The I’m just sayin... All-Time (since 1998) Winthrop Basketball Team

Today (I hope) will be a great day! I’m heading up to Rock Hill with Jeremy to watch our Winthrop Eagles open up the season against Queens. What could be more fun than tailgating in the parking lot of the Winthrop Coliseum before a Winthrop Basketball game? I sure can’t think of anything right now. Before we talk about this season, I’m going to present to you the The I’m just sayin... All-Time (since 1998) Winthrop Basketball Team. NCAA Men’s basketball teams are made up of 13 scholarship players, so that’s how many guys I’ll have on this team. It’s hard, but I’ll try to break it into “Starters” and “Bench”... but honestly if you argued that one guy should start over the other I would be hard pressed to argue. So, here we go...

Head Coach: Gregg Marshall

Assistant Coach: Randy Peele

Assistant Coach: Shaun Golden

Assistant Coach: Paul Molinari

Players
Starters
Chris Gaynor (PG)
Torrell Martin (SG)
James Shuler (F)
Greg Lewis (F)
Craig Bradshaw (C)

Bench
Heson Groves (C)
Michael Jenkins (SG)
Taj McCullough (F)
Manny Robinson (F)
Roger Toxey (SG)
Tyson Waterman (PG)
Phillip Williams (F)
Pierre Wooten (PG)

Now let’s talk about this year. The Eagles are defending Big South Conference Champions and I’m anxious to see how they’ll do early this season with two starters being suspended (one for 4 games and one for the first semester). Both players are impact type players but made some mistakes during the offseason and now they’re having to pay for it. So the early part of the season may be a little bumpy... but I think the coaching staff will do a good job in having the team play its best basketball by the second half of the season.

This will be the fourth season with Coach Randy Peele leading the Eagles. He has won 2 Big South Championships in his 3 seasons as the Head Coach at Winthrop. Though underappreciated by some in the Winthrop community, I like Coach Peele because he’s a hard worker who doesn’t cheat like other coaches (*cough*Cliff Ellis*cough*) in the Big South. And while he does have players get into trouble from time to time, I think he does a good job of disciplining players while still giving them a second chance. Coach Peele is joined on the WU staff by the same award winning assistant coaches he’s had every year he’s been here (Paul Molinari, Larry Dixon, and Marty McGillan).

While no expert by any means, I look for certain players to step up big for Winthrop this season. Junior Reggie Middleton is doing a fine job following in the footsteps of former great WU point guards and I look for him to do another fine job running the offense. Junior big man Matt Morgan came on late last season and I look for him to also contribute points this season. Junior George Valentine is going off a medical redshirt and I look for the big man to be the defensive leader of the team. Junior shooting guard Andre Jones is looking to bounce back from a sub-par season and I think he’ll be able to do it. I look for Andre to have what we in the Winthrop community call a “Michael Jenkins” type break-out season. Senior back-up point guard Justin Burton will also play a key role and may fine himself as a starter early in the season with Robbie Dreher serving a suspension. Burton is a solid point guard who came up big in the last two Big South Championship games Winthrop won. He is also the answer to the trivia question “What player replaced De’Andre Adams on the Winthrop roster after Adams passed away?”. Sophomore Robbie Dreher will miss the first few games due to a suspension but I look for him to be a solid contributor throughout the season. He is a very good defender and I think he’ll find his shot on a more consistent basis this season. Senior Charles Corbin is serving a suspension until the end of the semester, but I look for him to give WU some good minutes off the bench when he comes back. The other Eagles players are: Sophomores Gideon Gamble and Reggie King, Freshmen Joab Jerome, Julius Francis, and Derrick Scott. Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect from these guys but I hope they can contribute some solid minutes when needed.

Winthrop Update
The Eagles face Division II opponent Queens today at 4:00pm. Today is Winthrop’s Homecoming.

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Colonel Delavan Bates (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on July 30, 1864 at Cemetery Hill, Virginia. His citation reads:

Gallantry in action where he fell, shot through the face, at the head of his regiment.

Sergeant Norman F. Bates (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 16, 1865 at Columbus, Georgia. His citation reads:

Capture of flag and bearer.

Seaman Richard Bates (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 10, 1866 off Eastport, Maine. His citation reads:

For heroic conduct in rescuing from drowning James Rose and John Russell, seamen of the U.S.S. Winooski, off Eastport, Maine, 10 May 1866.