Through 3 games, Winthrop men’s basketball has used — and needed — its unique backcourt
It’s been a grind — and a success — of a six days for the Winthrop men’s basketball team (2-1).
It began with the team departing from the Winthrop Coliseum in the early afternoon on Wednesday, Nov. 6, and arriving at Chase Arena the next day, where the Eagles defeated Hartford, 67-57.
After the Eagles’ season debut, they hopped on a flight to California, in preparation for their next two contests against Fresno State and nationally-ranked Saint Mary’s. (It was the first time in program history a Winthrop basketball team has played in the state.)
At Fresno State — in front of current and former NBA players and NBA scouts — the Eagles landed on the wrong side of one of the most exciting endings in the young college basketball season: Fresno State’s Jarred Hyder hit a three with 17 seconds remaining, taking a 74-71 lead; Winthrop’s Hunter Hale responded with a game-tying three to knot it at 74; and then, with only 4.7 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs initiated a play that ended with a Mustafa Lawrence three proving true as the buzzer sounded. 77-74.
The next day, though, Winthrop responded. At No. 18 Saint Mary’s, the Eagles notched a win, 61-59, that will probably mean something to this program for years to come. It was the third win over a ranked team in program history — the first since 2007 and first ever in a true road atmosphere.
Needless to say, Winthrop’s first three games were plenty telling.
But most notably, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Winthrop has proven that this season it will use, and will need, its point guards — three players who each bring something different to the table.
Jones: ‘I can guard anybody’
At Winthrop men’s basketball’s first official practice of the season back in September, Russell Jones stood under a hoop in between two big men, jumping and chasing after a ball that an assistant coach clunked off the rim.
It was a rebounding drill head coach Pat Kelsey instructed the entire team to take part in. Kelsey personally tried to balance out the size at each hoop to make the drill as competitive as possible, but somehow, Jones, Winthrop’s newest guard who’s officially listed at 5-foot-10, found himself among the trees.
Jones is used to this. He’s always had to battle for boards against bigger players — just like he’s always had to quiet those who raise questions about him on first glance.
He’s certainly done that in Winthrop’s first three contests: Jones has started all of Winthrop’s three games, playing 28 minutes, 22 minutes and 28 minutes, respectively. In that time, while only scoring 19 points in those three games, he’s found other ways to affect the game, like notching eight assists and only committing two turnovers.
“I’ve always been the shortest person on the team,” Jones told The Herald before an afternoon practice before the season started. “I’ve always had to make more plays and just affect the game in different areas than, say, a 6-1 guard would.”
Some of those areas include picking up and applying ball pressure for 94 feet, Jones said.
“I feel like I can guard anybody in the country and apply that pressure,” he said. “I have to be able to make plays obviously, and score the ball: finish over taller bigs, hit deep threes, hit pull-ups and step backs. You got to be able to have it all in your bag…
“And then rebounding, you know, going in there with the big, sometimes you’re not going to be able to get the jump ball, but when they bring it down, I’m right there to take it.”
Coach Kelsey has never been afraid of recruiting and using small guards: Think Nych Smith, who graduated in 2019.
Jones said that is part of what drew him to the program.
“I used to hate talking about my size, but you know, as I get older, I’m learning that it is the gift that God gave me,” Jones said. “God didn’t make me 6-8 or 6-10; he made me 5-6, but (God) blessed me with a talent at 5-6 to be able to play bigger than what I am….
“I feel like a lot of young guards look up to me, especially the shorter ones just to see that, ‘OK, you can do it.’ Like, ‘If you put in the work, it can get you there.’ So you know, I love talking about my size and my heart and just showing people that it’s possible.”
When asked if seeing any Eagle guards before him have success in the program, Jones responded resolutely: “That was the biggest thing, just knowing that great, small guards came before me, and I’m hoping to be — I’m definitely going to be the next one.”
Vaudrin: ‘It’s just all advantages’
On the other side of the court in Winthrop Coliseum on that first practice, Chandler Vaudrin, the transfer redshirt junior, was on a trampoline, cautiously working out as he recovered from a high ankle sprain a few weeks earlier.
He’s recovered, clearly: Vaudrin, despite not playing in the team’s season opener and not starting in any of the games he’s played, has played the most minutes in the last two games than anyone else on the team (63). He also led the team in scoring against St. Mary’s and has notched nine assists on the season.
Vaudrin, a 6-foot-7 guard, and Jones play differently, just by virtue of their differences in size. But he also said something similar to Jones: that his size means that he’s responsible for affecting the game differently.
“I want to be able to switch 1-through-5…” he said, referring to each position on the court. “The hardest thing would be switching onto smaller guards that play kind of like Russell.”
On offense, though, Vaudrin said “it’s just all advantages.”
“If there’s a smaller guard, I’ll just post him up and score on him,” Vaudrin said. “If there’s a bigger guy, I’ll take him outside and go by him… With pick and rolls, there are advantages everywhere. I could see over top of defenders and can close them out.
“For me, my height is only an advantage. I just use my body the right way, and I’m obviously not the quickest, not the most athletic, but I got a really good brain for the game, and I understand angles, and I’m going to cause a lot of problems for people this year.”
Kyle: ‘Hard to guard’
While Kyle Zunic hasn’t nearly been as prolific in minutes as his two point guard counterparts — having 54 minutes through the three games — he’s still been effective.
In the season opener against Hartford, he scored 14 points. Against Fresno State, he collected six rebounds. As the veteran of this unique backcourt, the guard from Wollongong, Australia, said he knew what his role was going to look like on this talented backcourt before the Eagles departed on their first road trip of 2019.
“We’re really good,” he said with a laugh, implying he didn’t know how to describe the two other guards. “We love to run, and those (big) guys actually run as well. It’s really good to have those guys ahead of us and us point guards finding them.
“It’s really good to have those two in as the point guards and then me just backing them up, you know… You’ve got Chandler that can post up, and then you got Russ, who is just quick. It’s hard to guard.”
Said Zunic, as he was getting called to the bus from his coach, the team about to embark on what could be an historic season: “It’s been testing for me to guard Russ (in practice), because he’s so quick, so it’s helped me and my defense, and then obviously guarding Chandler, he’s a big body.
“Just got the best of both worlds.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 8:17 AM.
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