2008 Woodie Awards
MEN'S BASKETBALL: A Newell Standard
Aside from leading Ball State on the hardwood, Anthony Newell found the time to become his family's first college grad
Ryan Wood
"It's been a goal of mine [to graduate from college] ever since my first day of high school," Newell said. "I've always wanted to be different from everybody. To a lot of people [in Chicago], college is not really an option to them. So I just wanted to be that person to make a change and be different."
The dream may have set in during his high school years, but earning a college degree was a message Newell's mother preached since he was old enough to remember. Doreen Newell, a construction coordinator in Chicago, always wanted to attend college, but those plans fell through.
To this day, Doreen Newell said she should have gone to college after high school, but the allure of earning a paycheck every week as an 18-year-old was too difficult to pass on. Regardless, she wasn't about to let the same temptation derail her children's futures.
"I don't have a college degree, but I've always wanted my kids to go," Doreen said. "I've always instilled in them that it can be done, that it needs to be, in order for them to have a prosperous life. I've always told my kids when they were growing up, even when they graduated from eighth grade, I told them, 'Oh wow, you've got eight more years.'"
Even during the heart of basketball season, Doreen Newell never shied away from letting her son know his first priority was school. Newell's accomplishments on the floor were great, but it was his production in the classroom that mattered most.
Throughout his time at Ball State, Newell never forgot the life lessons his mother taught him.
"[When] I come home, they don't even ask me about basketball half the time," Newell said. "It's always about school and how things are going, am I keeping up with work, just that kind of stuff. It really kept me focused because we never brought up basketball until we were done talking about school."
Putting education first is no problem for the Cardinals' coaching staff, assistant coach Bob Simmons said. While wins and losses matter to the program, he said, guiding a player to his college degree is one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.
The dream may have set in during his high school years, but earning a college degree was a message Newell's mother preached since he was old enough to remember. Doreen Newell, a construction coordinator in Chicago, always wanted to attend college, but those plans fell through.
To this day, Doreen Newell said she should have gone to college after high school, but the allure of earning a paycheck every week as an 18-year-old was too difficult to pass on. Regardless, she wasn't about to let the same temptation derail her children's futures.
"I don't have a college degree, but I've always wanted my kids to go," Doreen said. "I've always instilled in them that it can be done, that it needs to be, in order for them to have a prosperous life. I've always told my kids when they were growing up, even when they graduated from eighth grade, I told them, 'Oh wow, you've got eight more years.'"
Even during the heart of basketball season, Doreen Newell never shied away from letting her son know his first priority was school. Newell's accomplishments on the floor were great, but it was his production in the classroom that mattered most.
Throughout his time at Ball State, Newell never forgot the life lessons his mother taught him.
"[When] I come home, they don't even ask me about basketball half the time," Newell said. "It's always about school and how things are going, am I keeping up with work, just that kind of stuff. It really kept me focused because we never brought up basketball until we were done talking about school."
Putting education first is no problem for the Cardinals' coaching staff, assistant coach Bob Simmons said. While wins and losses matter to the program, he said, guiding a player to his college degree is one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.
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Rich Thoden
posted 8/21/08 @ 8:31 PM EST
Great story of perservasion, desire, and a good mom. Great job Anthony. What a great example for my children.
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