When a player comes out of a redshirt year it is always a mixed bag. If the guy explodes as a contributor there will be the “Well why didn’t he play last year?” If he struggles, the “will he ever pan out” question can be asked. Newman tended to be in the former category, I think. He made his on court debut in 2020-21, but seeing the Purdue offense struggle in 2019-20 did have some question why he wasn’t on the floor.
Ultimately, I think it was a roll of the dice by coach Painter. He had a pair of graduate transfers in Jahaad Proctor and Evan Boudreaux who were in their final years anyway and he thought he could steal a year of eligibility on the back end with Brandon Newman and Mason Gillis.