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2024 Recruiting
2026 Recruiting
Zagsblog: 6-foot-7 freshman Jalan Wingfield drawing early Power 5 interest
https://www.zagsblog.com/2023/04/19...lan-wingfield-drawing-early-power-5-interest/
AJC (2018) : State basketball legend Wingfield finds peace, purpose as hometown mentor, coach
“Wingfield’s basketball career ended in November, 1998, with a car crash on a wet road just outside of his hometown. Wingfield spent three months in a hospital with shattered ankles and a broken back. It took him a year to progress from cane to walker to his own power again, though still limping.
Life then got worse. For about 10 years, Wingfield would become reclusive. He endured depression, drug abuse, destitution, even prison time. In 1999, he pled guilty to assaulting two police officers who responded to a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. A Cincinnati newspaper, in reporting his sentencing, called Wingfield a ‘’lost soul.’’
In 2005, Wingfield was diagnosed with diabetes. In 2010, he lost his a leg below the knee to amputation and began wearing a prosthesis.
Wingfield tells the kids the bad times, too.
‘’There’s nothing tougher than losing your livelihood,’’ he said. “All my life I’d been dreaming of taking care of my family, and I no longer could. It took 10 years to even be able to step out and be around people. It was a long, long, long haul.’’
Outside of Albany’s Henderson Gym, Wingfield has maintained a relatively low-profile. He hasn’t given an interview in 10 years, or since shortly after he began the mentorship program that he hoped might give him a sense of purpose if not redemption to those he felt he’d let down.
A decade on, Wingfield is confident that it has. He wants to share his story. An Albany company, Tomlinson Marketing Group, is planning a documentary, and Wingfield is writing a book that he hopes to publish this year.
‘’I didn’t want to damage it by releasing anything [in previous years] that wasn’t whole-hearted,’’ Wingfield said. “Now, I know it’s time to share my story. I’ve helped a lot of kids who grew up the same way I did. It’s not even a basketball story for me. … I hope this comes across as a never-give-up story. There is always a purpose for your life.’’
Wingfield grew up on the south side of town in an iconic Albany apartment complex called Willow Wood. The apartments are still there with their two basketball courts. Many of the kids that Wingfield works with and coaches today are from those apartments and the impoverished areas around them.
In Wingfield’s time, Willow Wood was a playground for Division I basketball talent during the era when southwest Georgia, and Albany in particular, reigned supreme on the high school hardwoods. Westover’s toughest opponents during the Wingfield days were often cross-town rivals Albany, Dougherty and Monroe.
Wingfield’s older brother, Banastreus, was among the first to stand at Willow Wood. He went on to play at Auburn-Montgomery. Others who came up there were former Albany State head coach Chris Cameron, who played at Tulane; Lavor Postell, who played for St. John’s and the New York Knicks; and Antonio Smith of Louisiana Tech. Brothers Greg Tinch of Louisville and Reggie Tinch of Georgia lived across a big ditch in another neighborhood and were regular players there, too.
Wingfield’s parents separated when Wingfield was in the third grade. His mother, Gloria, then worked in the evenings to support the family. With his older brother off to college, Wingfield didn’t have many adult male role models.
‘’Once I got to high school and got some notoriety, I thought I was the man of the house,’’ Wingfield said. “My mom worked at night, so I could do as I pleased.’’
Wingfield fathered three children while in high school. He has nine children today and says he’s a part of all of their lives, though it’s taken years to build and heal those relationships.
Wingfield’s biggest regret in basketball was leaving Cincinnati early and not discussing his decision with Huggins. With questions about his maturity, Wingfield surprisingly fell to the second round to the Seattle SuperSonics. His four seasons in the NBA were underwhelming, but he was still young and improving when his career was wiped out.
Huggins has coached Kenyon Martin, Nick Van Excel and Danny Fortson, among others. "Dontonio was the most talented, by far," Huggins once said. "He did amazing things." Wingfield and Huggins remain in frequent contact today.
For some 15 years now, Wingfield has written things down to help him reflect and make sense of the wild ride that has been his life. He answers questions quickly and candidly today, evidence that he’s processed these the roads he’s traveled many times over.
On life at Willow Wood: ‘’It was an impoverished area, but we wouldn’t have known at that age. I didn’t know many friends who had two parents in the house. There were a lot of kids who were alike as far as home life.’’
On basketball in Albany: ‘’We played basketball every day. It was a neighborhood thing. It’s extremely hot in South Georgia. That didn’t matter to us. We’d meet around 5 o’clock every summer day. It would be grown people, young people. You lose, you’re off the court. You had to be tough out there.’’
