‘Unselfish and resilient’: Winthrop men earn No. 2 seed in Big South tournament

The Winthrop men’s basketball team is back in a familiar spot.

The Eagles earned a high seed in the Big South tournament with aspirations of getting a bid to the big dance, also known as the NCAA Tournament.

“I am really just proud of our staff,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “Our assistants did a great job of identifying student athletes. We had nine new scholarship student-athletes this year, one true freshman and eight Division I transfers. The way we play is really selfless, and we were able to identify student athletes and families that were looking for the right things. And, I think that is a testament to who they are as people to be that unselfish and resilient over the course of this season.”

The Eagles finished the regular season 21-10 with a 13-3 conference record. They will begin Big South tournament play as the No. 1 seed and face Charleston Southern on March 5 in Johnson City, Tennessee. Charleston Southern was the last team to defeat Winthrop, on Feb. 26.

“Look, there is a lot that goes into every game,” Prosser said. “I think our game against them (at home) was a four-point (win) and our game down there ended up being a two-point loss. So, again, Charleston Southern has shot the ball over the last several weeks, better than basically anyone in the country. So, it is a great challenge for us. But, in a way it is kind of nice because you don’t have to go back to a scouting report from several weeks ago or even months ago. They are fresh for us, and I am sure we are fresh for them as well. But, we are looking forward to wearing white, being the higher seed and attacking the next challenge.”

The Eagles are a deep team with four players averaging in double figures and a few others adding in 5-7 points per game as well. Prosser mentioned he runs a team that prides itself on selflessness, and it has shown on the court this season.

“It is going to be extremely rare for a guy to average 20 points with the way we play,” Prosser said. “You have to be able to give up yourself a little bit for the good of the team. And, I think it takes a special student-athlete to do that. I think right now with the transfer portal, immediate gratification is kind of the world we live in. I think a lot of times when people transfer it’s because they want to go to wherever to go a certain amount or certain number of shot attempts or what have you. But, that is not how we play, and the student-athletes we have are bought into what we do.”

Prosser and his staff challenged Winthrop’s team by facing several ranked opponents in the non-conference slate. The Eagles had a handful of close games with these opponents too. They lost to No. 21 Arkansas 84-83. They dropped a game by seven to Nebraska, which is now ranked in the top 25. These are the types of games Prosser feels equips his teams for March success.

“Anytime you’re playing in those types of games and those types of venues it challenges you,” Prosser said. “I mean who knew Nebraska was going to be ranked a top 5 or top 10 team in the country when we signed the contract? Obviously George Mason had a great start to the season. … You do this intentionally to try to make sure you’re ready to play in our league and go place at tough places like High Point and down to Charleston Southern and play on national TV against Texas Tech. We schedule that way intentionally.”

Worth mentioning

— If the Eagles can win the Big South tournament, they will qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Prosser took over in April 2021.

— Despite getting the No. 2 seed, the Eagles knocked off top-seeded High Point earlier in the year 92-75 at home. High Point managed to beat Winthrop 89-87 when the Eagles traveled up to play on the road. So, despite being seeded lower, the moral around the team is that they aren’t the underdogs if it comes down to a game between the two teams.

— If the Eagles win their first-round game, they will face the winner of Radford-Presbyterian. Winthrop beat both opponents both times they faced each of them in the regular season.

Players to keep an eye on

Logan Duncomb, senior center: Duncomb leads the Eagles with 18.4 points and nine rebounds per game. He shoots a highly efficient 59.2% from the floor and 72.6% from the free-throw line. As a 6-foot-10 big man, he will be counted on in late-game situations to to knock down crucial free throws if needed.

Kareem Rozier, senior guard: Rozier is a quick, shifty 5-9 guard who can score if needed, but looks to get his teammates involved, leading the team with 104 assists (3.5 per game) He has just 28 turnovers for a 3.71:1 assist to turnover ratio. He also averages 13.3 points per game, so if you play him to pass, he can go by you for a bucket. If you play him to score, he can drop it off to one of his teammates.