Christian Winborne '6'2 172 2022 'Gilman School, MD / Team Thrill UAA
Christian is an elite athlete with an impressive combination of speed, quickness, and strength.' He's a three-level scorer who impacts games not only with his tremendous scoring potential but also as a facilitator and on the defensive end.' What stands out most is his great quickness and ability to explode by his man and challenge defenders at the rim.' He always appears and most often is just flat out faster than his defender! Christian has a quick crossover move and goes behind the back on occasion but his use of hesitations and ability to change speeds effortlessly is really impressive.' He can decelerate and then explode into gaps and uses runners and floaters over length.' He can also play through contact and hang in the air fighting off contact and getting his shot off.' He has excellent touch and can finish high off the glass over opposing bigs.'
Christian demonstrates great body control and footwork maneuvering through the lane in an almost elusive manner.' He hits the dribble pull up and looks smooth and efficient with that shot but most often opts to continue his attack and finish with runners or get to the rim.' He will step in off the dribble from deep and buries that shot at a good rate.' With the threat of his blow by quickness defenders often give him space but he doesn't need much time or space to launch into his jumper.' Does a nice job getting lateral separation for the jumper as well.' It all starts with excellent footwork!' '
Christian has solid shot mechanics and range extending well beyond the arc.' His footwork is sound, his release lightning quick and he gets excellent elevation on the jumper.' Even hits contested shots at a high rate.' He is very consistent and hits spot-ups at a very good rate from anywhere on the floor.' Christian's vision is outstanding and he seems to know where everyone is at all times.' He moves off the ball instinctively,' always looks to attack.' Runs through the pass nicely when he sees space and gets to the rim in the blink of an eye.' Very good in traffic because of his athleticism, his strength, and explosiveness but very dangerous in space because of his tremendous speed and ability to get end to end with the dibble in a blur!' Christian can make a dribble move in stride as he pushes the ball at breakneck speed in transition, stays under control, and on the attack as his eyes probe the floor for a cutter.' He has the ability to zip a pass nearly'the length of the floor with excellent velocity and accuracy.' His passes are timely, crisp, and accurate even as he slices through the lane and somehow finds cutters or teammates spotting up on the perimeter.' He's an excellent facilitator and passer,'makes great decision.'
On the defensive end, Christian really appears most effective off the ball where he anticipates nicely and can break quickly on a pass for a steal.' His on-ball skills are very good, his feet quick and he has the ability to crowd the ball handler and not get beat.' If you get careless with the dribble he will snatch it in an instant and you ain't catching him once he gets a steal and heads back the other way!' Christian is beginning to blow up on the national recruiting scene.' He has been offered by Kansas State, UMBC and Loyola (MD).' He is a high academic student-athlete,' a straight-A student!'
We've had the opportunity to watch and write about some great guards who have come up through the Team Thrill program over the years with guys like VCU commit Ace Baldwin among others.' I expect we will see similar successes from Christian Winborne as he establishes himself among the top playmakers in Maryland regardless of classification!