‘’He runs a really good program,’’ Pace said. “The majority of his kids are those not been able to make their school rosters. A lot of them are troubled kids, not doing well in the classroom. He enjoys being around those kids, and they enjoy being around him. They’ve gotten better at sports, but they’re more well-mannered, too.’’
Said Wingfield, ‘’I know God gave me basketball talent, but he also gave me the ability to communicate with those kids who are like me, in my same demographic, Willow Wood kids. They’re dealing with some tough things. I understand that because I’m cut from the same cloth. I know I’m providing something for them for nothing in return, just to get them to focus and hang in there. …
‘’Just the way they look at me and respect me, I’ve had some good feelings, but there’s no feeling better than that.’’
In 1999, when Wingfield was sentenced to serve six months in prison, his old high school coach, Willie Boston, had something good to say about his most famous pupil in his darkest hour.
“People have been writing him off all his life,’’ Boston told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “And I've learned from being around Don never write him off. I think when it's all said and done we'll be able to look at Don and say he's a helluva man.”
Willie Boston never knew how this story played out. He died in 2006.
Wingfield never knew his old coach said that. Newspaper stories about him weren’t that good in those days, so Wingfield rarely read them.
Made aware of it nearly 20 years later, Wingfield got a little emotional.
‘’Damn, that is deep and very heart-felt,’’ Wingfield said, responding by e-mail.
Then he thought some more and added, “But true!!’’
Probably right again.”
https://www.ajc.com/blog/high-schoo...hometown-mentor-coach/sB3hZccK4Q5R7IW3k0uAUP/
UGA WBB
georgiadogs.com
Recruiting
SEC Basketball
SEC
SEC Non-Conference schedules for the 2023-24 season
Georgia
Home
Nov. 10 vs. Wake Forest
Nov. 24 vs. Winthrop
Dec. 1 vs. Mercer
Dec. 5 vs. Georgia Tech
Dec. 16 vs. Big South Opponent
Dec. 20 vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Dec. 22 vs. North Florida
Dec. 30 vs. Alabama A&M
Road
Nov. 29 at Florida State (ACC-SEC Challenge)
Season Tip-Off Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 6 vs. Oregon
Baha Mar Championship Bahamas
Nov. 17 vs. Miami
Nov. 19 vs. Providence or Kansas State
https://bracketeer.org/nonconference/sec
Kentucky
University of Georgia Athletics
2024 Recruiting
2026 Recruiting
Zagsblog: 6-foot-7 freshman Jalan Wingfield drawing early Power 5 interest
https://www.zagsblog.com/2023/04/19...lan-wingfield-drawing-early-power-5-interest/
AJC (2018) : State basketball legend Wingfield finds peace, purpose as hometown mentor, coach
“Wingfield’s basketball career ended in November, 1998, with a car crash on a wet road just outside of his hometown. Wingfield spent three months in a hospital with shattered ankles and a broken back. It took him a year to progress from cane to walker to his own power again, though still limping.
Life then got worse. For about 10 years, Wingfield would become reclusive. He endured depression, drug abuse, destitution, even prison time. In 1999, he pled guilty to assaulting two police officers who responded to a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. A Cincinnati newspaper, in reporting his sentencing, called Wingfield a ‘’lost soul.’’
In 2005, Wingfield was diagnosed with diabetes. In 2010, he lost his a leg below the knee to amputation and began wearing a prosthesis.
Wingfield tells the kids the bad times, too.
‘’There’s nothing tougher than losing your livelihood,’’ he said. “All my life I’d been dreaming of taking care of my family, and I no longer could. It took 10 years to even be able to step out and be around people. It was a long, long, long haul.’’
Outside of Albany’s Henderson Gym, Wingfield has maintained a relatively low-profile. He hasn’t given an interview in 10 years, or since shortly after he began the mentorship program that he hoped might give him a sense of purpose if not redemption to those he felt he’d let down.
A decade on, Wingfield is confident that it has. He wants to share his story. An Albany company, Tomlinson Marketing Group, is planning a documentary, and Wingfield is writing a book that he hopes to publish this year.
‘’I didn’t want to damage it by releasing anything [in previous years] that wasn’t whole-hearted,’’ Wingfield said. “Now, I know it’s time to share my story. I’ve helped a lot of kids who grew up the same way I did. It’s not even a basketball story for me. … I hope this comes across as a never-give-up story. There is always a purpose for your life.’’
Wingfield grew up on the south side of town in an iconic Albany apartment complex called Willow Wood. The apartments are still there with their two basketball courts. Many of the kids that Wingfield works with and coaches today are from those apartments and the impoverished areas around them.
