HS Coach on Winston: all-around package
DETROIT - Several point guards in the Class of 2016 are more athletic than Cassius Winston, but one would be hard-pressed to find as complete a player at the position as the Michigan State commitment.
"I just think he's an all-around package," University of Detroit Jesuit Coach Pat Donnelly said. "He doesn't have maybe the glitz and glamour because he's not a high flyer. He's not a jet, athletically. But very few offensive players that I've seen are that intelligent as basketball players."
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Winston, the No. 28 overall prospect in the 2016 Rivals150, is peerless as a facilitator at the high school level according to his varsity coach.
"He's a phenomenal passer," Donnelly said. "I don't think that I've seen a high school player that is a better passer in my era than Cassius is. I think he is going to be a great distributor, a great floor general, and he's also adding some scoring punch.
"He's developing his jump shot more. He can score off the dribble. He's a great free-throw shooter."
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo also considers Winston an elite passer.
"Coach Izzo said that he is the best high school passer since Magic," Donnelly said. "Not only that, he's got great leadership skills. He gets along with everybody. People love to play with Cassius Winston. He's so unselfish. He gets everybody involved.
"They are getting a great lead guard that is going to lead them to lots of wins. I am going to support them to the end. I hope they get a national championship when he's there."
Winston can also score.
"Last year he scored 23 points a game because we needed him to score 23 points a game," Donnelly said. "His initial instinct is to distribute. There are times where we had to tell him, alright, you've got to start putting the ball in the basket. And he did it at a high clip."
Winston's unselfishness has made him a favorite of high school and grassroots teammates alike.
"People love to play with him," Donnelly said. "I saw that on the AAU circuit, and certainly with our guys. They love being on the floor with him because he's so unselfish. He delivers the ball at the right time, to the right spot, and does make everybody better."
Winston is also impressive off the court.
"A phenomenal student, a 3.8 with AP classes and honors courses, high test score," Donnelly said. "I sat him down the other day and talked to him about how much I've appreciated having him as a player in our program. Not because of his talent level, but because of the kind of kid he is. As talented as he is, very humble and liked by everybody.
"That's not common when kids are that talented. You can have an edge to you, or be a little arrogant. He's not that all. He's one of the nicest kids around, and I think that's why he has the following that he has."
Although Winston and his family remained tightlipped throughout the recruiting process, few were surprised when the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan and No. 28 overall prospect in the 2016 Rivals150 selected Michigan State over finalists Pittsburgh and Stanford on Friday.
"They've been in since Day 1," Donnelly said. "Coach Izzo came in as a freshman, and offered him as a freshman, and has been persistent in the recruiting process since Day 1 of his freshman year."
Donnelly distanced himself from the decision-making process. Now that its over, however, he admits that he's happy to see his player headed to Michigan State.
"Selfishly, I love it because he's an hour away," Donnelly said. "I can go see him play personally. I think it's important to keep our players in-state if they have that opportunity. He's got a great following here, and that is going to follow him to Lansing.
"I am excited for him. He's got a great support group that's going to be with him. They are an hour away. Not only his family, but his fans here and his classmates, the number of classmates that are in school at Michigan State. I know that the Michigan State faithful are going to support him because everybody knows what he is capable of doing. He's going to be a phenomenal addition."
Winston has fully recovered from the broken wrist on his non-shooting hand he suffered in late spring. His conditioning has improved substantially since returning to the court last July.
Winston's high school coach expects his player's conditioning to improve even more once he gets into the Spartan program.
"I think when he gets to a college program, they're going to develop his body," Donnelly said. "He'll become more explosive. You'll see his body change. He's bigger, stronger, a little bit more explosive, and he's finishing through contact. He's going to be better this year than he was last year."