Tony Woods should get a second chance, Oregon is in a position to give it

Disgraced Wake Forest center Tony Woods has finally decided where he will continue his collegiate career, opting to transfer to Oregon where he will be eligible immediately with two years of eligibility remaining.

Its a risky move for Oregon coach Dana Altman.

Woods is a super talent, a former five-star recruit who, at 6'11" and 250 lb, should help fill the void left by Joevan Coetran's graduation. But Woods is also three years removed from that five-star ranking. And in those three years, he amassed career high averages of just 4.6 ppg and 3.2 rpg while at Wake Forest.

But he didn't play basketball last year. He left the school after being found guilty of just one charge in a domestic violence incident -- in front of his one year old kid -- that left his girlfriend with a fractured spine.

Its a worthwhile risk for Altman, however.


For starters, read this profile of Woods by Yahoo!'s Jason King. In it, both Courtney Barbour (Woods' girlfriend) and her mother defend him, as does his former coach Dino Gaudio. They say that what was reported in the media was exaggerated, that it was much worse than what truly occurred. If the victim and her mother are both willing to go on record defending Woods, saying that the incident was a momentary lapse of judgement that was blown out of proportion, maybe it actually was.

I'm a firm believer in second chances. Everyone makes mistakes. In no way am I condoning what happened between Woods and his girlfriend -- even his girlfriend's story is true -- but I also don't believe that a 20 year old should be judged based off of one emotional incident, particularly when it involves his mother, his girlfriend, and his child.

And while it may be a risk giving this kid another chance, its a risk that Altman is in a position to take.

The other schools that Woods was involved with were the likes of Louisville and Kentucky and Texas. Those are programs that are already established. The damage of bringing in a kid with Woods' reputation and the risk of having him involved in another incident outweighs the chance that a former five-star recruit can shed the label of career back-up.

Those three programs can, more or less, get the recruits that they target. And those recruits are probably going to be better than Woods.

Oregon, however, is not in a position to get any recruit that they want.

But they are in a position where adding a big body can make a significant difference on their season. The Ducks have a very good class of newcomers coming into the program, headlined by freshman Jabari Parker and senior-transfer Olu Ashaolu. They also have some talent returning -- headlined by EJ Singler, Johnathon Loyd, and Garrett Sim -- from a team that significantly outperformed expectations last season.

Woods fills a hole in the middle.

And if he can regain the form that made him a top 25 recruit, he'll be a superstar in the Pac-12.

And if not, it was a risk that Oregon is in a position to be able to take.