Julian Newman facts for kids

Julian Newman was born on September 6, 2001. He is an American college basketball player. He plays for the Bethesda Lion Angels. This team is part of the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference. Julian finished high school at Prodigy Prep in Orlando, Florida, in 2020. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall. He plays as a point guard on the basketball court.

Julian became well-known in 2012. This was because of his amazing highlight videos on YouTube. He was playing varsity basketball for Downey Christian School. At the time, he was only in fifth grade. People had different ideas about him. Some called him a child prodigy, meaning he was super talented at a young age. Others didn't like how much he was promoted.

Julian's Early Basketball Journey

Starting Young

Julian Newman started loving basketball when he was just three years old. His father, Jamie, quickly began training him. Julian played with regular-sized basketballs. He also joined recreational leagues with older kids. His father trained him very strictly from a young age. Julian would reportedly make 100 free throws every day. He also practiced 200 floaters and 200 jump shots daily.

Middle School Stardom

In the fall of 2012, Julian transferred to Downey Christian School. This was a small private school in Orlando, Florida. His father started coaching basketball and teaching history there. As a fifth grader, Julian began playing for the middle school team. He quickly became very successful. He even scored 91 points in one game! Because of this, he was moved up to the varsity team. His team played outside the rules of the Florida High School Athletic Association.

Julian was 11 years old and a point guard. He was 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 70 pounds. His uniform was the smallest size, but he still had to adjust it. He used a hair tie to tighten his jersey shoulders. He also rolled the waistband of his shorts so they wouldn't fall down. In his first three games, he averaged 12.4 points. He also had 11 assists and 4.3 steals per game. He helped Downey Christian get a 21–6 record. He also led the state of Florida in assists.

Becoming a Viral Sensation

In sixth grade, Julian averaged 17 points per game. On December 19, 2012, an article about him appeared on MaxPreps. It was titled, "Fifth grader starting for Florida varsity team." A video of Julian was posted on YouTube by ScoutsFocus. This video went viral, getting over 3.5 million views. Soon, Julian was in national news. He was featured in Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. People were amazed that a fifth grader was playing varsity basketball.

Julian also appeared on many TV shows. These included Steve Harvey, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Good Morning America. He was even invited to perform at half-time during an Orlando Magic NBA game.

In December 2013, The Huffington Post called him "The Best Sixth Grade Basketball Player You've Ever Seen." By then, he was averaging 13.6 points and 10.5 assists per game. In 2014, the Tampa Bay Times called him "the most marketed 12-year-old basketball player in the world." Some media outlets didn't like how much Julian's career was promoted. They compared him to a child star.

As a seventh grader in 2015, Julian made history. He became the youngest player to score 1,000 career varsity points. He finished the 2014–15 season averaging 19.8 points. He also had 10.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game. On October 4, 2016, Julian scored 52 points. This was in a big game against top player Kyree Walker. His highlight video from that game got over 13 million views on YouTube.

High School Achievements

By 2018, when Julian was a sophomore in high school, he had scored 3,873 total points. This broke the Florida high school record set in 1998. In the 2018–19 season, he averaged 34.7 points. He also had seven assists, five rebounds, and four steals per game.

For his senior year, Julian moved to Prodigy Prep. This was a new school in Orlando. His father created the school and was also the head basketball coach there.

College Basketball

Julian Newman joined Bethesda University in 2024. This university is part of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). He played his first college game against The Master's on October 24. He didn't score any points in that game, missing all six of his shots. His team lost 109–23.

Julian's Family Life

Julian Newman has a mixed background. He is of Jewish, American, and Puerto Rican descent. His father, Jamie Newman, used to play basketball as a point guard. He played for Colonial High School in Orlando, Florida. Jamie is now a history teacher and head basketball coach at Downey Christian School.

Julian's mother, Vivian Gonzalez, is Puerto Rican. She played point guard for University High School in Orlando, Florida. After high school, she served four years in the United States Navy. Then she worked for the United States Postal Service.

Julian has a younger sister named Jaden. She also started playing varsity basketball for Downey Christian in third grade. Jaden also got national attention. She appeared on TV shows like The Queen Latifah Show. It was reported that she was wanted by a top college basketball program, Miami (Florida), when she was only nine years old.

Beyond the Court

In 2015, Julian started his own documentary series. It was called "Born Ready" and was uploaded to the YouTube channel Elite Mixtapes. Julian and his family also star in a reality show called "Hello Newmans." This show was launched by the sports network Overtime in 2019.

Julian is also connected to his family's sports clothing brand, Prodigy. You can buy merchandise from this brand at his games.

Hello Newmans is a reality TV web series. You can watch it on YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. It is produced by Overtime.