Gary Winton | |
Height Ft: | 6 |
Height In: | 5 |
Position: | Forward |
Nationality: | American |
High School: | Albert P. Brewer (Somerville, Alabama) |
College: | Army (1974–1978) |
Draft Year: | 1978 |
Draft Round: | 10 |
Draft Pick: | 194 |
Draft Team: | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Gary Joseph Winton (born) is an American former basketball player best known for his collegiate career at the United States Military Academy ("Army") between 1974 and 1978. A 6'5" forward from Somerville, Alabama, Winton scored a then-school record 2,296 points (later surpassed by Kevin Houston) and grabbed a still-standing school record 1,168 rebounds. On 14 occasions he scored 30 or more points and recorded 15+ rebounds 17 times. In his junior and senior seasons Winton was an Honorable Mention All-American while playing for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers selected him in the 1978 NBA draft, but due to a five-year commitment to serve in the United States Army after graduation, he never played in the league. After graduation, he did play on the pre-Olympic traveling USA Basketball Team. In 1979, the men's basketball team participated in the Soviet Union's Spartakiad, an international sports event that the Soviet Union attempted to use to both oppose and supplement the Olympics. Winton ultimately never made the official Olympic roster, however.
In 1990, he served as Army's head softball coach for one season. Fifteen years later he was inducted in the Army Sports Hall of Fame as part of their 14-person induction class in 2005.