Winthrop basketball recruit Josh Ferguson: “I’m ready to get down there now”
After deciding not to attend the Naval Academy, 6-foot-8 basketball standout Josh Ferguson reopened his recruitment in April.
Word spread fast.
Ferguson, originally from south Florida, had 20-plus scholarship offers within a two-week period, including one from Winthrop. Clemson, Kansas State, Loyola Marymount and Hofstra were considered, but Ferguson ultimately opted to sign with the Eagles.
“When I got there it felt right, like a family atmosphere,” he said.
“Got him here and just had a phenomenal visit,” said Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey. “How the school and our guys made him feel when he came on campus, I think was really important.”
A casual Google search wouldn’t turn up much on Ferguson. He was off the recruiting radar the last year while at the Naval Prep Academy. Ferguson’s day at the Newport, R.I., school was almost completely scheduled: wake up at 5:45 a.m., breakfast, then three classes, then lunch and another class afterward. Practice started at 3:30 p.m.
“I had to use every minute I had in the gym,” he said.
With regularly scheduled weight room visits, Ferguson got much stronger. YouTube videos from his senior year of high school at Pembroke Pines Charter School, near Miami, show a thin but bouncy post presence equally comfortable dunking on an opponent’s head as swatting their shot from the weak side. Ferguson said he had five offers out of high school, but there was much more interest in him this spring after averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds during his year at Navy Prep.
After signing 6-foot-4 point guard Patrick Fisher, Winthrop had one more scholarship spot to fill, but there were few indicators of how it might be filled.
Whenever it’s quiet, you know I’ve got something cooking.
Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey has shown a knack for unearthing talented players
At 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, Ferguson will provide a physical presence right away in Rock Hill. He also has position versatility that Kelsey has sought in most of his recent recruits.
Ferguson should allow Winthrop to bump sophomore (rising junior) Xavier Cooks down to the wing position at times, enabling the team to put a very sizable lineup on the floor, especially when Fisher mans the point guard spot and Duby Okeke - the Big South’s most imposing physical specimen - slots in at center.
Kelsey hasn’t given up on recruiting smaller players.
“Our small guys won us a boat-load of basketball games,” he said. “I just think it’s good from a defensive standpoint to not be too big or too small, to have balance.”
Ferguson joins a program teetering on the cusp of the NCAA tournament. The Eagles have lost three straight Big South tournament finals, but Kelsey’s team returns 14 players, including 12 upperclassmen. A number of talented players from across the league have transferred to bigger schools, and the addition of Ferguson could be a tipping point for a Winthrop program that should be the preseason favorite in the Big South.
“I’m kind of athletic, I can run up and down with the players, shoot the ball, handle it,” said Ferguson, “so I’ll fit in at the 3 and 4 spots first of all.”
I felt like I could make a big impact this coming year.
Winthrop men’s basketball signee Joshua Ferguson
Ferguson’s recruitment the last month led him to a choice between going to a bigger school where he might have to wait for playing time, or picking a school like Winthrop where he could be an immediate factor on a strong team. Winthrop Coliseum helped underscore that the Eagles’ program wasn’t so little.
“I did not know the gym was that big when I walked inside,” Ferguson said, laughing. “The gym is real nice.”
He’ll arrive in Rock Hill for the July second summer school session.
“I feel great about it,” he said. “I’m ready to get down there now.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Winthrop basketball recruit Josh Ferguson: “I’m ready to get down there now”."