Eagles Newman is a big shot

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Eagles Newman is a big shot

Sports

Friday, 20 January 2012 14:51

Photo/Special to the News-Gazette

Heritage Christian senior Josh Newman holds the ball he scored his 2,000th career point with Tuesday during a presentation in the third quarter of the game against Eastland Christian. With Newman, from left, are his brother, Jacob Newman, the boys’ mother, Charmaine Dixon, and Heritage Christian Coach Jim Estrella.

Senior forward joins former teammate in school’s 2,000 pt. club

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
Josh Newman knew he was having a pretty good season for the Heritage Christian boys basketball team.

He didn’t realize how good it was, though, until he hit a mid-range jump shot in the second half of the game against Eastland Christian Tuesday at the Eagle gym.
The game was halted after he hit the shot, his 13th and 14th points of the game, while Heritage Coach Jim Estrella orchestrated a short ceremony commemorating Newman’s 2,000th career point.
“I didn’t even know anything about it,” the Eagle senior said. “He (Estrella) never mentioned it to me.”
Newman, a 6-2 guard/forward, is the second Heritage Christian player in two years to reach the rare 2,000-point milestone. Maynard Rowe, now at Webber International University, did that last year on his way to setting the school’s career scoring record of 2,260 points.
The only other teammates to accomplish that in Osceola County history are Osceola High’s legendary combo of Jimmy McCrimon and Frank Ford, both high school All-Americans, three decades ago.
“It’s something to be proud of. It’s not something that happens very often,” Newman said.
Newman finished with 28 points during the 66-39 win over Eastland, right at his 28.5 points per game average. His career total stood at 2,014 before a game Friday against Community Christian.
If he maintains that pace through the playoffs, Newman could break Rowe’s school record. The county record of 2,378 by St. Cloud’s Tim Gatz is likely out of reach.
Estrella said Newman is one of the most talented players in the program’s history, and he’s the force behind the team’s unbeaten (15-0) record this season.
“Josh has excellent skills. You could see when he came into the program that he was going to be a very good player for us,” Estrella said. “Now, our job is to get him a scholarship like Maynard.”
First, the Eagles will continue their quest of a second consecutive Florida Christian Conference basketball championship. The win over Eastland boosted the school’s conference record to 13-0. It will be the top seed in the Eastern division when the FCC playoffs begin in three weeks.
Newman said he was prepared to carry the load after Rowe graduated last season.
“There’s only two seniors on the team (Preston Bass is the other), so we knew we’d have to be the leaders,” he said.
Because Rowe is gone, several teams have tried to take Newman out of the game by keying on him.
“I’ve seen that a couple of times,” he said. “But, I just keep doing what I’m supposed to do. I pretty much stay with the flow of the game.”
One of the youngest players on the Eagles roster is seventh-grader Jacob Newman, Josh’s brother.
“He’s almost as tall as I am already. We play one-on-one all the time. He’s pretty good, except when he doesn’t listen when I’m trying to show him something,” Josh said.