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LOCATION: Rock Hill, SC
CONFERENCE: Big South
LAST SEASON: 21-7 (.750)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-1 (1st)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Eagles
COLORS: Garnet & Gold
HOMECOURT: Winthrop Coliseum (6,100)
COACH: Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon '85)
record at school 21-7 (1 year)
career record 21-7 (1 year)
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ASSISTANTS: Jeff Meyer (Taylor '76)
Shaun Golden (Georgia '93)
Damon Stephenson (Pikeville '92)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 7-7-12-7-21
RPI (last 5 years) 212-239-249-294-144
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in NCAA first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Worst to first. That was the motto at Winthrop a year ago. The Eagles, picked last in the Big South Conference by virtually everyone, clawed their way to the regular-season and tournament championships earning the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. "This year, I guess our new motto will be, 'Back-to-back,' " said Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall, who directed the Eagles to a 21-7 record in only his first year on the job. "Expectations change very rapidly. But we're still in the process of building a program, and that's what we've talked about all along. "It turns out that success came very quickly, maybe quicker than anyone would have anticipated. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Now we've just got to deal with it." The Eagles will also have to deal with a brand new set of forwards.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT A BENCH/DEPTH B+
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES B
Coach Gregg Marshall is convinced that his Eagles will be more talented and more athletic than the team that won the Big South championship last season. But a better team? Only time will tell. "What I told our kids is that they have to work as hard as last year's group did," said Marshall, who signed a new four-year contract after last season's improbable run to the title. "They have to form a cohesive unit like last year. If they don't, then we won't be as good. Physically, we will be better. But games aren't won on how big you are, how fast you are and how high you can jump." Perhaps not, but nobody else in the league can match the Eagles' threesome of Tyson Waterman, Roger Toxey and Robbie Waldrop across the perimeter. And if Greg Lewis is as good as Marshall thinks he is, Winthrop could be more athletic than last season. The departure of Heson Groves will hurt, which means at least two of the newcomers will have to deliver major contributions. "Everybody wants to know if we're ready for that next step: Are we ready to win a game in the NCAA Tournament and go to the second round?" Marshall said. "That's a tough one. Because before last year, no Winthrop team had even sniffed the NCAA Tournament." The Eagles have obviously latched onto that scent. |
Heson Groves and Jacques Vandescure are gone after combining for 20 points and nearly 12 rebounds per game last season. But the league's premier backcourt returns intact, one that features player-of-the-year candidate Tyson Waterman (11.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 126 assists, 41 steals). The 6-0 senior guard was a first-team All-Big South selection last season. He is the kind of player who makes everyone around him better. Waterman, who made 62 three-point shots a year ago, showed his grit toward the end of the season. He played the final four games with torn knee cartilage that required offseason surgery. He has made a full recovery. "I think he should probably be the consensus player of the year," Marshall said. "He's the guy who makes everything go for us." The Eagles return both of their wing players 6-3 junior Roger Toxey (11.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 65 assists, 46 steals) and 6-4 junior Robbie Waldrop (11.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 61 assists, 71 three-pointers). Toxey, a second-team All-Big South selection last season, is Winthrop's best defender. He's also a good rebounder and is the kind of all-around player Marshall loves. Waldrop is a long-range gunner who worked on his strength during the offseason. Of his 92 field goals last season, 71 were three-pointers. "What a nice thing it is to have experience in the backcourt," Marshall said. "I think we've got a chance to be two-deep at guard with quality, which is rare at this level." Three different players will be capable of backing up Waterman at point guard. Pierre Wooten, a 6-3 sophomore (2.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 33 assists), is the fastest player on the team but needs to make better decisions. Toward the end of last season, 6-0 senior Adrian Stockman (2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 31 assists) moved into the backup role behind Waterman. A newcomer to watch is 6-1 freshman Ty Myers, who passed up several other Division I scholarships to come to Winthrop and walk on. Marshall has promised Myers, from Goose Creek, S.C., a scholarship for his final three years. There will be occasions when the Eagles choose to go with Waterman, Toxey and Waldrop in the same lineup. They turned to their small lineup late in games a year ago, primarily for free-throw shooting. Waterman, Toxey and Waldrop all shot better than 75 percent from the line. A candidate for league newcomer-of-the-year honors will be 6-4 junior Greg Lewis, who comes to Winthrop from Howard (Texas) Junior College. Lewis, at 210 pounds, is an extraordinary athlete who will give the Eagles immediate firepower at the small-forward position. He had some bigger schools looking at him but was a late academic qualifier. "He's next level, just a tremendous talent," Marshall said. Lewis' stiffest competition at small forward will come from 6-3 sophomore Derrick Knox, who sat out last season after transferring from Marshall. Knox could also play some shooting guard. For the most part, the Eagles don't have any true forwards returning. Groves graduated. Vandescure returned to Belgium for family reasons, and Dan Tollens also left the team. The favorite to take over for Groves is 6-7 sophomore Brian Fisher, who played last season at Bevill State (Ala.) Community College. Anthony Moore, a 6-6 freshman from Winston-Salem, N.C., has a chance to earn some minutes at either forward spot; although he is probably best-suited to play small forward. The Eagles have four center candidates, and at least two of those could move over and play some power forward. Eric Fisher (3.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg), a 6-6 senior walk-on, started in the NCAA Tournament loss to Auburn. Marshall expects 6-9 sophomore Eyo Effiong (4.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg) to be significantly better this season. Effiong, a native of Nigeria, didn't arrive until December of last season but still wound up starting in 12 games. He played on the Nigerian National Team this summer. At center, 6-6 senior Juontonio Pinckney returns after averaging 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds last season. Playing a reserve role will be 6-9 junior center Owen Barnes (0.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg).
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