WINTHROP — Winthrop senior guard Tayjuan McKenzie has played a lot of basketball in his high school career. After playing significant time on the varsity squad at KIPP in his freshman year, McKenzie transferred to Winthrop and has been a force to be reckoned with on the Vikings ever since.
“He’s been huge for us, he can do a lot of different things,” said Winthrop’s first-year coach David Sacco. “He can score from anywhere on the floor, get to the basket whenever he wants and shoot the three. He’s become a better on-ball defender, he’s one of our leading rebounders and he’s second on the team in assists. He really does it all out there.”
One might think that would make the 6-foot-3 guard put a lot more pressure on himself to score the ball or make a big impact on every play. And he can do it, as the senior has put up some impressive point totals in games already this year (28 points against Somerville, 21 points against Malden Catholic). But McKenzie knows he’s got good players around him like his backcourt mate Devin Pulsifer, a fellow senior who recently joined the 1,000 point club, so he doesn’t feel that extra pressure.
“I feel like I can get involved in all parts of the game, whether it’s rebounding or getting my teammates the ball or playing defense,” McKenzie said. “I don’t put that extra pressure on myself because I know I have great teammates around me.”
There are still things that McKenzie needs to work on, according to Sacco, including being a more vocal leader.
“As a team captain, I’d kind of like to see him be a little more vocal as a leader, but we’re working on that,” Sacco said. “He’s kind of a more soft-spoken guy who lets his actions on the court do the talking, but sometimes you need that little bit extra.”
McKenzie also recognizes that there are things that he, and the team, need to do better.
“We’re not doing some of the little things that we need to do to win, like rebounding and getting back on defense and those things,” he said. “We’ve just got to have a little more focus out there.”
It’s getting down to crunch time for the Vikings, who sit at 6-9 on the year and are running out of chances to earn the 10 wins necessary for a state tournament spot. McKenzie knows that it’s time for everyone to buckle down and push hard to close out the season strong as the Vikings aim for a berth in states. Winthrop made the Division 4 North state tournament last year, but the Vikings were bounced in the quarterfinal after a loss at St. Mary’s.
“Our goal is to win a state championship, and I think we have the pieces if we can get everything going,” McKenzie said. “But right now, it’s just tunnel vision. We’ve just got to stay on our grind physically, mentally, academically, and everywhere else. One game at a time.”
But still, that tunnel vision doesn’t take away from the fact that McKenzie is making the most of his final year of basketball with the Vikings.
“It’s been a great year so far, I’m enjoying it all,” he said. “I’m enjoying my senior year with all my guys. When I transferred from KIPP I was looking for a family, and I’ve really found one with these guys.”
