Over the course of the grassroots season, Niko Newsome was one the regions breakout stars in the Midwest. The guard has developed into one of the most impactful players in Illinois’ 2024 class.  

While playing with MidPro Academy during the spring and summer, the 6’6” guard was recently named to first team on the NY2LA Association as well as defensive MVP. “My season with MidPro was great. We had some ups and downs during the season, but we didn’t let that get in our way…Great group of players and it was a great experience,” Newsome said. Throughout the year the MidPro 17U team continued to greatly improve ending with an appearance in the semifinals at The Final Chapter. 

Newsome had picked up an early offer from Western Illinois. Over the past year, the senior has continued to build interest from numerous division one and two programs. Amongst the programs showing interest are Appalachian State, Central Missouri, Eastern Illinois, Missouri S&T, North Dakota State, Radford, Saginaw Valley State, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, and Western Michigan.  

Coming up this fall, Newsome has a pair of visits. He will be taking an official visit to Saginaw Valley State the weekend of September 29th and an unofficial visit to Southern Illinois Edwardsville that is not yet scheduled. 

This upcoming season with Newsome alongside Jaheem Webber, Braylon Roman, Noah Cleveland, and Kobe Walker, Normal Community High School should be one of the most talented teams in all of Illinois. “My goal for the high school season is to win state,” Newsome said. “We have every piece we need, we just have to give it our all every time we’re on the court.” On a personal level, Newsome is looking to score one thousand points career points which he is just forty-seven points shy off. “My main focus is winning and getting others better.”