BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Due to multiple injury problems, Jakai Newton never got the chance to show Indiana fans what he could do in his two seasons with the Hoosiers.

Now he will try to show a different set of fans what he might be able to do.

Newton announced via his Instagram feed that he has entered the transfer portal.

Newton only played four games for the Hoosiers, all in the 2024-25 season and all but one of them in nonconference play.

It was a small sampling of the potential that the athletic 6-foot-3 guard had. Injury woes turned his Indiana career into a frustrating two-year endeavor.

Newton was a promising recruit out of Newton High School in Covington, Ga. and part of the Class of 2023 recruiting group that also included Gabe Cupps, and later, Mackenzie Mgbako. Both of those players are also in the transfer portal.

Newton suffered a knee injury during his senior season at Newton. Late in the summer of 2023, Newton had surgery and would not play during what would have been his freshman season.

Given a medical waiver, Newton began the 2024-25 as a freshman, but injuries kept him on the sideline again.

Newton suffered a hamstring injury and an unspecified lower body that he had surgery to repair. He was declared out indefinitely in December and would only return for one more game – a four-minute appearance against Illinois on Jan. 14.

Newton’s appearances with the Hoosiers presented a very small sample size. In the second game of the 2024-25 season, Newton peaked with eight minutes of game time. In his next game, nearly a month later against Sam Houston State, he reached his career high of four points. Newton only attempted six shots in his career.

Newton is the fourth scholarship player to enter the transfer portal. Cupps and Malik Reneau announced their intention to enter the portal last week. Mgbako put himself into the portal earlier on Monday.

Today was the first day the portal was open for all men’s and women’s college basketball, but the portal opened for Indiana players last week after Mike Woodson’s tenure ended as coach.

Darian DeVries was hired last Tuesday from West Virginia as Indiana’s 31st men’s basketball coach.

The South Carolina Gamecocks felt disrespected following their win over Indiana.

South Carolina’s women’s basketball team kept their national title hopes alive after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers in the round of 32. The Gamecocks will play the winner of the Alabama vs Maryland game, which will be played Monday evening.

The Gamecocks were trailing the Hoosiers at halftime and were at one point down by eight points. As great teams do though, South Carolina came crawling back and a strong second half performance lofted them over Indiana, and the Gamecocks had some strong words to share after their win.

The Hoosiers and Gamecocks faced off in the Sweet 16 a year ago. It was a tightly contested game and Indiana guard Sydney Parrish was asked about it prior to this season’s matchup.

Parrish told the media prior to Sunday’s matchup that they felt better about this year’s chances because South Carolina was “Without a 6-7 kid in there with Kamilla (Cordoso) and Ashlyn Watkins being injured at the beginning of this year, that definitely helps us.”

South Carolina guard Raven Johnson commented on the subject following the win.

“People say we don’t have this dominant big,” Johnson said. “I know y’all saw the press conference of what the Indiana girl said about we wasn’t gonna win without Ashlyn or Kamilla, we don’t need Ashlyn or Kamilla to win. We got a whole team full of dogs. We don’t need Ashlyn or Kamilla to win. We’ve got MiLaysia [Fulwiley], we’ve got Tessa [Johnson], I can name the whole roster. We’ve got dogs on this team.”

It took a whole team effort for the Gamecocks to beat Indiana. Chloe Kitts poured in 10 points with 11 rebounds, Bree Hall led the way with 11 points and Sania Feagin also had 10 points in the team’s win. It’s part of what makes South Carolina so dangerous and why so many believe they will repeat as champions this year.

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• South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao recorded four blocks in a win against Indiana, earning her a spot in the Gamecocks’ “seatbelt gang.”
• The “seatbelt gang,” which originated with guards Bree Hall and Raven Johnson, prides itself on its defensive prowess.
• South Carolina coach Dawn Staley emphasizes defense, creating a culture where players strive to excel on that end of the court.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The “seatbelt gang” originated with South Carolina women’s basketball guards Bree Hall and Raven Johnson. But after the Gamecocks’ 64-53 win Sunday over No. 9 Indiana, a new member has been inducted: Te-Hina Paopao.

The 5-foot-9 starting senior guard tallied four blocks against a Hoosiers team that trotted out eight players with an average height of 6 feet.

“Y’all see that? I’m really proud of myself. I had more blocks than 3s today,” Paopao said in the postgame news conference.

She then suggested she could now be part of the Gamecocks’ self-named “seatbelt gang.”

“The seatbelt gang is locking people up and putting them in a seat,” Johnson said. “They can’t get past us.”

Hall and Johnson agreed that with her performance against Indiana, Paopao officially earned her spot in the seatbelt gang. In her previous 34 games this season, she totaled just nine blocks.

“We were in the hallway before (Sunday’s) game, and she switched shoes,” Hall said. “She said, ‘These are not my defensive shoes, I got to put on my defensive shoes.’”

Paopao put on the new sneakers and burst into quick steps, saying, “Oh, yeah, I’m good.”

The Gamecocks’ defensive mindset comes from head coach Dawn Staley, who is in her 13th-straight NCAA Tournament with South Carolina.

“We’re a culture of playing defense, and if you don’t play it you stick out, and Pao is not one that wants to stick out in that way,” Staley said.

Said Johnson: “Coach is really big on defense; she tells us that we’re the best defensive team in the country.” 

The seatbelt gang develops its defensive game in practice.

“Practice is where you have to get better,” Hall said, “Our practices are harder than the games.” 

Johnson added that practices “make games so easy for us” because of their difficulty. 

“You probably don’t even want to come to our practice,” she said. “It’s that hard.”

The seatbelt gang will be looking to buckle up the winner of Alabama-Maryland in the Sweet 16 on Friday. 

Dylan Clearfield and Olivia Noni are students in the University of Georgia’s  Sports Media Certificate program.