In Wingfield’s time, Willow Wood was a playground for Division I basketball talent during the era when southwest Georgia, and Albany in particular, reigned supreme on the high school hardwoods. Westover’s toughest opponents during the Wingfield days were often cross-town rivals Albany, Dougherty and Monroe.
Wingfield’s older brother, Banastreus, was among the first to stand at Willow Wood. He went on to play at Auburn-Montgomery. Others who came up there were former Albany State head coach Chris Cameron, who played at Tulane; Lavor Postell, who played for St. John’s and the New York Knicks; and Antonio Smith of Louisiana Tech. Brothers Greg Tinch of Louisville and Reggie Tinch of Georgia lived across a big ditch in another neighborhood and were regular players there, too.
Wingfield’s parents separated when Wingfield was in the third grade. His mother, Gloria, then worked in the evenings to support the family. With his older brother off to college, Wingfield didn’t have many adult male role models.
‘’Once I got to high school and got some notoriety, I thought I was the man of the house,’’ Wingfield said. “My mom worked at night, so I could do as I pleased.’’
Wingfield fathered three children while in high school. He has nine children today and says he’s a part of all of their lives, though it’s taken years to build and heal those relationships.
Wingfield’s biggest regret in basketball was leaving Cincinnati early and not discussing his decision with Huggins. With questions about his maturity, Wingfield surprisingly fell to the second round to the Seattle SuperSonics. His four seasons in the NBA were underwhelming, but he was still young and improving when his career was wiped out.
Huggins has coached Kenyon Martin, Nick Van Excel and Danny Fortson, among others. "Dontonio was the most talented, by far," Huggins once said. "He did amazing things." Wingfield and Huggins remain in frequent contact today.
For some 15 years now, Wingfield has written things down to help him reflect and make sense of the wild ride that has been his life. He answers questions quickly and candidly today, evidence that he’s processed these the roads he’s traveled many times over.
On life at Willow Wood: ‘’It was an impoverished area, but we wouldn’t have known at that age. I didn’t know many friends who had two parents in the house. There were a lot of kids who were alike as far as home life.’’
On basketball in Albany: ‘’We played basketball every day. It was a neighborhood thing. It’s extremely hot in South Georgia. That didn’t matter to us. We’d meet around 5 o’clock every summer day. It would be grown people, young people. You lose, you’re off the court. You had to be tough out there.’’
‘’He runs a really good program,’’ Pace said. “The majority of his kids are those not been able to make their school rosters. A lot of them are troubled kids, not doing well in the classroom. He enjoys being around those kids, and they enjoy being around him. They’ve gotten better at sports, but they’re more well-mannered, too.’’
Said Wingfield, ‘’I know God gave me basketball talent, but he also gave me the ability to communicate with those kids who are like me, in my same demographic, Willow Wood kids. They’re dealing with some tough things. I understand that because I’m cut from the same cloth. I know I’m providing something for them for nothing in return, just to get them to focus and hang in there. …
‘’Just the way they look at me and respect me, I’ve had some good feelings, but there’s no feeling better than that.’’
In 1999, when Wingfield was sentenced to serve six months in prison, his old high school coach, Willie Boston, had something good to say about his most famous pupil in his darkest hour.
“People have been writing him off all his life,’’ Boston told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “And I've learned from being around Don never write him off. I think when it's all said and done we'll be able to look at Don and say he's a helluva man.”
Willie Boston never knew how this story played out. He died in 2006.
Wingfield never knew his old coach said that. Newspaper stories about him weren’t that good in those days, so Wingfield rarely read them.
Made aware of it nearly 20 years later, Wingfield got a little emotional.
‘’Damn, that is deep and very heart-felt,’’ Wingfield said, responding by e-mail.
Then he thought some more and added, “But true!!’’
Probably right again.”
https://www.ajc.com/blog/high-schoo...hometown-mentor-coach/sB3hZccK4Q5R7IW3k0uAUP/
UGA WBB
University of Georgia Athletics
Recruiting
SEC Basketball
SEC
SEC Non-Conference schedules for the 2023-24 season
Georgia
Home
Nov. 10 vs. Wake Forest
Nov. 24 vs. Winthrop
Dec. 1 vs. Mercer
Dec. 5 vs. Georgia Tech
Dec. 16 vs. Big South Opponent
Dec. 20 vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Dec. 22 vs. North Florida
Dec. 30 vs. Alabama A&M
Road
Nov. 29 at Florida State (ACC-SEC Challenge)
Season Tip-Off Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 6 vs. Oregon
Baha Mar Championship Bahamas
Nov. 17 vs. Miami
Nov. 19 vs. Providence or Kansas State
https://bracketeer.org/nonconference/sec
Kentucky
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