Winters Grady is a freshman small forward who spent this past season as a part of the Michigan Wolverines. The former four-star and top-100 recruit decided to enter the transfer portal and has decided to continue his career with Minnesota.
Winters Grady
Pos: SF
Ht: 6’6”
Wt: 210
We know that Grady has a National Championship ring, as he spent his freshman season as a Wolverine. He played in just nine games before a foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He played about six minutes
per game and averaged three points. He took 20 shots for the season, 19 of those being three-pointers.
In high school, Grady was recruited by Medved at Colorado State. But as a top-100 prospect, he ended up taking visits to Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Oregon, Colorado and New Mexico. 247’s Adam Finkelstein’s scouting report had this to say about Grady out of high school…
Grady is a skilled, shot-making wing with good positional size and strength. He posted 19 points per game during the recent 3SSB season on 53/42/87 shooting splits, finishing in the league’s top ten in both scoring and efficiency (1.06 points per possession according to Synergy). What’s counterintuitive about those ultra-efficient numbers, is that Grady thrives in the mid-range area. He loves to score over top of contesting defenders from about 12-18 feet with some lift into a high release. He can create space off the dribble for those shots, go into the mid-post, or occasionally run off screens, but tends to play a little upright and doesn’t put a ton of pressure on the rim.
His release point changes a little bit from behind the arc, and becomes more of a lower set-shot with less lift, but he’s still a very efficient marksmen from downtown. He’s a hugely valuable floor-spacer when surrounded with more dynamic playmakers and also capable of making threes off the dribble.
In addition to his positional size and strength, Grady is ultra-competitive with a clear edge to him. He’s not the most naturally quick, bouncy, long, or flexible in his hips, but he’s a worker who competes on both ends of the floor.
Grady is a shooter. An elite shooter who is also capable of putting the ball on the floor, but shooting is what he excels at. I would suggest that Grady is a more athletic and younger version of Bobby Durkin. At the very least, he will have three years to play and there is the possibility that he could get a medical redshirt for this past season and still have four to play.
What is next?
Grady is likely to be in the rotation with Durkin at SF and will have every opportunity to see significant playing time. Perhaps even taking over the starting spot, but that will be determined months from now.
So far, the Gophers have two commits, both of whom are wing players and both are freshmen. Nolan Groves and Grady are both going to be excellent shooters. This team should be very dangerous from behind the arc next year.
