Winslow twins bring double the success

NORWALK — The noises are distinctive, loud, and definitely not what you expect at basketball games. The clamor at St. Paul boys' games over the past four seasons has come to seem normal for regular fans. Thuds of hitting the floor and the crashing and banging when either Nate or Nick Winslow plows into bleachers or sideline chairs quickly became expected with the identical twin siblings in uniform. "We don't mind taking a few bumps and bruises to help the team in any way we can," Nick said of himself and his brother. Nate and Nick are also quick to get back to their feet most times. "I don't like to let anyone know I'm hurt, or in the case of me and Nate fighting, I don't like to let him know that he hurt me," Nick said. "So, I always get right back up and act like nothing happened, no matter how painful it might be. It's just a habit to get right back up." And it's been that way since Day One. "One of the first time I ever saw the twins, one of them was burying the other's head in the sand in the old long-jump pit at Whitney Field during a football game," St. Paul head boys' basketball coach Mike Smith said of a September 6, 2008, incident when the twins were six years old. "St. Paul was in a tremendous football game against Huron, but I turned around and said to their dad (Jeff), 'hey, look at your two boys really going at it.' Even by then, he wasn't even fazed by it … and they were just covered head-to-toe in sand, just scrapping with each other." The pair, now 18, has spent their entire lives beating up each other. As toddlers, they constantly kept adults around them on their toes. That toughness and attitude has drawn both the ire of opponents and outsiders alike and also produced results. The Flyers are in their best four-year stretch in the past quarter-century with the Winslow twins — both as 1,000-point scorers — in varsity uniforms. And now, they're taking one last run at a district championship this week. "We really think we're capable of being the best team in the district," Nick said. "And that's been a goal of ours. Adding a district title would be the perfect finish." 'The rascals have escaped' As youngsters, Nick and Nate were full of energy — with plenty of stories about their shenanigans. One summer, playing on opposite teams in a Little League game, Nate was playing first base when Nick was at the plate. He hit a ground ball that was fielded and thrown to Nate. At the moment Nate caught the out, Nick ran full speed to tackle his brother. As the adults hustled to break up the fight, all they could see was fists and gloves in the air. And the night that Jeff took his twin sons to a Monroeville vs. Western Reserve football game, when he was a 'Riders assistant varsity basketball coach with head coach Chris Sheldon, and assistant and current athletic director Ryan Falknor. Jeff had the boys on toddler harnesses because they were famous for simply running off. But Falknor's wife, Erin, gave Jeff a hard time about the harnesses. During the game, she bent down to "free" the boys as Jeff warned she'd be responsible for them. Less than a minute later, Nick and Nate sprinted right into the middle of a play at Marsh Field. "After we all ran out there to get them, Erin put them right back on those leashes," Jeff said. None of those stories compares to Sheldon's experience with the twins when he was in his third season at Western Reserve. Although they've always attended St. Paul schools, the twins were ball boys at Western Reserve for several years while Jeff was an assistant coach. One Saturday morning, Sheldon was overseeing a youth basketball practice, but stepped aside for a phone interview on WLKR's Locker Room show with former longtime host Scott Truxell. Jeff, in the office with two-year-old Nate and Nick, took Sheldon's place in the gym, warning Sheldon, "you've got the boys." "And I said, 'no problem,'" Sheldon recalled. "And I thought I had shut the office door. And when you're used to doing middle-school lunch duty with 200 kids, you block out noise real quick." As Sheldon was talking to Truxell, he suddenly realized that he didn't hear any noise. He looked up, and the door was open. "The rascals have escaped," Sheldon said. "And all I can hear is running water." When Truxell told Sheldon it was time for a commercial break, he went to find the twins. "And as I walk to where I hear the water, I just hear them laughing — that little-kid cackling laughter," Sheldon said. "As I'm walking to the showers in the restroom, I'm also finding little pieces of clothing the entire way as I get there." Much to his dismay, he found a lake. Nate and Nick had flooded the place by turning on every single faucet. "And they are doing a slip-and-slide through the locker room — and loving every minute of it," he said. Corralling the boys, he put one under each arm, phone up to his ear like a pro — just as Truxell came back to him from the commercial break. Suddenly, breaking down Western's victory the night before was a bit more challenging. "Now, not only am I soaking wet, they decide to throw punches at each other while I'm trying to finish the interview," Sheldon said. "And that was just one of the many beautiful stories of having Nate and Nick." In the last two seasons in particular, Nate and Nick had many close battles with many of the same kids they were ball boys with at Western Reserve. The Flyers and 'Riders split wins last season as the teams shared the Firelands Conference championship with South Central. Western won two competitive games this season. "They are as tough now as they were at two years old," Sheldon said. "And it was evident to me that they were full of that aggressive energy even then. And as a basketball coach, you love that. You hate playing against it, but you love that competitive edge that they possess." After this season's last meeting on Jan. 29, with Nate and Nick combining for 48 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, Sheldon was relieved his team escaped with a 72-66 win in Norwalk. "I'm thankful we don't have to play against them ever again," he said. "I'm also proud of their careers, their maturity through the process. When they see you, they always shake your hand, look you in the eyes and want to talk to you. "They are great social, young men in that regard. Their mother and father have done a heck of a job." Finding their way The first two minutes of Nick's