Millions of people have watched Michael Jordan play basketball, but very few have played against him, and one of them now works at East.
This past March, East hired former NBA player Kennard Winchester to replace head coach Ray Hartsfield, ending a 27-year-long era, which began when East opened.
“I think that the program is taking a step in the right direction… we’re going to be a lot better than in previous years,” said senior Thailand Evans, who has played basketball for East since his freshman year.
Evans pointed out that along with the new players coming in, there’s also a new culture in the team centered around the experience of their new coach.
“[Winchester] lets us play more freely than we could before, and we have more plays to go off of,” Evans said.
With Winchester’s experience as a shooting guard and forward for the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks of the NBA, he focuses more on values than plays to create a winning culture.
“I coach to give kids the freedom to make mistakes. This is how you learn how to grow yourself, and grow the game,” Winchester said.
He also believes that it’s important to play with the “spirit of being a winner,” especially against the tougher teams in East’s conference, such as Durham schools, which are generally considered to play with more physicality.
“The perception of East Chapel Hill compared to some other schools in our conference has been a challenge, but it’s been part of our coaching goal to change their focus, their demeanor and their perspective of who we are. I don’t want them to feel like you’re not a ‘Durham team’ and that you can’t play aggressive,” Winchester said. “We want to make sure that we change the focus in the narrative…. We’re not going to be a team that is going to just give up.”
Winchester has abided by those same values since his freshman year of high school, when he began playing basketball.
“My first year I barely made a team. I was the last guy on the team. But I’m such a competitive person, and also I grew four inches that summer. From after my freshman year going into my sophomore year, I was determined I would never again sit on a high school bench,” Winchester said.
Working and practicing at a competitive pace in high school gave him the opportunity to play at James Madison University, and then at Division III Averett University, before ultimately making it to the NBA. Once there, he played 122 games, including some against Micheal Jordan, and had 417 points over his three seasons. Winchester hopes he can provide the same high-level experience to his players.
“I coach them and I treat them like they are next-level players,” he said. “The way you practice, the way you walk around the school, [how] you handle yourself. You practice, you work hard, like you’re actually playing at the next level, so if you get the opportunity to go to the next level, you already have a sense of being there. If you can cultivate that type of culture, of next-level thinking, next-level play, you can draw talent to the program.”
Photo by Elise Owre/The ECHO
