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Coach Corey Thompson of Winston-Salem State let out a hearty laugh when he heard Wesley Tubbs was lobbying to play a little at point guard. “I did play there a lot in high school,” Tubbs said with a grin, “but I know my role and I’m good with that.” Thomspon is in his first season as a head coach in college and it's been a struggle for the Rams so far.
Sitting at just 2-8 overall and 0-1 in the CIAA the Rams have had trouble playing a full 40 minutes. Tubbs, who is 6 foot 7 and a sophomore from Charlotte, has been a bright spot thanks to his versatility. Last season he played at Tallahassee Community College and committed to Coach Cleo Hill Jr.
, the previous WSSU coach. Wesley Tubbs originally committed to Coach Cleo Hill Jr. but once Hill left for Maryland Eastern Shore Tubbs decided to come to WSSU to play for Corey Thompson.
Despite Hill leaving for Maryland Eastern Shore, Tubbs stayed with his commitment with Thompson and the new coaching staff. People are also reading..
. Thompson’s son, Tyson, was playing in a summer AAU tournament in Rock Hill, S.C.
and Tubbs was there working at the tournament. “He was actually at the scorer’s table working the game, so we talked some there,” Thompson said. “It just worked out and we’re happy he decided to come to Winston.
” Winston-Salem State's Wesley Tubbs III (3) and Winston-Salem State's Micah Jones (5) apply pressure to Francis Marion's Jordyn Surratt (1) in a game earlier this season. Tubbs is averaging 12 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds, and he’s had 13 assists and nine steals in 10 games.
His best game was 28 points in 31 minutes in a loss to Tuskegee in December at a tournament in the Virgin Islands. “This kind of culture with all the coaches who support us even off the court has been good,” said Tubbs, who just turned 20 years old. “We are still trying to find our identity and trying to figure it all out, but we’ll get there.
” Thompson welcomed 10 new players this season and only one player, Jeremy Dixon, had any significant playing time last season. It’s been a work in progress especially after getting blitzed 82-56 to Elizabeth City State in the Rams’ opening CIAA game. It was the worst loss in a CIAA game for the Rams in the last 10 years.
Winston-Salem State's Wesley Tubbs is averaging 12 points per game this season. “We have a lot of new guys, and we are just playing,” Tubbs said about the Rams who are averaging 71 points per game but are allowing 76 points on defense. “This is a new team, and we are still trying to figure it all out.
We are behind the eight ball because we didn’t even get a chance to work out together this summer.” Dixon, a junior who has the most experience of anybody on the roster, has liked the way Tubbs has found a way to make a difference. “He’s a really good scoring threat,” Dixon said.
“We have a young team and he’s young, but I like his game. He’s a three-level scorer and is a player who you might not think is strong, but he can back down those smaller guards whenever he wants.” When Tubbs was a junior at Northside Christian High School, he was ranked just outside the top 100 players in the country by 247Sports.
He had recruiting interest from a lot of big schools because he was 6-foot-6 and could play every position. “I had an official visit to Cincinnati that year, but I also had offers from Georgia Tech and South Carolina and several other schools,” Tubbs said. “I think I had about 16 offers from Division I schools.
” Winston-Salem State's Wesley Tubbs has started all 10 games this season. Tubbs said there was nothing specific that caused the bigger schools to stop recruiting him, but did admit to being somewhat immature. After his junior season he transferred to The Skill Factory in Atlanta but that didn’t help him gain back the interest from the big schools.
“With me just being young I was immature and when coaches would tell me something I should have listened better,” Tubbs said about his high-school career. “I went through that and didn’t respond the right way.” He wound up at Tallahassee Community College and is now trying to carve out his niche in the competitive CIAA.
“He’s playing against grown men,” Dixon said about the CIAA. “So, he’s just learning but I like how he doesn’t back down from anything out there.” Tubbs, who is a good student, made the Dean’s List this past semester and is majoring in business.
He doesn’t have any trouble talking about those days when he had dreams of playing at a big-time Division I program on his way to the NBA. “Now, my goal is to get a degree and make money in the real world,” Tubbs said. “And maybe I can play overseas and make money playing professional basketball.
” Thompson said Tubbs, and the rest of the young team, will be learning on the fly in the rugged CIAA this season. “We are getting better as we are going but (Tubbs) has been a bright spot so far,” Thompson said. jdell@wsjournal.
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