Amateur scouting report on 2016 PG Cassius Winston
I was at the UofD v Brother Rice basketball game last night and got to see Class of 2016 PG Cassius Winston, who has seen interest from Michigan, and already holds an MSU offer. This kid is going to be big time. He finished with 39 points in about 3 quarters worth of PT in an 83-54 drubbing of Brother Rice. He had 29 points at halftime, to the 28 Brother Rice had as a team. The unbelievable part is that he had 11 3 pointers in the game on 11-16 shooting!! And 3 of those misses came in the 4th quarter after he realized he had a shot to get 40 and the coach put him back in just to reach that milestone. He was 9-10 from deep in the first half. The best of the threes was on a step back that looked identical to the Stauskas shot from the Wisconsin game. I kid you not when I say he did not hit the rim once on any of those makes. I have NEVER seen anyone that hot in a basketball game, let alone a sophomore.
In addition to the show from deep, Winston displayed great court vision with a few nice feeds into the post and deep passes, and had a nasty crossover to get an open midrange jumper, which he nailed.
The interesting part is that if you looked at UofD's team without knowing which one was the phenom Winston, you would literally think it must be ANY of the other 4 starters, because he just doesn't look the part. He's very gangly with a bit of a loping stride, which indicates to me that he'll probably grow another 3-4 inches and fill out significantly. I'm really hoping he winds up being one of the early 2016 offers for Michigan.
Highlights from a different game this year, with Beilein in the house:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-aTaYIzDm0
And a link to a paywalled article from the summer regarding his interactions with the M staff, for those of you with subscriptions. He basically says he's very interested and loves the development of the PG position at Michigan.
http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Cassius-Winston-Update-133362
He's ranked 27th nationally by the 247 Composite.
February 1st, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^
Beilein is very good at identifying talent early. Once the best talent realizes that it will benefit them to come to Michigan, our recruiting will get even stronger. This year, even more than last year, has to prove that to potential recruits.
February 1st, 2014 at 2:43 PM ^
Beilein won't offer him until after his Sophomore season.
February 1st, 2014 at 2:55 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^
Michigan and msu want to give him a scholarship, therefore he is good at basketball
February 1st, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^
I actually graduated the year before Cassius became a freshman, but even before he got there he was hyped up because of how well he played at our 8th grade. I'm watched him play a few times and he's fantastic. Great passer and understands the court very well and can score from pretty much anywhere. I've wanted Michigan to offer him for so long. Other things to keep in mind: he is in fact supposed to grow a few more inches supposedly based on his growth plates, and both of his parents work at MSU, so it'll be tough to get him.
February 1st, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^
Didn't know that about his parents, but he looks like he could grow some. He seems to lack some explosion compared with other recruits, but could definitely gain that in maturation. Winston looks like more of a scoring guard to me, and I'm hoping we pull Jalen Brunson this year. Anyone know if he is set on playing PG?
February 1st, 2014 at 4:41 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 3:20 PM ^
Didn't know that about his parents. That sucks. Do they work AT MSU or FOR MSU though? UofD is a long way from East Lansing and if they live there it would be a lot more desireable for him to be there as well... Regardless, hopefully working there hasn't connected them to the school as strongly as being alumni would.
February 1st, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 3:17 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
I know I would think twice if my coach acted this way toward his players!
February 1st, 2014 at 7:02 PM ^
Any top prospect just needs to look at what Coach has done last couple of years as far as developing individual talent and team chemistry. We will be in a good spot for any recruit Beilein wants moving forward. (not saying we will get everyone he offers, but recruits will definitely be taking a long hard look at M)
February 1st, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^
Brunson is listed at 6-1 and much closer to 5-10. I don't think "size" is a reason you take him over Winston. So many point guards in 2016: Thronton, Murray, Gordon and WInston.
February 2nd, 2014 at 12:25 AM ^
February 1st, 2014 at 11:42 PM ^