By Brant Daughtry

I missed week one because I forgot I did these for basketball

The Winthrop Eagles are a fun mid-major team. Their brand is one that’s pretty established at this point, and one that’s fairly common in schools this size. They’re undersized, but they play fast and make a ton of threes. Head coach Mark Prosser has been doing this for a while, and while he’s only had one year as head coach at Winthrop, he spent several years as an assistant for the Eagles before leaving for his first gig, then coming back as head coach. He understands the brand and the play style.

Winthrop is 2-1 on the season, losing a blowout to Penn State before blowing out Piedmont, then winning a close one over Middle Tennessee. It’s early in the season, but Winthrop is sticking with their pattern. They’re shooting over 38% from three, an extremely high mark.

Players to Watch For:

Forward Corey Hightower, #12- There’s not a lot of size on this Winthrop team, but there’s some to be found in Hightower. Standing at 6’7″, 220 lbs, Hightower is 2nd in points-per-game with 17, 2nd in rebounds-per-game with 6, and leads the Eagles with 4.5 assists-per-game. He also takes, and makes, a solid amount of threes. He’s the “do everything” kind of player you want from a versatile forward. He’s also a redshirt senior who’s in his second year at Winthrop, so he’s as experienced as they come.

Forward Kelton Talford, #4- Another versatile forward, Talford leads the Eagles in points and rebounds per game, with 18.3 and 8 respectively. He’s a junior, who’s been contributing regularly since his freshman season, and a returning starter.

Basketball season wasn’t something I looked forward to very much growing up. I loved football from the time I could walk, and grew to appreciate baseball because of my family. But my love for basketball is something new, something that I’m still learning. And it’s all on the shoulders of Bruce Pearl. The situation that Bruce walked into so many years ago was incredibly difficult. And somehow he made me care about Auburn basketball. The expectations are suddenly through the roof. The job Bruce has done is amazing, to the point where after Auburn’s sudden exit of the tournament was shocking last year. A few years ago, even being there would’ve been unthinkable. I’m by no means an expert on basketball. I don’t know it nearly as well as I know football, the other sport I make these previews for. But I love watching my team, and I love it more when my team is really, really good. Thanks to Bruce, I get to love watching Auburn basketball.