If St. Bonaventure men’s basketball fans are not yet familiar with the name Justin Winston, it shouldn’t be too long before they are.
Winston, a freshman power forward out of West Orange, New Jersey, was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN coming out of Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair, New Jersey. By adding Winston to the roster, the only team that should be rattling the rim more than the Bonnies is the Harlem Globetrotters. He is a highlight-reel dunker and an intimidating shot blocker with out-of-the-gym level hops.
Winston averaged nearly 16 points per game in his senior year with the Lions and committed to St. Bonaventure back in September 2018. He was the first four-star recruit head coach Mark Schmidt had landed in 12 years at the helm of the men’s basketball team. Winston also received offers from elite programs, such as the University of Connecticut, Virginia Tech and the University of Pittsburgh. But what separated St. Bonaventure from the rest of the pack for Winston was Schmidt.
“I kind of just felt like a comfortability,” said Winston. “He was kind of different from all the other coaches who needed, like, needed a player. Coach Schmidt actually wanted me to play for him. I just felt the love.”
Instead of graduating from Immaculate Conception and heading straight to the collegiate ranks, Winston spent a post-graduate year in prep school at the Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Connecticut. The school has been a hotbed for recruiting for Schmidt the last two seasons. Standout sophomores Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi both attended Putnam, as well. Schmidt is excited about what his most recent recruit out of Putnam brings to the table.
“We saw a guy that really enjoys playing,” said Schmidt. “Open-court type of guy…guy you know I always say has ‘junk in his trunk’…but in terms of, of beating guys off the dribble and all that stuff, he is…he’s an open-court four-man, which excites us.”
Although Winston dropped to a three-star recruit on ESPN following his one season at Putnam, he is still regarded as one of the most-credentialed recruits not just in the Mark Schmidt era, but in the last 20 years of Bona basketball. According to 247sports.com, Winston received a composite score of 0.8743, which ranks second highest of any recruit since 1999, only to former transfer Ndene Gueye who earned a score of 0.8900.
While rankings and the stars are great for the media and fans, it’s one of the last things on the mind of Schmidt. He simply wants a player that fits well into his system and who can play ‘Bonnies basketball.’
Despite the notoriety Winston has garnered coming into the season, Schmidt has said that he is nowhere near deciding on whether Winston will be coming off the bench or be in the starting five for the first game of the season. Aside from returning from a recent injury, which Schmidt did not disclose, Winston is also in competition with a plethora of talented big men, including Osunniyi, Amadi Ikpeze, Mount St. Mary’s University transfer Bobby Planutis and fellow freshman Robert Carpenter.
Whether he does make the starting five or is playing a bench role, Winston is excited to be at St. Bonaventure and is confident of what he can bring to the team.
“I plan to bring energy, just a threat on the ball and off the ball,” said Winston.
The Bonnies are less than a week away from their home scrimmage against Alfred University, scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. inside the Reilly Center.
By Tommy Valentine, Staff Writer
valenttr19@bonaventure.edu
