King Winkfield is one of the best players from the Tampa, FL area in the Class of 2021.
The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Winkfield, who attends Booker High School, is a dynamic player that works as a point guard.
Winkfield has earned plenty of recognition during his career, such as:
- Brookside Middle School Highest Scorer Award
- Varsity Team Defensive MVP
- Varsity Team Offensive MVP-
- 3 All-Tournament awards (AAU)
- MVP award (AAU)
Winkfield is humbled by the recognition.
“It feels great to be recognized for my efforts. Awards are excellent motivators but at the end of the day I seek out opportunities to work as a team and win championships,” Winkfield said.
No matter the opponent, every game Winkfield is determined to give it his all.
Winkfield is going all out.
The motor is always at full throttle whenever Winkfield steps between the lines.
“As a point guard it is always important to demonstrate leadership. I believe it is my job to facilitate, stay level headed, control the momentum of the game, keep my teammates in good spirits, and lead by example,” Winkfield said. “It is also my job to motivate teammates and assist in their development.”
Winkfield has great passion and energy whenever he’s on the court. Winkfield tells why he enjoys the game of basketball so much.
“I love winning,” Winkfield said. “It’s no better feeling than winning and being rewarded for all of your hard work.”
Winkfield has learned many valuable lessons from playing basketball that he applies to his everyday life.
“Basketball mimics life in a lot of ways. It taught me teamwork and dedication. Basketball is an up and down sport, one minute you can be doing great and the next things could be really bad but you never give up and find ways to get back on top,” Winkfield said. “I feel that’s one of the biggest lessons in life that you can understand and live by. Just like in life every possession in basketball you can learn from whether it’s good or bad and always use that to become sharper and smarter so the next time you are better prepared.”
Winkfield shares his favorite memory of playing basketball.
“My favorite memory so far is my freshmen year beating Sarasota Riverview in the Suncoast classic tournament. It was great to come in as a freshmen and help lead my school to a win over our cross town rivals. I ended the game with 17 pts and made every shot I took,” Winkfield said. “That game showed a lot of people what I was capable of and I began to earn more respect and trust from my teammates and coaches. I also enjoyed making a few plays within the last few minutes of the game that led my team to compete in a state championship as a freshman.”
Winkfield takes his role as one of the leaders on the team very seriously. Winkfield makes sure he’s a daily positive influence on his peers.
“In order to be a good teammate you have to put the team first. You don’t have to be a leader in order to be a good teammate. You need to have the ability to receive advice and criticism from teammates and always put forth your best effort no matter the circumstances. Playing the right way and being willing to sacrifice sometimes for the team will always demonstrate a good teammate,” Winkfield said. “The best advice I give is reminding my teammates that mistakes are going to happen in the game of basketball but keep a level head and don’t let it affect you for the rest of the game.”
Winkfield is appreciative of having amazing male role models that are supportive.
“My coaches have taught me to be a leader at all times and that even when things are going bad I have to be that one person to stay calm and keep the team together and always make sure my teammates are in the right position in order for us to execute. They taught me how important communication is at all times and making sure we are all on the same page,” Winkfield said. “My coaches have given me a lot of great advice but If I had to choose I would say just take what the defense gives you and not make the game any harder than it has to be.”
Winkfield patterns his play after this future Hall of Fame member.
“Chris Paul is a player I look up to in order to learn a lot of different things. One of the biggest things I take from him is his competitiveness and leadership. It seems like every time I watch him he is teaching another player something or just communicating. He wants to win every time he steps on the court and is very cerebral every time he plays,” Winkfield said. “Also being that he is a small guard I look to him to always learn different ways to find my spots to score and how to put other teammates in great positions to score the ball.”
Winkfield lists language arts as his favorite subject in school.
“Reading and writing comes easily for me,” Winkfield said.
Winkfield explains his collegiate aspirations.
“My dream school is the University of Florida. I’ve always been a fan of their program. Just being born and raised in Florida I’ve always naturally rooted for them no matter the sport,” Winkfield said. “I love their colors and the legacy behind the school.”
Winkfield is striving for greatness in all that he does.
“My goal on the court this year is to mainly win a state championship and to win 4A Player of the Year,” Winkfield said. “My off the court goals are to graduate with a 4.0 GPA and to earn a college degree in the next couple of years.”
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