Lakes High School’s Andre Wintson Jr., a 6-foot-1 guard, has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at James Madison University, Lancers coach JoJo Rodriguez has confirmed.

“He had a few other schools after him, but James Madison was the first and they were the only school to give him an offer,” Rodriguez said. “They wanted him.”
Washington State, Eastern Washington, Portland State, Nevada and Montana State showed interest in Winston, the coach said.

Winston averaged 19 points, 5 assists and 4 steals per game for the Lancers in the 2008-09 season. This summer, he played on the Seattle Rotary Select team with Kentwood center Joshua Smith, Kentridge guard Gary Bell and Garfield guard Tony Wroten Jr., among others.

“Andre is going to be a super player,” Rodriguez said. “He’s going to be really good and the schools around here missed out on this.”

James Madison, which is located in Harrisonburg, Va., plays in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes reached the semifinals of the conference tournament and finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 21-15.