Cam Oliver explains how playing for Cairns helped him reach the NBA and potentially returning to the NBL
April 17, 2024
DJ Newbill
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 22/05/92
- Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 193
- Weight (KG): 95
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Southern Miss (2010–2011) Penn State (2012–2015)
- NBL DEBUT: 8/10/17
- AGE AT DEBUT: 25
- LAST NBL GAME: 5/03/20
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 27
- NBL History: New Zealand 2018 | Cairns 2019-20
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Dj Newbill was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) where he attended Strawberry Mansion High School in Philadelphia.
As a junior in 2008/09, he averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game and garnered Second Team All-State and All-Public League honours.
As a senior in 2009/10, he was named the Pennsylvania Class AA Player of the Year and Public League Player of the Year after averaging 24.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game. He led Strawberry Mansion to a 28–2 record, and the Class AA State Championship.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Dj Newbill made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 25 years of age. He scored 12 points in his first game.
After a injury decimated season, New Zealand looked to rebuild in Paul Henare’s second year as coach. Kevin Dillard, who joined the team for the last nine games, was retained and it was hoped that the on court success witnessed during the last month of the season would be able to be extended across NBL18. The major move of the off-season saw the Breakers cut ties with Corey Webster after multiple situations where the two parties no longer saw eye to eye. This led to Webster first signing a two-year deal with Perth, then after turning the heads of some European team’s whilst playing in the 2017 NBA Summer League, requested a release prior to the NBL season starting. The remainder of the roster was retained and with league expanding the number of import a team can sign from two to three, added backcourt duo DJ Newbill and Édgar Sosa.
New Zealand then started the season in hot form, going 6–1 after five rounds thanks to the selflessness of Newbill (13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Sosa (15.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Back-up guard Shea Ili (9.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) also posted impressive numbers, becoming a vital piece of the team’s second unit and claimed the NBL’s Most Improved Player at the end of the season.
With a win over the Perth Wildcats on 9 November, the Breakers moved to a 7–1 record, tying their best start in franchise history. They went on to defeat Perth again three days later, moving them to a 8–1 record. They moved to 9–1 with a win over Brisbane on 19 November, as they headed into the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification break atop the NBL ladder and on a nine-game winning streak.
After returning from the FIBA break, the Breakers lost four out of their first five games and dropped to 10–5 following Round 10. With Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) injured, they chose to bring in NBA player Rakeem Christmas (7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds) in early January to bolster their squad.
Despite finishing the regular season with back-to-back losses, New Zealand finished in fourth place (15–13) and went on to face Melbourne and former coach Dean Vickerman in the semifinals. United handed the Breakers back-to-back defeats in the semifinals, following a overtime loss in Game 2 (88–86). Club legend Kirk Penney played (10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) his final NBL game in the game two loss, finishing with a 17-point effort.
CAIRNS TAIPANS
2018/19
In 2019, Newbill was a major part of the Taipans roster. He was the only Taipan to finish top four in club scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals. He also set a new career high with 32 points in January 2019, including 15 points in final quarter. Newbill averaged 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, playing a key role in the Taipans rotation, helping the team finish with a record of 6-22.
2019/20
The 2019/20 season saw Newbill average 18.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists and play a key role in helping the Taipans to a third place finish in the regular season with a 16-12 record.
Newbill was also named to the All-NBL Second Team.
