Winton ’05 brings spirit to Irish semi-pro team

Judy Pittenger Guest Writer

Judson Winton ’05 is living evidence of the great talent to come out of the Vassar men’s basketball program. Though the team struggled a bit over the span of Winton’s four years, the impact that he made on the program cannot be denied. After a season in which the Brewers finished with an even 12 wins and 12 losses, Winton took his skills overseas. Today, Winton is playing for the Castlebar Comets, a semi-professional team in Ireland.

Originally hailing from San Francisco, CA, Winton came to Vassar in 2001 and started for the basketball team during all four years of his career. His senior season was marked by several large victories, but one of his greatest personal achievements included reaching the 1,000-point mark.
Winton said that the milestone was “a reflection of how hard I worked at getting better...looking back I would definitely trade that in for a few more wins.”

In an e-mailed statement, Winton said that his senior year was his best college experience, because “my two housemates, Seth [Taft ’05] and Aldis [Butler ’05], were playing with me and everyone got along real well.”

Winton was particularly proud of the Brewers’ victory over Skidmore, the first place team in the Liberty League, last season.

It was especially significant because Winton’s father, who had never seen the Brewers win before, watched the game. Winton describes his father’s ecstasy at seeing this first home victory: “I think he was more excited than me and it was a great way for me to finish my last home game at Vassar.”

In addition to playing a lot of basketball with the Comets, Winton has also done a significant amount of coaching in Castlebar, working with local school teams. According to Castlebar’s team manager, Martin Necombe, the team which Winton coaches will soon have the chance to compete in the national finals.

Winton described his experience with basketball in Ireland as quite different from Vassar. The majority of his current team consists of Irishmen and other international players from Poland and Latvia.

“The training isn’t nearly as intense,” said Winton, “But the games are mayhem.”

Not only are the Irish avid sports fans, but the play is often much more physical than at the college level due to referees who often make multiple technical foul calls per game.
Despite this new style, however, Winton has played a major role in the Comets’ season thus far.
The team is sitting at second place in their league with a 7-2 record, and Newcombe divulged that Winton has certainly continued to flourish. He has finished all games as one of the top scorers, and is currently averaging about 24 points per game.

In terms of long-term plans for life after the Brewers, Winton said that he plans to finish the season with the Comets, which will end in mid-April, then to return to the United States to “find a real job.”

Winton frequently checks up on how this year’s team is doing and communicates with many of his former teammates on-line. He noted that his experience in the Vassar program laid the foundation for success in Ireland.