Bio

James Newman began his basketball career at L.A. Jefferson High School, which at the time boasted one of the most powerful basketball teams in the region. After high school, he attended L.A. Harbor Community College, where he earned MVP and All-State honors as a freshman. As a sophomore, Newman set the L.A. Harbor single season scoring record and led the team to its first ever state championship, where he was named the state MVP. Newman continued to scorch the hardwood at Arizona State University, where he led the team in scoring during both his junior and senior seasons. The NBA's Syracuse Nationals drafted Newman, but he declined to join the pro team in order to pursue an administrative and coaching career. 
Newman's professional accomplishments demonstrate his varied talents as a leader. He held the title of physical educator/athletic director at Willowbrook Junior High, head of the Cultural Enrichment Program at Compton High School, liaison officer for the Compton Unified School District, and financial aid director and assistant dean of student personnel services at Compton Community College. 

However, it is Newman's accomplishments as a coach that have immortalized him in the history of California community college athletics. As a head coach of Compton High's junior varsity squad, his team went 44-1 over two seasons. He served as a varsity assistant coach on the Compton High team that went undefeated with two national championships with a combined record of 64-0 in 1968 and 1969. As a head coach at Centennial High, Newman led his teams to a record of 38-18 over two seasons.

In his five seasons at Compton Community College, Newman tallied a record of 140-24, including two state championships in 1970 and 1973. The 1970 team won the title with the second-ever undefeated season in California community college basketball history, finishing 33-0. Newman went on to serve as an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico and Arizona State and a head coach at California State Los Angeles.