5th Grader Varsity Starter: 11-Year-Old Plays Basketball With Teens Twice His SIze [Video]
5th grader varsity basketball star Julian Newman has become a YouTube sensation after footage of him taking on teens twice his size was posted online.
The 11-year-old Newman is starting point guard for the varsity basketball team at Downey Christian in Orlando.
The side is coached by his father, Jamie Newman, but this isn’t a case of sporting nepotism. As the video below demonstrates, the four-foot-five Julian is a precocious talent. He also has the numbers to back him up: In his three starts this year, the youngster is averaging 12.4 points, 11 assists, and 4.3 steals per game.
Speaking to MaxPreps, Jamie Newman said of his son:
“He has a tremendous skill level. He has moves that even NBA players don’t have. He does stuff that hasn’t been done before with the ball.”
Because Downey Christian is an independent school that operates outside the jurisdiction of the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA), the 5th grader varsity star is permitted to take to the court with boys much older than himself.
Julian is following in the footsteps of another child sports phenomenon to emerge in 2012. Back in August, five-foot-one sixth grader Andrew Robison became the youngest quarterback ever to throw a touchdown in a varsity football game.
In Julian’s case, most of Twitter seems pretty impressed by the 5th grader varsity star’s mad hoop skills:
11-Year-Old, 4’5 Julian “Handles” Newman is Better at Basketball Than You. via @slamonlineph bit.ly/R8jZu2
— Nikko Ramos (@NikkoRMS) December 21, 2012
Is it too early for SU to recruit him? A 5th grader is a STARTER on a high school varsity basketball team ow.ly/gfH5I
— Geoff Herbert (@deafgeoff) December 20, 2012
Julian Newman could take me to town and back… and he’s in fifth grade #filthy
— Kevin Testerman (@ktesterman2) December 21, 2012
Watch Julian doing his thing below:
