Cassius Winston
Cassius Winston (born February 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans.
.jpg.webp) Winston with Michigan State in 2020 | |
| No. 5 – Washington Wizards | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 28, 1998 Detroit, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | University of Detroit Jesuit (Detroit, Michigan) |
| College | Michigan State (2016–2020) |
| NBA draft | 2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 53rd overall |
| Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder | |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–present | Washington Wizards |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school career
Winston, a 6'1 point guard, was a star prep player at University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in Detroit. As a senior in 2016, he led his team to an MHSAA Class A State Championship, and was named Mr. Basketball of Michigan.[1] In 2020, Winston will be inducted into the Catholic High School League Hall of Fame.
Recruiting
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassius Winston PG |
Detroit, MI | University of Detroit Jesuit (MI) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 179 lb (81 kg) | Sep 18, 2015 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 29 247Sports: 31 ESPN: 31 | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
He chose to attend college at Michigan State,[2] and in his freshman season averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 assists per game in 35 games.[3] As a sophomore, he became a full-time starter, averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Spartans, and earning third-team All-Big Ten Conference honors.[4]
Entering into Winston's junior season, he was selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team.[5] After a strong start to the year, he was named to the midseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award.[6]
On March 11, 2019, Winston was named the Big Ten Player of the Year.[7] On March 31, 2019, Winston scored 20 points along with 10 assists in a 68–67 win against Duke in the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.[8]
Prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, Winston was unanimously named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press (AP), the only player so honored.[9] On December 29, Winston missed a game against Western Michigan with a bone bruise in his knee.[10] He scored a career-high 32 points along with nine assists in a 87–69 win over Michigan on January 5, 2020.[11] Winston passed Mateen Cleaves' Big Ten record of 816 assists on January 17, in a win against Wisconsin.[12] At the close of the regular season, Winston was named to the First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media.[13] Winston averaged 18.3 points and 5.9 assists per game as a senior.[14]
Professional career
On November 18, 2020, Winston was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 53rd overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. He was subsequently traded to the Washington Wizards.
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Michigan State | 35 | 5 | 20.7 | .423 | .380 | .775 | 1.8 | 5.2 | .7 | .1 | 6.7 |
| 2017–18 | Michigan State | 35 | 34 | 28.1 | .507 | .497 | .900 | 3.4 | 6.9 | .7 | .1 | 12.6 |
| 2018–19 | Michigan State | 39 | 39 | 33.5 | .460 | .398 | .840 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 1.0 | .1 | 18.8 |
| 2019–20 | Michigan State | 30 | 30 | 32.7 | .448 | .432 | .852 | 2.5 | 5.9 | 1.2 | .0 | 18.6 |
| Career | 139 | 108 | 28.8 | .461 | .430 | .845 | 2.7 | 6.4 | .9 | .1 | 14.2 | |
Personal life
Winston has two younger brothers, Zachary and Khy, who played basketball at Albion College. On November 9, 2019, Zachary Winston was killed after being struck by a train.[15]
References
- McCabe, Mick (March 21, 2016). "Cassius Winston named Michigan's Mr. Basketball". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- O’Donnell, Ricky (September 18, 2015). "4-star PG Cassius Winston commits to Michigan State, puts Tom Izzo on brink of his best recruiting class ever". SBNation.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- Solari, Chris (June 13, 2017). "MSU's Cassius Winston plans summer packed with court time". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- Austin, Kyle (January 18, 2019). "Michigan State's Cassius Winston's recent play could make him a Big Ten Player of the Year contender". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- Austin, Kyle (October 10, 2018). "Preseason writers poll predicts Big 10 conference win for MSU, second for Michigan". MLive. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- Sullivan, Crowley (January 10, 2019). "Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 - Is Cassius Properly Positioned?". USA Today. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- Charboneau, Matt (March 11, 2019). "Michigan State's Cassius Winston named Big Ten Player of Year; Tillman top sixth man". The Detroit News. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- "Michigan State knocks off Duke 68-67 to make Final Four". ESPN. Associated Press. March 31, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- Marshall, John (October 22, 2019). "Michigan State basketball Cassius Winston: Only consensus preseason AP All-American". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- "Michigan State's Cassius Winston out with bone bruise in knee". ESPN. Associated Press. December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- Solari, Chris (January 5, 2020). "Michigan State basketball witnessed quintessential Cassius Winston; so did Michigan". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- "Cassius Winston's 817th career assist breaks former fellow Spartan Mateen Cleaves' record". ESPN. January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- Dauster, Rob (March 10, 2020). "NBC Sports College Basketball All-American Teams". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- Borzello, Jeff (November 10, 2019). "Cassius Winston stars in Michigan State's win a day after death of brother". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2019.