“The Circle” and what it means to be in it is framed for all to read on a wall on Coach Corey Thompson’s office at the Gaines Center at Winston-Salem State. The framed short story is from Thompson’s former coach at WSSU, the late Rick Duckett, and it's about how to build a team, how to build relationships and most of all, how to be a winner without sacrificing your principles. What it means to be in "The Circle" is a coaching philosophy that Corey Thompson of WSSU learned from Rick Duckett.
Thompson played for the late Duckett in the late 1990s and early 2000's at WSSU. Thompson, who is a head coach for the first time at the college level, is excited about this coming season. While he only has four players returning from last year’s team that was coached by Cleo Hill Jr.
, he loves how the other 10 players on the roster have embraced “The Circle.” Thompson has a tough act to follow because Hill set up the Rams as one of the most consistent programs in the CIAA averaging close to 20 wins in his five seasons with two conference championships. Hill left late in the coaching calendar to Division I Maryland Eastern Shore, so Thompson, the first alum to coach the men's program at WSSU, had to go into overdrive to recruit.
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“The biggest thing for us was trying to find players who we had some familiarity with,” Thompson said about plucking most of his roster from the transfer portal. “We wanted guys who can help us right away who were also.