‘A deep, talented group’: Five things to know about Winthrop basketball for 2024-25

Sneakers will be squeaking soon enough at Winthrop Coliseum.

After being selected to finish No. 2 in the Big South Conference in the preseason coaches and media poll, there is a lot of hope, promise and expectation around the Eagles’ program this season. With promise comes questions as well.

What will it take to get back to winning the conference?

While the Eagles may have the most Big South tournament championships with 13, it has been four seasons since Winthrop has won the conference tournament. Picked second behind league favorite, High Point, the Eagles are ready to get back to their winning ways.

“It doesn’t matter to us what the preseason rankings say,” Eagles head coach Mark Prosser said. “For us, the expectation never changes. Our university, our fan base and our athletic department expect us to win championships and to win a championship every year. We haven’t won a championship in a couple of years, and I think that makes people anxious. The motivation level doesn’t change regardless of where we are picked to finish in the conference.”

Prosser says the team has had a good preseason and all of the players are buying into this mindset. They don’t pay attention to the outside noise but focus on what they can do internally to help the team achieve the goal of getting back atop the Big South.

How did the team fare in the transfer portal in the offseason?

Every team’s nightmare is the offseason in the modern era of college basketball — especially a program like Winthrop is the transfer portal.

Often, successful mid-major programs like Winthrop are viewed as farm schools for Power Four programs. Their top talent is sought after. The Eagles were able to retain a lot of players from last year that contributed and add a few of their own from the portal.

“We have a deep, talented group,” Prosser said. “Each one of these guys lends themselves to what we do as a collective. Like (Kelton Talford) said, in their own unique way. And they’re so unselfish. One day it might be Talford, one day it might be K.J. (Doucet), one day it might be Ryan (Jolly). It’s just a different group that I think we’re really good. We’re going to beat you in a variety of ways, and we have the ability to do that.”

Prosser alluded to one of the largest additions in the portal the Eagles got this offseason in Ryan Jolly. Jolly is a 6-3 graduate student, and he played at Piedmont University last season, where he led the team in scoring with 21.1 points per game.

“Coming in, I have always heard about Winthrop, historically, being a very good program,” Jolly said. “I knew I was coming into a program that was very decorated, so I knew what to expect. But, being at the Division III level, it has been an adjustment, but this is something I have always dreamt of. But I have enjoyed being with all the guys and building a strong connection. It is really a brotherhood here, and you can see it on and off the court as well.”

How will the Eagles do in their tough non-conference slate?

If there is one thing that Prosser did to ensure his team was ready for Big South play, it is that he put together one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the Big South.

The Eagles will travel to three ACC schools this season: Virginia Tech, Louisville and Florida State. Winthrop will welcome North Carolina Central, which is picked to finish third in the MEAC conference, for a game in Rock Hill.

Prosser’s mentality is that he feels like his team can not only be competitive with anyone in the country, but can beat them too.

“It is always going to be this way with us,” Prosser said of his non-conference schedule. “We feel like we’ve put ourselves on a national landscape in Division I college basketball. We want to compete against the best. We measure ourselves as a program and this year’s team against some of the best in the country. I think these games (with Power Four) schools are great, but I also think we have some really nice, natural local rivalries as well. I feel good about taking this group anywhere.”

Forward Kelton Talford echoed his coach’s remarks.

“When we put on our Winthrop uniform, we expect to win,” Talford said. “It has always been that way since I have been here. It is going to stay that way. The way I look at it, we put our pants on the same way the other guys do if they are Power Four.”

How is the team camaraderie?

Jolly mentioned how even as a transfer, he felt a sense of brotherhood at Winthrop.

Prosser said that everyone has had bright moments in practice, and he sees everyone keeping each other accountable as well.

“Everyone in our program has had days where they have produced at a really high level,” Prosser said. “Each guy is doing what is asked and keeping each other doing what they need to do as well. I don’t want to diminish anyone’s contributions at this point.”

Talford, Doucet and Jolly all had one common word they used when talking about the team and how they have progressed during the offseason.

The word:

Together.

Can this team make an NCAA tournament run?

Winthrop has a 1-11 record in the NCAA tournament. The Eagles most recently reached the big dance in 2021, where they lost by 10 to the South Region No. 5 seed in Villanova.

“I think for us to even have the conversation about (the NCAA Tournament), it starts with loyalty,” Prosser said. “We feel like iron sharpens iron. And they’re doing that because, like these guys mentioned, we have a deep team, but the loyalty these kids have shown to this program — the loyalty that they’ve shown to on another is unique in college basketball. We don’t take that for granted.”

Talford and Doucet feel this year’s team is capable of being special.

“We can go as far as we push ourselves,” Talford said. “If we continue to do the little things well and sharpen those, the time we spend around each other and gelling together will show. So, for me, we just need to keep doing the little things and being together and we can accomplish our goals.”

“Everything isn’t going to be perfect,” Doucet said. “So, even when things get a little rough, just falling back on our habits and falling back on what our coach has been preaching to us is going to be key. Sticking to what coach has told us and relying on each other will help us get to where we want to be.”

Players to watch

Kelton Talford, senior forward: Talford was the only Eagles player selected to the All-Big South preseason first team. He averaged 14.1 points per game while shooting 62% from the floor last season. He also tallied a career-best 34 assists a season ago.

K.J. Doucet, senior forward: Doucet was named to the All-Big South preseason second team. He led the Eagles last season in non-conference scoring and poured in 51 three-pointers on the year. Prosser will likely be leaning heavily on Doucet and his frontcourt teammate Talford a lot this season.

Newcomers to watch

Paul Jones III, freshman guard: Jones III is the only true freshman on the Eagles’ roster. He played his high school days at Combine Academy, one of the premier high school teams in North Carolina each year. Talford spoke highly of Jones III.

“I have to shout out Paul Jones,” Talford said. “His ability to make shots and space the floor is special. It is also special because now with the transfer portal you don’t often see a lot of true freshmen, so I think that is why he stands out a little bit more to me.”

Ryan Jolly, graduate guard: Jolly transferred to Winthrop after having a successful stint at Piedmont University. He led Piedmont in points, assists, steals and minutes last year and started in 26-of-27 games.