Asa Newell Scouting Report: Dissecting Georgia's next big NBA prospect's showing in 2-point loss to Auburn

The NBA hasn’t received a new Georgia Bulldog since the Wolves drafted Anthony Edwards in 2020 (not counting Georgia to Dayton transfer Toumani Camara). They’ll more than likely have their second freshman Bulldog in the 2020s drafted this year freshman big man Asa Newell.

Newell starred at Montverde as one of their many five-star prospects before joining the Bulldogs. He’s one of the more productive freshmen in the country, averaging 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds on an efficient 62.6% true shooting. But as we know, not all productive college players, even freshmen, translate smoothly to the NBA.

His recent performance against an elite Auburn team can help us begin to gauge his NBA projection.

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Asa Newell Scouting Report: Closer look at Bulldogs freshman's game vs. Auburn

Newell tallied 16 points (6-13), 10 rebounds, one assist and one block in his 33 minutes of play. Dating back to high school, Newell’s defense helped him become a highly regarded prospect.

As a 6-foot-10 center, Newell sometimes appears small when defending the basket. However, he compensates for this with excellent mobility, showcasing the agility and balance to guard in space, as great modern NBA big defenders must.

Late in the game, Newell switches onto fellow freshman Tahaad Pettiford, one of the quicker players in the country. He fluidly opens his hips to stick with Pettiford before rising up to get a fingertip on his floater attempt:

On the following possession, Newell matches up against the similarly sized Chaney Johnson, who attempts to penetrate the middle of the floor. Newell cuts off his drive and contests the shot at the rim without fouling:

Even when Newell gives up points, we can see him flash impressive movement skills at his size. He plays a bit too far towards the level of the screen and the handler drives around him. Newell recovers to force a fairly difficult shot, but he lacks the size and vertical pop to force a miss:

Newell is prone to the same mistakes all 19-year-old college basketball players are, especially ones as physically gifted as he is. When offensive players throw pump fakes at him, Newell often bites and reaches for a block or steal. Newell jumps unnecessarily while defending in drop and Auburn finds a layup:

While Newell’s 2.2% steal rate is high for center prospects, his 4.2% block rate doesn’t stand out much. Even without a stellar explosion to nab blocks, though, Newell’s positioning and size help him defend the basket and force misses. He leaves the ground quickly in transition here, contesting the shot into a miss:

Box scores don’t track Newell’s impactful rotations and contests to the rim that deter shots and force misses. His tendency to jump benefits him here, as he’s often early and able to make shots more difficult. Newell makes his presence at the basket known to force a miss here and ends up grabbing the defensive board:

Newell’s brightest defensive moments come when his size and mobility congeal to cover ground and blow up offensive intentions. The Tigers try to screen Newell to open up a lob for his man, but Newell easily evades the screen and breaks up the pass like a cornerback:

Newell’s ability to play center at the NBA level may help determine his ceiling. He isn’t the shot blocker most centers are, but his mobility could help him make up for it. On the offensive end, Newell functions mostly as a center, spending the majority of his offensive time cutting, rolling to the rim and grabbing rebounds.

He’s finishing efficiently this season at the hoop, shooting an excellent 64% at the rim and 64.3% on layups. Newell often dunks the ball at the basket — he’s recorded 40 dunks already this season, the fifth most by any NCAA player. In the NBA, though, he’ll rely on his great touch to thrive against the world’s best athletes.

Against Auburn, Newell showcased his touch on his post-up attempts. The Tigers did well to force Newell into difficult shots, but he often scored anyway. He banks in this hook shot from the middle of the paint, drawing the and-1:

Defenders sometimes smother Newell and his touch renders their efforts useless. This hook shot was even more heavily contested as Newell had to fight through a dig at his handle:

Even finishers as efficient as Newel can struggle to make these tough shots consistently. He doesn’t have the best mid-range touch and can miss some of these deep hook shots wide:

When Newell imposes himself as a scorer, defenses will send multiple bodies to stop him. His passing lags behind his scoring; Newell doesn’t turn the ball over much (1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio) but his low 8% assist rate points to gaps in his passing vision at times.

A score-first player, Newell trusts his touch and strength to score in the paint. He’ll often settle for heavily guarded shots in the paints, like this attempt over two defenders late in the clock:

Newell can make basic reads within the flow of offense, which will be critical for his translation as a perimeter offensive hub. He’ll connect teammates with snappy extra passes and execute offensive sets, like this flare screen to the corner. Newell reads the pass a bit too slowly though, allowing the defense to recover:

As infrequent as they are, Newell’s best passing flashes suggest he could contribute as a structured playmaker at the NBA level. Here, he fires a sweet bounce pass operating from the top of the key to a cutter. It’s not a perfectly accurate pass, but Newell threw this with his weak right hand, showcasing impressive skill for his size:

To thrive on the perimeter, Newell must prove he can win as a driver. The glimpses of slashing potential are tantalizing; Newell throws his defender aside on this mean bump euro step for an easy bucket:

More than his driving, Newell’s shooting protection will sit under a microscope. Especially for bigs without elite size, modern fours and fives often need to threaten defenses from the perimeter. Newell’s made 12 of his 40 3-point attempts this season on a pedestrian 4.4 attempts per 100. He’s a solid free-throw shooter (73.2%) and his touch could suggest future shooting progress.

He drained 2 of his 4 3-point attempts against Auburn and was willing to pull when the Tigers left him open. Newell has a slower, segmented jump shot with a high arc, but the shots fall regardless when he’s left alone:

Newell flashed some movement shooting capabilities on this next clip, lifting to the top of the key before hitting the three. He’s shooting 42.1% (8-of-19) on his small sample of unguarded 3s and beginning to prove his ability to knock these down consistently:

Shooting will act as a major swing for Newell. Without it, he might be destined to live as a utility rotation big. If the shooting is a threat, his potential for offensive growth widens, paving the way for a possibly great two-way versatile big man.

All Stats via Bart Torvik and Synergy.