high-school career were perfect. Maybe too perfect. With his first-ever varsity start at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, he scored the game's first 11 points in the first two minutes. "It was great, but then you feel like you have to do it again at some point," Nick said. "It brought a sense of nervousness." With both Nate and Nick playing varsity, the quick start further heightened expectations that became a key factor in competitive matchups. As freshmen siblings at a little school in a small community, meshing with upperclassmen while sharing one basketball had its inevitable clashes. "It was tough at times because our freshman year we had a good team with a lot of seniors," Nick said. "Coming in, people didn't know what to expect, but you saw two freshmen were playing. We were both the leading scorers in those first couple games, so that only made things harder when we didn't score like that the rest of that season when there were expectations for us to do that." That was especially true when Nate or Nick didn't have a good game on the stat sheet in a Flyer loss. "There were tough times those first couple years where we just didn't play well, or at least like we thought we could," Nate said. "Sometimes I wanted to quit, but my dad and my coaches kept pushing me and getting me through it. I couldn't have done this without them." And the demonstrative way both Nate and Nick play is also a factor. They clap — a lot. They smack their hands together loudly, both in celebration and frustration. They yell and pump their fists, also in both good and bad moments. The twins are aware that their expressive behavior isn't always well-received. "The passion comes out sometimes and you can't control it," Nick said. "Most of the time I'm pretty composed, but I'd say mostly you're just in the heat of the game, and it just comes out. But Nate is a lot worse than me." Nate agrees with that assessment. "I'm a lot more expressive with my emotions than he is," Nate said. "It's all friendly and I think most people understand that. It's just competitiveness … I guess you can say I'm the kid that you love if I'm on your team — but if not, I can be kind of annoying." Senior teammate Adam Baker has grown up with the twins. He knows the scrutiny that has come their way. "Obviously on the court you can see the passion and intensity they play with," Baker said. "But not many see them off the court. Nick and Nate have great personalities that make everyone want to be around them. "Their sense of humor is second to none, and they always find a way to make you laugh," he added. "There is never a dull moment with the twins." Smith also knew the twins were very outgoing on and off the court before he ever coached them. The veteran coach of 410 wins took a different approach to their arrival. "We've had some teams where I wished we'd show emotion like that," he said. "Sometimes you have to calm it down a little bit because you don't want too much, but we've had some teams in the past where you're saying, 'these kids are just too nice.' So we have a little bit of that with those two, and that's good." Nate and Nick are fun kids to be around, Smith noted, adding that their emotions are kept under control and don't hurt the team or the game. "You have to play with toughness and emotion to be in the position they have put us in these four years," Smith said. "And as hard as they play, I think there is a respect level there for them." One last run As the twins have grown, so too has the success of the Flyers on the court. After a 13-12 season as freshmen ended with an upset win over FC champion South Central in a Division IV sectional championship, St. Paul finished 2018-19 with a 14-9 record in a season where five games were lost by five points or fewer. Then came 2019-20, where the Flyers got off to an 11-1 start that included a pair of home wins over Western Reserve and South Central. That helped them snap a 22-year drought and earn a share of the conference title for the first time since the 1997-98 season. They won another sectional title last season and did so again this past Friday by defeating Crestline. St. Paul is 16-5 and has won seven straight games entering Tuesday's district semifinal vs. Margaretta (15-8). Only some stretches during a nine-year window from 1993-2001 have produced more wins than the 59-35 (.627) record of the past four years; the same goes for the Flyers' 38-18 mark (.678) in FC play during the same span. Individually, Nick led the Flyers in scoring all four seasons. His 1,359 career points is second all-time in program history behind only Scott Endsley (1,488). Nate is sixth all-time in career points with 1,064. As seniors, Nick is averaging 21.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Nate adds 14.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Nick will finish as a four-time All-FC player, twice as a first team selection. He's twice been named to the OHSBCA District 6 first team and is a strong contender to be on the first team when the OPSWA Northwest District teams are released in two weeks. That vote would make him a two-time All-Ohioan. Nate will be a three-time All-FC selection, also voted twice to the first team. He's also been on the District 6 first team and is expected to be listed when the Northwest District teams are finalized. Soon, the hard-charging sons of Kellie Deeter and Jeff Winslow will be going their separate ways. Nick is planning to continue his basketball career at NCAA Div. III Bluffton University, while Nate is headed to Bowling Green State University, turning the page on basketball. As identical twins, the two have never been alone. They have shared just about everything in life, — including clothing, as they are both 6-foot-2 and about the same build — and also share a bedroom at home. But the biggest reason for their success at St. Paul was also the result of sharing. "We love the sport. It means a lot to us," Nate said. "Our older brother (Noah, SPHS Class of '17) and our dad always pushed us to want to be great and instilled in us to always have confidence in what we do. That's why we're really expressive and confident in everything we do. We always loved the sport and worked hard at it as a result. "Being a twin, you can get annoyed with each other and everything that comes with it," he added. "But having someone by your side all the time — there also isn't much more you could ask for."