The Mark Prosser era begins with a Winthrop win, 110 points. Here’s what we learned
It didn’t imbue any of the fans on hand with any real confidence — nor would it have regardless of the outcome, really — but the Mark Prosser era of the Winthrop basketball program began with a 110-78 win over Division III Mary Baldwin on Tuesday night in Rock Hill.
Here’s what we learned.
Mark Prosser isn’t playing a Pat Kelsey rotation
Winthrop’s head coach is a disciple of his predecessor, Pat Kelsey — in large part because both have connections to the late and legendary coach, Skip Prosser — but he showed a few ways in which he was different from Kelsey on Tuesday.
Most prominently? His rotation.
Kelsey played 12 guys, an aspect that made last year’s Winthrop team unique to all others in college basketball. Prosser, conversely, played 10 early but didn’t go deeper on his bench than that until six minutes left in the game.
It’s tough to say if the rotation will even be that deep against Division I competition: Drew Buggs, the Eagles’ starting point guard, only notched 16 minutes — the second-lowest among the team’s top-10 guys. And Kelton Talford only notched 14 minutes.
“On a day to day basis — we definitely talked about it on media day — there are guys at practice that may not be playing a ton of minutes but that given day in practice might be the best guy, or the most productive guy that day,” Prosser told reporters postgame. “And I think that’s part of having a really talented team.”
DJ Burns still a fan favorite
When Mary Baldwin was uncomfortably close for most of the first half, DJ Burns was where Winthrop fans could retreat in comfort.
In other words, the Big South Conference’s 2021-22 Preseason Player of the Year was dominant.
Burns played 22 minutes — a departure from last season when he played an average of 16.9 minutes a game and only 20 or more minutes three times — and scored 30 points on 13 of 17 shooting with six rebounds. He scored the game’s first six points and even dunked a few times, shedding a familiar, goofy smile while doing it.
He said he felt great postgame, both physically and emotionally because of his coaching staff’s trust in him.
“It definitely felt great,” Burns told reporters postgame. “I felt like our new staff puts a little bit more trust in me, and they let the work that I put in every day show, and I’m very thankful to them for that.”
And the legs specifically? “Oh, they feel great,” Burns said.
Josh Corbin will be an integral part of Eagles offense
Prosser’s first real triumph of his head coaching tenure at Winthrop was keeping Josh Corbin. The redshirt sophomore, who entered the transfer portal last offseason and returned after Prosser was named head coach, started on Tuesday and notched 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting (2 of 6 from three). He’s going to be an integral part of the Eagles’ outside scoring — something that’ll be necessary if teams double Winthrop’s post players (Burns, Talford, Cory Hightower) later in the season.
Other notes
▪ Chase Claxton, normally a defensive force, showed off his offensive perimeter work that he put in this past offseason. Claxton shot 2 of 3 from three and added seven rebounds.
▪ The head coach of Mary Baldwin, Matt Griggs, spent time at Winthrop as the program’s video coordinator and grad assistant. That explains why the Fighting Squirrels were the Eagles’ 2021-22 season-opening opponent. Tuesday was Mary Baldwin’s first basketball exhibition in program history.
▪ Winthrop’s Toneari Lane didn’t play on Tuesday night, even when every other player dressed out did. When asked postgame why, Prosser told reporters that the rotation can change day to day, game to game.
▪ Nate Buss notched the first points of his Winthrop career on a 3-pointer with under two minutes to go in Tuesday’s contest. His shot — which came after jarring himself loose with a hesitation dribble — elicited the loudest crowds the Winthrop Coliseum heard all night.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 8:43 PM.
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