NBA Comparison: Eric Snow

Strengths: Winston is a outstanding college PG who will be wrapping up a legendary career at Michigan State that includes a Final 4, a Big 10 POY award, and the school’s all-time assists record … Winston is a very smart PG with good floor vision, passing skills and an excellent feel for the game … Savvy player, can run an offense and get teammates good shots and put them favorable spots with consistency while also using change of pace and shiftiness to create for himself off the dribble … Decent shooting ability, can hit open shots and shots off the dribble at an adequate or better rate … Has floaters in his arsenal, which will be needed for his style of play and physical attributes … Good pick and roll player, is a threat to kick out to shooters on the perimeter or hit the screener for an open shot to keep the defense on their heels … Generally keeps bad decisions to a minimum…Has matured his offensive game from more of below average scorer and shooter, to a 18 ppg scorer and close to 40% from 3 on 5 attempts/game over the last 2 seasons … Somewhat of an overachieving type, Winston is tough and will play through injuries and gut out performances in crunch time … Is a good FT shooter, someone you can trust with the ball late in ball games … Leadership skills and intangibles are among the best in the 2020 draft class, highly unselfish and by all accounts a good teammate and student athlete …

Weaknesses: Winston is not physically gifted, standing at an ordinary 6’1 190 lbs without any true NBA-level athleticism to speak of … Not particularly quick or explosive, will have trouble finishing at the rim and playing defense against other PGs in the NBA … Also has a very unathletic looking body type …  For as cerebral as he is, he can be turnover prone and did at times cost his team games by coughing up the ball too much … Has put up pretty good shooting numbers in his college career, but his release is a bit on the slow side and it figures to be easier to defend at the next level … Doesn’t look great in the open court … Wasn’t anything special as an on-ball defender in college, doesn’t really create turnovers or get under the skin of opposing guards the way most undersized guards do … Has to rely on smarts and skill solely to win matchups due to limited physical profile …

Overall: Winston is among the best PGs to wear a Michigan State uniform, which is saying a ton considering some of the players they’ve had there … He was a consummate teammate, an extremely productive playmaker, and he saw significant strides in his scoring numbers … He will be limited by his lack of athleticism and size at the next level, but he does have the smarts, skills and intangibles to possibly stick on a team as a reserve PG with his “coach on the floor” type of ability …

Jorrye Nixon 2/17/20

Notes: Measured: 6’0.50” barefoot, 6’1.50” in shoes, 8’1.00” standing reach, 196.0 lbs, and 6’6.00” wingspan at the 2020 NBA Combine … Measured at 6’0, 177 lbs, with a 6’4 wingspan at the 2014 Nike Elite 100 … Measured 6’2 (in shoes) 173 lbs, with a 6’5 wingspan at the 2014 LeBron James Skills Academy … Measured 6’2’’ in shoes, with a 6’4’’ wingspan and 194 lbs at the 2015 Nike Basketball Academy