The first thing Telea Newkirk noticed was her son’s smile.
It wasn’t IU junior guard Josh Newkirk’s warp speed in transition or the ferocity of his dunks, which earned him the nickname Boost. It was the look of happiness he had just by being back on the court.
“It was so strange not seeing him play last year and knowing how badly he wanted it,” Telea said. “When I saw him in those exhibition games, just the smile on his face let me know that he’s where he belongs and that he’s happy.”
Josh was back doing what he loved after sitting out for a year following microfracture surgery on his knee and transferring from University of Pittsburgh.
Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Josh’s fervor for basketball started when he accompanied his father, Reggie Newkirk, to many of Reggie’s recreational basketball games as a baby.
“He was always right there by my side,” his father said. “He just gravitated to it, and he got hooked. That was his love.”
When Josh was young, he even began sleeping with a basketball. In his neighborhood, everyone flocked to his house because it was the one with the basketball hoop.
Josh attended Southeast High School for two years before deciding to transfer to Word of God Academy. The alma mater of NBA players John Wall and C.J. Leslie, Josh said he had always wanted to play there and thought it would be the best place for him to develop his skills.
It wouldn’t be the first time he made a dramatic reversal.
After two years at Pittsburgh averaging 5.2 points per game, Josh knew it was time to start looking for somewhere else to play.
“Their style didn’t fit his game,” his father said. “He’s an up-and-down point guard, and they like to slow it down and grind you. I saw his development going down at Pittsburgh. I tried to make him work through it, but then I saw how unhappy he was.”
His transfer was further complicated by the fact that Josh needed microfracture surgery on his knee.
“I said to him, ‘Josh, first of all, who’s going to take you, you’re hurt,” his mother said. “‘You know, you’re not going to be marketable.’”
IU had recruited Josh when he was in 10th grade, and the Hoosiers welcomed him to Bloomington, injury and all. His style fit IU’s like a glove.
However, the road to recovery wasn’t easy for the new Hoosier.
His surgery took place in May, and it wasn’t until around August he was able to walk again.
“It was a long process,” his mother said. “But I think it was more painful for him mentally, not being able to get out on the court and not being able to do what he had done for so long.”
Even through the long hours of rehabilitation, he always remained positive. When things took longer than expected, he was patient.
Josh watched how All-American Yogi Ferrell led the Hoosiers to a Big Ten championship.
“It gave me a different aspect of looking at the game,” Josh said. “I got to watch more film, watch what I could get better at, learn how to attack the game better.”
He also has improved his athleticism.
IU Coach Tom Crean said Newkirk’s vertical has gone up seven to eight inches since he came to IU and he has added strength to both his upper and lower body.
“You can see his athleticism has improved tremendously,” Crean said after the exhibition game against Bellarmine. “I’ve got a friend here that coaches high school in Pittsburgh, and he said, ‘I don’t even recognize this Josh Newkirk.’”
In the time away, Josh’s shot has been remade.
When he was unable to run and jump, he spent hours shooting from a chair to work on his shot. Josh calls himself a product of the chair.
“It helped with his mechanics because his mechanics were a little off,” his father said. “And that’s why his jumper wasn’t consistent. Sitting down in the chair made him just work on his mechanics in his arm and keeping his elbows tucked in, and just following through. I think that kind of helped.”
Since he became fully healthy, he spent even more time working on his shot.
“He’s improved his 3-point shooting tremendously,” IU assistant Rob Judson said. “I think his confidence has grown in it. His percentage will continue to rise as he takes good shots.”
It’s paying off.
Josh has started in three games so far this season and is averaging 7.2 points and 3.6 assists per game.
While he hasn’t taken that many 3-point shots, he is shooting 63.6 percent from beyond the arc.
“I’m getting real comfortable,” Josh said before IU played Fort Wayne. “I’m learning people’s tendencies, learning where people like to catch the ball, where their spots on offense are. I think that’s coming along.”
The comfort is coming along, just like his jump shot.
He gets a chance Wednesday to play against the team he grew up watching — the North Carolina Tar Heels.
His family will be in attendance to watch him play.
“It’s really going to mean a lot, I already got my plane ticket,” his father said. “We’re going to be there, and it’s going to be exciting. I was always a Carolina fan, but I’ve got to go with the red this year.”