The Price of Success: WHS Basketball to Large School Division

Winthrop boys basketball coach David Brown has taken his program to unimaginable heights during his tenure, including a state championship, numerous Northeastern Conference South Division titles, and deep runs into the state tourney.

The realization that Brown has built a consistent winner (despite Winthrop having the smallest student enrollment in the league) has led NEC athletic directors and principals to take a vote on a plan that will likely move Winthrop boys basketball into the North Division which includes  Division 1 schools such as Lynn English and others with much larger student enrollments than Winthrop’s.

Is it fair to ask Winthrop to compete on a regular basis against much larger schools that will make its path to qualifying for the State Tournament and having a winning season more difficult?

That’s the question that the NEC athletic directors and principals will consider and we know that Principal Gail Conlon (whose brother, Tony Fucillo, regularly coached Winthrop to wins over much larger schools in football) and Athletic Director Peter Gobiel will do what’s best for our student-athletes.