school that also produced former Zags Filip Petrusev and Andrew Nembhard, along with current Bulldogs point guard Ryan Nembhard.
Newell is considered the nation’s eighth-best recruit in the 2024 class by On3.com. Other recruiting services such as 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.com consider him among the top 13 prospects in the class of 2024.
A native of Athens, Georgia, Newell has taken officials visits to each of his four finalists, traveling to Spokane for a campus visit on July 25. He also received offers from Baylor, Indiana, Michigan, Florida State, Auburn, Kansas, Arkansas and Florida among others.
“Coach Mark Few really wants me to play in his system,” Newell told On3.com’s Joe Tipton. “Once Anton (Watson) leaves next year, they’re going to need someone at the four spot and they want it to be me. They say they want me to be the point-forward, making decisions and reads.”
Newell hasn’t set a time for announcing a commitment, he told On3.com.
The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward said he has the strongest relationship with Georgia’s coaching staff, in part due to his older brother Jaden playing for the Bulldogs.
“The Georgia staff, I definitely have the biggest relationship with them, going on two years and some change,” Newell said.
Speaking more about his potential fit at Gonzaga, Newell told On3.com, “They do a lot of read-and-react stuff which I think is really important in player development.
“(Few) wants me to get out in transition, push the break, push the offense because that’s what the NBA is all about – showing your potential. He wants to play fast in his offense. He feels like he can really use me at that four position.”
Newell is one of two top-30 players in the 2024 recruiting class still considering Gonzaga. Five-star point guard Zoom Diallo, a Tacoma native who’s spending his final high school season at Prolific Prep in Napa, California, named Gonzaga as one of six finalists in January. Diallo’s other finalists include Arizona, Washington, Kansas, USC and Florida State.
The Bulldogs failed to make the cut for four-star small forward Chase McCarty, an Alabama native who listed Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas Tech as his finalists on Wednesday.