Tim Floyd addresses departure of Terry Winn
The Miners haven’t taken the court in a week, but there’s been plenty of drama in the past seven days off the court.
On Wednesday, head coach Tim Floyd addressed that drama, most of which surrounds the sudden departure of Terry Winn, who tweeted Saturday that he was leaving the team.
“You know, he had quit us twice as a freshman, and at some point you move on and you give the guys that you’ve got in your program that are really quality, good people – not that Terry isn’t, I wish him the best, I wish him well – but we needed to focus on the guys that we have,” said Floyd.
Floyd sent Winn home during the Charleston Classic Tournament approximately two weeks ago. According to Floyd, Winn then did not show up for a practice a few days later.
“He had a choice whether or not he was gonna come to practice on Tuesday and didn’t come to practice on Tuesday, and at that point, we decided we needed to move on,” said Floyd.
UTEP then lost a game against Southeastern Louisiana – a game in which Winn was nowhere to be seen. After that game, Floyd said he had not heard from Winn since sending him home from the Charleston Classic.
KVIA has reached out to Terry Winn for an interview, but he has yet to respond to our requests.
However, Winn did tell The Prospector earlier this week that he did reach out to Floyd and other coaches before that Tuesday practice via text.
He went on to slam UTEP as a program in the article.
“There’s a lot of fake stuff going on in that program. No one really cares about your best interests as a player,” Winn said. “Just not the best of player-coach relationships–with you one day, against you the next–as if they never knew you. But, I understand. It’s a business. Nothing personal.”
Meanwhile, other players are trying to move on with their season and focus on their next game on Saturday against Northwestern State.
“I mean, it’s tough, because Terry did play a big role for us. But it’s something that we have to move past as a unit,” said UTEP point guard Dominic Artis. “But as far as the atmosphere, we’re just really looking forward to Saturday.”
On Wednesday, Terry Winn posted on Twitter, “UTRGV,” confirming speculation that he plans to transfer to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
In other Miners news, guard Omega Harris has been suspended for one game for missing class this week.
