PSU's Newbill eager to share experiences he had with Durant, LeBron

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State's fall semester commences Monday, officially marking the culmination of a memorable summer for the Nittany Lions' top men's basketball player.

D.J. Newbill, the combo guard from North Philadelphia and Strawberry Mansion High, garnered opportunities this summer reserved for only the upper echelon of high school and collegiate players. They came in the span of a few weeks from late June to mid-July, and resulted in the chance to compete against the reigning NBA MVP and briefly as a teammate of the best player on the planet.

"Oh, man, it's definitely been a breathtaking experience," Newbill, a rising senior, said on a recent morning. "I really can't find a word in the dictionary to describe my summer as a whole."

Newbill, whose 17.8 points per game last season ranked second in the Big Ten, spent about 7 days combined competing in elite basketball camps, first at the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Washington and then the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas.

Newbill's performance in 2 1/2 days at Durant's camp, which features the top 15 collegiate wing players, earned him a trip to the camp run by LeBron. In a somewhat off-the-cuff 5-on-5 drill consisting of three teams on the court at the same time, the 6-4 Newbill defended the 6-10 Durant on two possessions. Both culminated in post-up fadeaways, said Newbill, who added that he tried to body up Durant a bit.

How'd he do?

"He went 50 percent from the field," Newbill said with a wide smile.

Only weeks later, Newbill was on a plane to the desert, where he again competed in a gym full of college basketball's top players. The camp was July 9-12, its first 2 days coinciding with the height of the media circus surrounding James and his impending decision to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers. The campers, Newbill said, were instructed to not ask the four-time NBA MVP anything regarding the decision.

Amid it all, James conversed with the players and even played in scrimmages. For about an 8-minute stretch, he was Newbill's teammate.

"When you first step on the court," Newbill said, "you're like, 'Wow, he's big. This is LeBron. This is like my favorite player.' But then once you get out there, it's like now it's time to compete, because I'm still here for a purpose."

Newbill posted a photo to social media of him standing next to James. He said they shared a brief conversation one day while Newbill was getting his knee iced.

"One thing about LeBron, when he stepped on the court, he was talking the whole time, instructing guys where to go. You always know where he's at," Newbill said. "You can hear his voice over anyone in the gym. So I tried to do that throughout the camp once I heard him doing it."

Along with taking mental notes on James' tendencies, Newbill picked up little helpful tips from the other players at the camp. Among his teammates throughout the week were Ron Baker, the sharpshooting guard who helped Wichita State go undefeated in the regular season, and highly touted incoming Kansas freshman Kelly Oubre.

Newbill said he had already started sharing the insight he gained with his PSU teammates.

"Those teams are doing what we plan on doing or what we wish to do or what we're working hard to be - a tournament team," he said. "Every year. They're doing it every year."

Newbill, who started his collegiate career at Southern Mississippi, was the first Philly player to join PSU's men's basketball program after Newtown Square native Pat Chambers took over in 2011. Now, the roster features five players from the Philly area, including freshman Shep Garner, the point guard from Roman Catholic.

Come the fall, Newbill will lead the team into another season, now with the experiences of playing on the same court as two of the world's best.