Dj Newbill played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the New Zealand Breakers and the Cairns Taipans. He averaged 15.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 86 NBL games.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 27 | Cairns | 16-12 (3) | 30 | 1,001.0 | 554 | 90 | 91 | 18 | 72 | 38 | 3 | 53 | 71 | 192 | 380 | 51% | 68 | 163 | 42% | 102 | 120 | 85% | 63% | 59% | 31 |
| 2018-19 | 26 | Cairns | 6-22 (8) | 27 | 850.0 | 385 | 109 | 67 | 24 | 85 | 31 | 6 | 59 | 63 | 136 | 326 | 42% | 44 | 131 | 34% | 69 | 109 | 63% | 51% | 48% | 32 |
| 2017-18 | 25 | New Zealand | 15-13 (4) | 29 | 885.0 | 405 | 125 | 94 | 43 | 82 | 40 | 3 | 59 | 74 | 151 | 340 | 44% | 46 | 126 | 37% | 57 | 84 | 68% | 53% | 51% | 25 | Totals | 86 | 2736 | 1344 | 324 | 252 | 85 | 239 | 109 | 12 | 171 | 208 | 479 | 1046 | 45.8% | 158 | 420 | 37.6% | 228 | 313 | 72.8% | 57% | 53% | 32 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 27 | Cairns | 16-12 (3) | 30 | 33.4 | 18.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 6.4 | 12.7 | 51% | 2.3 | 5.4 | 42% | 3.4 | 4.0 | 85% | 63% | 59% | 31 |
| 2018-19 | 26 | Cairns | 6-22 (8) | 27 | 31.5 | 14.3 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 12.1 | 42% | 1.6 | 4.9 | 34% | 2.6 | 4.0 | 63% | 51% | 48% | 32 |
| 2017-18 | 25 | New Zealand | 15-13 (4) | 29 | 30.5 | 14.0 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 11.7 | 44% | 1.6 | 4.3 | 37% | 2.0 | 2.9 | 68% | 53% | 51% | 25 | Total | 86 | 31.8 | 15.6 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 5.6 | 12.2 | 45.8% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37.6% | 1.8 | 4.9 | 72.8% | 57% | 53% | 32 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 32 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
In April 2015, prior to the 2015 NBA draft, Newbill competed in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and helped his team Cherry Bekaert win the championship while claiming Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team honors.
After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Newbill joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2015 NBA Summer League. In four games for the Clippers, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- France - ASVEL (2015–2016) | Turkey - Akhisar Belediyespor (2016) | Belgium - Telenet Oostende (2016–2017) | Russia - Polski Cukier Toruń (2018) | Poland - Avtodor Saratov (2019) | Japan - Osaka (2020–2023), Utsunomiya Brex (2023–2024)
On July 29, 2015, Newbill signed with French team ASVEL for the 2015/16 season. On January 11, 2016, he parted ways with ASVEL. In 15 LNB Pro A games, he averaged 6.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He also averaged 13.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals in seven FIBA Europe Cup games.
In February 2016, Newbill signed with Turkish team Akhisar Belediyespor for the rest of the season. In eight games for Akhisar, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
On July 17, 2016, Newbill signed with Belgian team Telenet Oostende for the 2016–17 season. He helped Oostende win both the Belgian League championship and Belgian Cup crown; he also helped Oostende reach the final of the Belgian Supercup. In 45 league games, he averaged 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He also averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in six FIBA Europe Cup games, and 5.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14 BCL games.
After a stint with New Zealand in the NBL, Newbill signed with Polish team Polski Cukier Toruń to finish out the 2017/18 season.
Newbill spent two seasons with Cairns in the NBL, in between seasons he played a short stint with Russian team Avtodor Saratov.
After his time with Cairns, Newbill signed with Osaka Evessa of the Japanese B.League for the 2020/21 season. There, he averaged 23.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 30 games.
On June 30, 2023, Newbill signed with rival Japanese team Utsunomiya Brex.
COLLEGE
As a freshman at Southern Miss in 2010/11, Newbill ranked third on the Golden Eagle team posting 9.2 points and second with 6.2 rebounds per game for a veteran squad that posted a 22–10 mark.
He started all 32 contests, playing 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor to earn Conference USA All-Freshman Team honours. Attended Southern Miss (2011) and Penn State (2012-2015).
AWARDS
- 1x time NBL Best Defensive Player (2020)
- 1x All-NBL Second Team
Related
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