Team Preview: Downey Christian
Julian Newman‘s career at Downey Christian has played out like a wild Sports Illustrated For Kids story turned reality.
Few prodigious young talents in America have broken barriers like Newman, who played varsity as a fifth grader and enters his sophomore campaign with 2,805 career points.
As a diminutive 11-year-old, Downey’s advanced handle and beyond his years IQ enabled him to fill Downey’s void at point guard.
Listed at 4-foot-5 at 70 pounds back then, Newman did the unheard of by playing an impactful role against players twice his size.
Possessing a wealth of experience as the focal point of the offense, the 5-foot-9 Newman is on pace to Shatter Teddy Dupay’s Florida High School basketball record of 3,744 points.
As a senior back in 1998 at Mariner High School, Dupay garnered national headlines as he averaged 41.5 points. He went off for a 70-point game, a shooting assault which is forever etched in Florida HS hoops lore.
Newman’s father, Downey Christian head coach Jamie Newman, explained that the program’s monstrous SIAA schedule has legitimized Newman’s scoring onslaughts. In Julian Newman, his father’s words resonate.
“There isn’t a competition level in the country that’s better than the SIAA,” said Julian Newman. “The guards are strong and talented. They can shoot it. It’s one of the most challenging conferences in the country for guards. Playing against Division-I guys every night, it’s only going to get me better.”
While a majority of the offense runs through Newman, he of the deep shooting range, several underclassmen will shoulder some of the scoring load this season.
The incoming guard trio of Nick Santos, Carlos Felix, and Angel Nieves are expected to come in and provide supplementary scoring immediately.
Forward Therdore Wolfe and Center Eduardo Peralta are other key newcomers, who are expected to be active on the boards while keeping the basket sealed on the other end. Returning seniors Andres Cechowics and Chris Hickey return with necessary veteran experience for a youth-laden team.
“Nick Santos, Carlos Felix, and Eduardo Peralta will definitely be major scoring threats,” Jamie Newman explained.
The competition level is ramped up this season, with Downey entertaining a 40-game schedule that includes matchups against IMG Academy (twice), Florida Prep Academy, First Academy, Colonial High School, and East River.
The regular season SIAA conference schedule features home-and-away games against Victory Rock Academy, DME Academy, first-year Orlando program Inspire Academy, Arlington Country Day, and Potter’s House Christian Academy in Jacksonville. They will additionally compete in the Lake Mary Prep New Year’s Challenge in early January as well as the John Wall Classic in Raleigh, N.C.