Jose Winston was named an assistant coach for the Milwaukee men’s basketball program in May of 2022. He was promoted to Associate Coach in July of 2024 and has been a part of 20-win campaigns in each of the past three seasons, the best stretch for the program since four consecutive from 2002-2006.
Winston most recently made his mark in the local high school coaching scene, but also played a role in Panther basketball of the past. Fans will remember Winston, who played for Milwaukee his final year in college and was part of the 2002-2003 team that helped the school claim its first NCAA Tournament berth.
Winston has most recently been the boys basketball head coach at Brown Deer High School, a position he has held since July of 2019. He has also served as the player development coach with Nike Phenom University since March of 2018.
Prior to that, he made his name at Kenosha St. Joseph High School, where he revived a program that had won 12 games in the three seasons before his arrival. He won 95 contests in eight seasons and helped the Lancers finish among the top four of the Metro Classic on five different occasions. That tenure was highlighted by the 2012-13 team that went 18-7 and won a regional title in Division 4.
Winston is also well-known for his basketball playing ability in the Milwaukee area, having been named Wisconsin’s “Mr. Basketball” in his playing days back at Milwaukee Vincent High School. He led Vincent to three consecutive state titles (1996/1997/1998), going an amazing 92-11 in that span. Ranked as the fourth-best point guard and 42nd-best player in the country, Winston spent his first three seasons at Colorado. A three-year starter with the Buffaloes, he played in 95 straight games and set a new CU single-season assist record with 194 in 2000-2001. In three years, he scored 285 points and recorded 440 assists and 179 steals.
He capped his collegiate career by returning home to play for the Panthers and head coach Bruce Pearl in 2002-03. Winston helped the Panthers to a 24-8 overall record that season and the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
