To see what he could have become, Joe Newton needs only to walk from 46th and Woodland to West Philadelphia High, as he does every morning.

All kinds of guys are on corners. All kinds of useless endeavors are what they're involved in.

Newton, a star point guard for the Speedboys, is earning respectable grades and playing oft-spectacular basketball.

It wasn't always like that.

In his first try at the ninth grade, in the 1988-89 school year, Newton tried very little. He played hooky about half the time and, of course, was retained.

"My mother (Lemetrica Turner) thought I was going to school every day, but I wasn't," Newton said. "She'd go to work. I'd come back in the house.

"I never had trouble in the streets. But that's where I was headed, probably. I thought I'd drop out, be a failure. Those are the guys that wind up selling drugs. They've got nothing better to do. "

Yesterday, the 5-10 Newton generated 25 points, 9 assists and 3 steals as West held off host Strawberry Mansion, 87-85, in a Public League game that had so many players darting and dashing around it should have been contested inside a pinball machine.

The kid can play. The question is, where will he play next?

Because Newton repeated ninth grade, this is his final season of eligibility. Like Franklin Learning Center's Sean Colson, who is in the same situation, Newton is hoping to attract the attention of a prep school with a good basketball program.

"If not," he said, "I'll come back to West for a year. Finish up my books and be the manager. No problem.

"After high school, I don't want some ordinary job. I want to further my education and keep playing basketball. "

Newton said he decided to rededicate himself to schoolwork during an emotional conversation with his mother.

"She asked me whether I wanted to be the kind of kid who always gets in trouble," Newton said. "She said, 'That's what's going to happen. Without education, you can't do anything. ' She said, 'None of your dreams are going to be fulfilled. It's useless to even have them. ' It brought us closer together.

"My second time in ninth grade, I didn't even go out for the team. I wanted to get my academics together. I'm known as a great player in all the playgrounds. But as the fellows would tell me, 'What's that going to do for you? ' So last year, I decided to try out for West. "

Newton is a perfect complement for wing shooter Alvin Horne (11 points), blossoming 6-7 junior Devin Baker (20 points, 12 rebounds) and 6-6 senior project Russell Thomas (nine points, 10 boards).

"I like to use my quickness for defense," Newton said. "If I can produce some steals, that gets us running. I feel as though I can score - well, not anytime I want to, but most of the time. But it's better to keep everyone involved. "

For Mansion, which missed 6-4 forward Ronald Dove (knee injury), the leaders were forward James Caraway (27 points) and guards Demetrious Flippens (16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) and Richard Oglesby (18 points, five assists).

The Knights roared back from a nine-point deficit with 2:35 left, but only 0:01 remained when the lead was cut to two.