Newton and Spencer Go In Second Round of NBA Draft

NEW YORK – UConn men's basketball standouts Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) and Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) were both selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday evening. Newton went to the Indiana Pacers with the 49th overall pick while Spencer was the 53^rd overall selection, with his rights going to the Memphis Grizzlies in a proposed trade.

The duo join lottery picks Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan to give Connecticut four players drafted off the 2024 National Champion squad. The four draftees are one shy of a program record for most players selected in a single draft, behind only the five taken in the 2006 Draft.

Newton delivered in every way as a two-year transfer for the Huskies, joining the program prior to the 2022-23 season in time for back-to-back national titles. A 2,000 career point scorer in three years at ECU and two at UConn, Newton became the seventh consensus First Team All-American this season and won the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. In two years at UConn he averaged 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, recording four triple-doubles to set the program career record. In his All-America season in '23-24 Newton averaged a team-high 15.1 points and 6.2 assists per game along with 6.6 rebounds per contest – the only player in the country to average at least 15, 6, and 6 over the course of the season.

After leading the Huskies in scoring during the 2023 National Title game, Newton upped the ante and won Most Outstanding Player at the 2024 Final Four. He was also the BIG EAST Tournament MVP, Empire Classic MVP and was a unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST pick.

Spencer will join the Grizzlies after one season at Connecticut, making the most of his time in Storrs. The grad transfer scored 14.3 points to go along with 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for the champs, also posting a team-high 59 steals. He was top-10 in the country in both 3-point shooting (44.0 percent) and assist/turnover ratio (3.6), the only player in America on the top 10 of both lists.

UConn has now had eight players drafted in six seasons under Dan Hurley, including six in the last two seasons. It cements yet another milestone in UConn's historic two-year run, as the six players selected in the 2023 and 2024 drafts are tied for the most to go in a two-year span in program history.