Jeff Newberry of New Mexico Junior College is one of the top junior college guards in the nation. An Atlanta native, he will be contributing periodically to ZAGSBLOG this year. Here’s his first entry.
Point Guard Jeff Newberry of New Mexico Junior College checking in. Just wanted to give some fans and supporters a little of my background and information on what schools are recruiting me and have offered at this point.
I started my college career at The University Of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where I red-shirted. I then transferred to North Eastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) in a small town of Miami, Oklahoma. I met a lot of good people and played with a lot of good players who I still keep in contact with today at NEO. I transferred to New Mexico
Junior College this upcoming fall to have the opportunity to play against a higher level of competition and prove that I could do the same in this league that I did in the league that I played in at North Eastern Oklahoma A&M. Another reason I chose to transfer was to further prepare me for that next level in which I feel coaches James Miller and Brian Lohery do a great job of at New Mexico Junior College. They’re very tough on me and demand a lot of me not only on the court, but also off. I take pride in the challenge of becoming more disciplined and becoming a leader for once in my life to the people who look up to me in any form.
I took my first official to West Virginia in early May and I loved the campus and became close with two current players, Terry Henderson and Eron Harris. After leaving West Virginia I was very tempted to sign a Letter of Intent and be a Mountaineer this upcoming fall. After talking it over with my parents and mentor Patrice Days, I made the decision to spend another year in Junior College because I felt I had a little more to prove on this level before going back Division 1. My goal is to prove that I am the most complete point guard on this Junior College circuit, and one of the top players in the U.S.
My recruitment has picked up in ways I have never imagined. There were times where I felt as if I was forgotten about on the basketball circuit this past year but I never doubted my talent. In the transition of transferring to New Mexico Junior College I have picked up offers from Oklahoma State, Louisiana State (LSU), West Virginia, Creighton, Murray State, Abilene Christian, Rhode Island, UTEP, and Arkansas. I’ve received heavy interest from Texas, San Diego State, Kansas, Kentucky, California, UCLA, and UNLV, who will be at my workouts in mid-September when coaches can legally start to come out and see kids. I’m very exhausted from the recruiting process, but it’s something I deal with on a daily basis because I know this next decision on where I go to school will determine my future and my life. I now have two official visits set up: Louisiana State (LSU) September 6th-8th for all Tiger fans out there and Oklahoma State (October 17th-19th) for all the Cowboy fans. That leaves me with two visits left two spare in which I will carefully look at each schools situation and determine them from there.
The transition of becoming a true point guard was a very tough one, but I’ve just about got it down pat. I started to dribble with a grocery bag around the ball which has helped me tremendously with handling the ball at the very tough point guard position. This whole process has been a fun but tough one. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am at right now at this point in life which has finally payed off. The type of game I will bring to the Division 1 level at the point guard position is a very flashy but humble skill set. I say flashy because most people say that, I honestly just feel that I’m playing my game.
Anything else you guys need to know about me you can follow me on twitter: @newberry_22 instagram: newberry_22 . In conclusion I thank you all who have supported me through this whole process through Twitter, instagram, etc… I see a lot of fans that mention me on a daily now and I will be happy to get back to you guys as soon as possible on any social sites. Again thank you all for your time.
