Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
It’s safe to say that NCAA tournament is where certain players truly become household names. No player took more advantage of the big stage that March Madness provides than Duke‘s Justise Winslow.
Winslow, a freshman swingman, was a highly touted recruit from Houston who would have been the heralded recruit for the Blue Devils if not for Jahlil Okafor’s decision to also take his talents to Cameron Indoor Arena. As both of their freshman season’s progressed, it was Okafor who grabbed the headlines but Winslow who steadied the ship. Of course, there were games where Okafor dominated opponents, but there were also games where he seemed overmatched by the spotlight.
This was never the case for Winslow who followed up solid performances with even better and more impressive outputs. No game was a better representation of what Winslow can do on the floor than his 19 points and nine rebounds against the Michigan State Spartans in the Final Four where Duke blew out the Spartans by 20 thanks to Winslow’s dominating performance.
With the NBA draft only four days away, it feels like Winslow is again on the fringe of being a much-talked about prospect to just being mentioned as a nice addition to a current roster. The fact that Winslow isn’t getting more attention is something of a travesty.
At 6-foot-6, 222 pounds Winslow is the ideal NBA swingman who can play either the two guard or the three. His best attribute is in fact this versatility. The NBA is a game that is rapidly changing and becoming a rotation league. Guards need to be able to dribble, pass and score in a variety of ways, but most importantly they need to be able to move interchangeably between positions during a given possession. This is something that Winslow can do innately and with great skill.
Also, Winslow is a proven scorer with an arsenal of moves that showcase a skill set similar to James Harden. It’s not only that both players are left-handed, but also the fact that Winslow can create his own shot just as well as he comes off screens and can catch and shoot. His 39 percent shooting from three-point land during his one year at Duke is impressive and will only get better once he has more time to develop his game.
Above all else, Winslow is a fierce competitor who is rarely out-hustled, a skill that you want in any rookie player but especially one projected to go in the top 10. This fiery playing style makes Winslow a defensive menace who will be tasked with guarding some of the preeminent stars in the league as soon as he finds his first NBA home.
There are a lot of promising destinations for Winslow, but going to a team like the Orlando Magic at No. 5 overall could be an ideal spot for him. He would join a youthful roster in desperate need of someone other than Victor Oladipo to be a legitimate scoring threat on a nightly basis.
Douglas Ammon is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Who covers all things about the Association, follow him on Twitter @DA76er
