Newton boys basketball coach Jason Carter will have more players with significant varsity playing time next year than he’s had the past two seasons. He says he’s really looking forward to having some players back with a lot of experience. Prior to this year, the last two Cardinal teams were senior dominated with players like Nate Lampe, Christian Lawson, Caleb Mattes, Hunter Teague, Brody Bauer, Jake Ingles, Cole Plowman, and Drew Thompson. This year five underclassmen had significant roles. Juniors guards Caden Klein and Dawson Maki played in every game. Klein led the team in rebounding and steals and was the third leading scorer with 211 points, while Maki was the first guard off the bench and scored 108 points. Junior forward Tyler Thompson played in 20 of the Cardinals 23 games and shot 49% from the floor. Sophomore forward Grant Osby played in Newton’s last 11 games and shot just under 69% from the floor, and had per game averages of 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds. Freshman guard Isaiah Slaughter averaged 5.4 points in the 17 games he appeared in. 

The Newton boys basketball team finished 12-11 this year. They went 11-12 in 2023-2024 and 17-7 two years ago, losing in the first round of the state basketball tournament.