Asa Newell, class of 2024's top-ranked power forward, on campus for Gonzaga visit
Jul. 25—Asa Newell, a top-12 prospect in the 2024 recruiting class who represented the United States at the FIBA U-19 World Cup last month, is squeezing an official visit to Gonzaga into a busy summer.
The class of 2024's top-ranked power forward, according to 247Sports.com's composite rankings tool, was scheduled to arrive in Spokane on Tuesday to begin his third college visit, according to On3.com's Joe Tipton.
The 6-foot-9, 205-pound Newell is a native of Athens, Georgia, but is spending his final two high school seasons at Montverde Academy, a Florida-based basketball program that routinely produces top college recruits and NBA players.
Former Gonzaga standout and current Philadelphia 76er Filip Petrusev finished his high school career at Montverde Academy, as did ex-Bulldogs point guard-turned-Indiana Pacer Andrew Nembhard. Nembhard's younger brother, Ryan, who's set to begin his first season with the Zags after transferring from Creighton, won a national championship at Montverde in 2021.
Two recruiting services, On3.com and Rivals.com, consider Newell a top-10 recruit in the 2024 class. ESPN.com and 247Sports.com rank him No. 14 and 16, respectively. Rivals.com and ESPN.com rank him as a five-star prospect.
If Newell signed with the Zags, he'd be the third-ranked recruit in program history, behind only Chet Holmgren and Jalen Suggs and just ahead of Hunter Sallis.
Newell has taken visits to Indiana and Georgia, where his older brother Jaden is a redshirt freshman forward for the SEC Bulldogs. His other offers include Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Michigan, Illinois and Texas.
Before traveling to Hungary for the U-19 World Cup, Newell revealed Gonzaga had offered him a scholarship, tagging new Bulldogs assistant R-Jay Barsh on June 6. Barsh, Newell's primary recruiter, has strong ties to Florida after working under longtime Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton and spending seven seasons as Southeastern University's head coach.
During an interview with Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com, Newell said of Gonzaga: "I'm still getting a relationship with them and everything. I think I might try to get on campus with them for them to tell me their full plan as well."
Newell averaged 7.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in seven games at the FIBA event earlier this summer. He shot 21 of 33 from the field and 2 of 12 from the 3-point line.
In his first season at Montverde, Newell averaged 12.5 minutes per game, scoring 6.6 points, grabbing 3.3 rebounds and leading the team with 0.9 blocks per game.
