Winston Shepard Could Be Key Piece Of 2015-16 Aztecs
By Dave Thomas
Name: Winston Shepard
University: San Diego State
Year: Junior
Height: 6' 8"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Position: Forward
While the San Diego State Aztecs certainly would have preferred a longer run in the 2015 installment of March Madness, there are some pieces coming back next season to build around.
After opening tourney play with a victory over St. John's (76-64), SDSU ran into the buzz-saw that is Duke, falling to the Blue Devils (68-49). In doing so, the Aztecs ended their season with an overall mark of 27-9.
One of those pieces to build around when veteran head coach Steve Fisher takes to the hardwood next season with his Aztecs is current junior forward Winston Shepard.
Size And Production From The Lone Star State
A Houston native, Shepard led the team in scoring (36 games) this past season with an 11.1 ppg average.
Among some of his highlights for the campaign:
* Led the team with 13 points in the second-round loss to Duke
* Tallied a season-high 20 points during the season in wins over San Jose State and New Mexico
* Recorded a season-high 11 rebounds in a victory over Colorado State
For San Diego State, it was a season marked with expectations, though not many people probably had the Aztecs going to Indianapolis this coming weekend for the Final Four.
SDSU opened the 2014-15 season with five straight victories before a heartbreaking 61-59 loss to perennial power Arizona, a game in which Shepard notched 14 points.
After losing to Washington and Cincinnati respectively, over a three-game stretch, the Aztecs would win eight of their next 10 contests.
SDSU would then put together a 10-2 streak to head into the Mountain West Conference Tournament as the second seed overall (tied for regular season crown with Boise State, but the Broncos got the top seed due to pair of wins over the Aztecs).
In their conference tourney opener, the Aztecs bounced rival UNLV 67-64, then topped Colorado State 56-43 to meet up with Wyoming in the title game, a contest won by the Cowboys 45-43.
In the three conference tourney contests, Shepard tallied 12, 16 and six points, respectively.
That final contest (loss to Wyoming) was a game wherein the underdogs bottled up SDSU's offense for much of the game, as the Aztecs were a miserable 4-of-17 from the three-point stripe, making only 15 field goals in all through 46 attempts.
So, with the season in the record books, where does SDSU go from here?
SDSU came into the season with several red-shirt seniors, including forward JJ O'Brien, who led the team in rebounds and assists, respectively during the year.
If Shepard chooses to return for his senior season in 2015-16, he is one player Fisher (339-185 at SDSU) and his staff can build around.
With good size at the forward position, an ability to score and grab some boards, not to mention experience to boot, Shepard could be one key piece to the puzzle that has the Aztecs going deeper in the tourney come next March.
Dave Thomas has been covering the sports world since his first job as a sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Pennsylvania back in 1989. He has covered a Super Bowl, college bowl games, MLB, NBA and more. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
