Penn State's D.J. Newbill Has Become the Best Pro Basketball Player in Japan

Following his Penn State career, Newbill has embarked on a global basketball journey. He has played in Japan since 2020 and spent a season in Russia before that. Newbill also has played in Australia, Poland, New Zealand, Belgium, Turkey and France. In 2020, he was named the defensive player of the year playing for Cairns in the Australian NBL.

The Philadelphia native has thrived with the Utsunomiya Brex in the B.League, averaging more than 30 minutes per game in the team's championship season. Newbill led the Brex to the league's best record (48-12) and was named to the B.League's Best Five Team for the second consecutive year.

Newbill was a two-time All-Big Ten player at Penn State, where he averaged 18.3 points per game over three seasons from 2013-15. He scored 1,812 points with the Nittany Lions and 2,105 career points, counting his one season with Southern Mississippi. Newbill was Penn State's team MVP three times. Before that, he was the Pennsylvania Class 2A player of the year at Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion High.

Newbill's success added to Penn State's basketball footprint in Japan. Hovasse and fellow Nittany Lion Ed Fogell played professionally in the country at the same time in the 1990s. John Harrar recently spent time playing in Japan as well.

Hovasse remained in Japan to build a hugely successful coaching career. After leading the JX-Eneos Sunflowers to a 38-0 championships season in the Women's Japan Basketball League, Hovasse was hired to coach the Japan women's national team.

He led the Japan women to the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and became head coach of the men's national team soon after. Hovasse coached the Japan men's team to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the first time the country qualified outright for the Olympics basketball tournament since 1976.

For Hovasse, who lives in Tokyo, Japan has become a second home. “I’ve been here for 20-plus years,” he said in a 2024 interview. “The culture is fantastic. The food is great. The people are friendly. It’s clean, it’s safe, it’s amazing.”

Here's a look at Newbill's highlights from his MVP season in the B.League.