Indiana men’s basketball redshirt freshman guard Jakai Newton underwent a successful surgery to treat an injury to his lower body, according to an Indiana Athletics release Wednesday. While Newton is now out indefinitely, he is expected to return this season.
Newton, who was a 4-star guard in the Hoosiers’ 2023 signing class, suffered a knee injury during his senior year at Newton High School in Covington, Georgia. As a result, he’s undergone several surgeries related to that injury. This surgery, however, is not related to his previous knee injury.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound guard redshirted his freshman season in Bloomington as he was still recovering from his knee injury. By the end of the 2023-24 season, he warmed up for some contests but never took to the court.
At Indiana basketball’s institutional media day Sept. 18, Newton declared himself 100% but Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said Newton hadn’t fully recovered yet and couldn’t consistently practice.
Through Indiana’s first 11 games of the season, Newton had played in three. He’s logged 14 minutes and scored 6 points with his last game action coming in the Hoosiers’ victory over Miami University on Dec. 6.
Newton now becomes the second Hoosier –– alongside sophomore guard Gabe Cupps –– who is now out indefinitely. During the Inside Indiana Basketball with Mike Woodson radio show on Monday, Woodson announced Cupps will “probably” be redshirted and miss the rest of the season.
Indiana’s season continues at noon Saturday against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The contest will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
