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.
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Update on Tony Woods

Despite many reports to the contrary, Tony Woods to Louisville is not yet a done deal.

Jeff Borzello was the first to post it, and ESPN's Andy Katz followed up yesterday with even more details. Apparently, Woods and Rick Pitino have mutual interest, but Pitino is in the process of determining whether or not Woods is worth the risk.

And the risk is significant. As if Pitino didn't already do enough damage to his credibility this summer with the Karen Sypher fiasco, he also will be playing this season incredibly shorthanded -- a number of recruits couldn't get eligible to play, while he lost quite a bit of talent to the NBA and graduation. It doesn't take a genius to point out that this move stinks of desperation on Pitino's part.

Wile Woods' AAU coach has been backing him from the instant this news leaked out, Katz dug up some disturbing details. For starters, Woods didn't necessarily leave Wake on his own accord. He was dismissed by the School's Student Ethics and Honor committee asking for a release only after that ruling came down. A big part of the reason he was forced to leave was that this was apparently not the first time there has been an issue between Woods and his girlfriend.

It still seems very likely Woods ends up playing for Pitino -- the Cardinals are far from the only team showing interest -- but it is not yet a done deal.

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Tony Woods is headed to Louisville

Last week, news broke that Tony Woods, who left the Wake Forest program after assaulting his girlfriend and the mother of his one year old child, was visiting Louisville this weekend.

Apparently he liked the trip.

Multiple outlets (we saw it at Zagsblog first) are reporting that Woods has committed to Louisville and will be transferring to the school at the end of this semester. Woods can't sign a letter of intent and he is certainly free to visit anywhere else he pleases, but as of now it appears that Rick Pitino has landed the 6'11" center.

Since Woods cannot transfer until the end of this semester, he will have to sit out a full year starting in December of 2010, meaning that he will be eligible to play for the Cardinals after the first semester of the 2011-2012 season and will have a full season of eligibility in 2012-2013.

There was quite a bit of interest in Woods once he decided to leave Wake, which Mike DeCourcey believes is a result of the lack of quality big men in the class of 2011.

It will be interesting to see the reaction that this decision draws from the media around the country. Woods is far from the only player that has had the slate essentially wiped clean this offseason after being accused of a serious crime. Tre'Von Willis, LaceDarius Dunn, the two players from Michigan State. The list goes on.

Eventually, someone is going to rail on these schools for letting these kids off without much in the way of repercussions. (It won't be me, at least not while I'm trying to roll out these previews.)
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Tony Woods set to visit Louisville

Once the news became official that Tony Woods was leaving Wake Forest, the obvious question became where he would end up. A guilty plea to assault or not, Woods is a 6'11" center with enough potential that he was once considered a top 20 recruit.

Plenty of coaches will be willing to open their doors to provide a talent like that a second chance.

According to Jeff Goodman, Louisville will be getting the first crack at landing Woods, while a number of other big time programs have inquired about him:

Woods' former summer coach, Norman Parker of the Georgia Stars, told FOXSports.com that Woods is expected to take an official visit to Rick Pitino's program.

"He'll go this weekend," Parker said.

Parker also said that Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgetown, Auburn, Xavier, Cincinnati – among others – have reached out to both him and Woods' mother in an attempt to recruit the junior.

"I've literally gotten about 30 calls about him," Parker said. "I've been bombarded. He's a good kid who made a mistake and is sorry. He knows he had a good opportunity with Coach (Jeff) Bzdelik and made a mistake."

There is also, apparently, a slight chance that Woods would be allowed back at Wake Forest, although Parker told Goodman that is unlikely.

Since it is currently the middle of the fall semester, Woods will not be allowed to enroll anywhere until the spring semester, meaning he will not be eligible to play until December of 2011 should he end up at a different school.

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Tony Woods and Wake Forest say their goodbyes

Tony Woods was slated to start for the Demon Deacons at center, but after assaulting his girlfriend (who ended up with a fractured spine) and subsequently pleading guilty to one misdemeanor charge, Woods and Wake Forest have parted ways.

Woods requested and was granted his release from the Demon Deacon's program on Monday, which seems to be a polite way of saying that Wake Forest gave Woods the boot.

"We wish Tony the best of luck in all his future endeavors," head coach Jeff Bzdelik said in a statement. "Tony and I met a number of times and we felt this was the best course of action for him."

Tony Woods has played his last game at Wake Forest.
(photo credit: BIAH)

Wake Forest didn't really have a choice here. Woods pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend to the point that she fractured her spine in front of their eight month old child and both of their mothers. The move is all the more commendable considering how valuable Woods would have been to Wake this season. Woods is a 6'11", 255 lb center and a former top 20 recruit that would have anchored the front line.

Bzdelik will have three heralded freshmen and two (unproven) juniors -- Ty Walker and Georgetown transfer Nikita Mescheriakov -- at his disposal, meaning there is still talent in his front court.

There are a few interesting plot lines to come out of this mess:

• UNLV's Tre'Von Willis was suspended, essentially, for one game for allegedly choking a female acquaintance. LaceDarius Dunn has been indefinitely suspended from Baylor -- including from classes -- and is still awaiting a punishment to be handed down. Will Baylor drop the hammer on Dunn, whose girlfriend is claiming his assault was accidental, or will they follow the lead of UNLV, who took Willis' statement at face value?


• What schools are going to pursue Woods for a transfer? Like I said, he is a 6'11" center that has two years of ACC experience and was a top 20 recruit coming out of high school. Those don't grow on trees.


• Wake Forest's vaunted class of 2008 turned out to be a disappointment. Obviously, Woods has left the school after two underwhelming seasons. Ty Walker, another top 20 recruit, has played in a grand total of 19 games in two seasons in Winston-Salem. As good as Al-Farouq Aminu was, the two teams he played on both collapsed down the stretch. He won one game in postseason play in those two years.
  

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Tony Woods gets off easy in court

The legal results are in for Tony Woods.

Less than a month after Woods assaulted his girlfriend, which resulted in a fracture in the young woman's spine, the 6'11" junior appeared in court. Woods, who is scheduled to be Wake Forest's starting center, plead guilty to one misdemeanor (he was charged with three, carrying the potential for 20 years in prison) and received a 60 day suspended sentence, he must perform 100 hours of community service, and is required to go through an anger management course.

Tony Woods got off easy legally. What will Wake Forest do?
(photo credit: Washington Post)

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Woods and [Courtney Lorel] Barbour were in the bedroom with their 8-month-old son when they started arguing, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said. The mothers of Barbour and Woods were both in the living room at the time. Woods picked up his son and began to leave. Barbour tried to get the child back but Woods turned around and kicked her and pushed her away, Martin said. Barbour's mother told authorities that Woods had drawn back his fist as if to hit her again but didn't, Martin said.

The punishment seems light, but there may be a couple of explanations. Barbour told Martin that her injury could have occurred when she fell out of a bed a few days before the incident. She also told prosecutors that she didn't want Woods punished, she wanted him to be forced to get counseling and anger management. That could explain why the punishment Woods received was so light.

That said, it will be interesting to see what Jeff Bzdelik does to punish Woods. Tre'Von Willis went through a similar situation this summer, and he received a similar punishment. Willis was given, essentially, a one game suspension by head coach Lon Kruger, a punishment that was widely criticized.

What will Bzdelik do?

Fracturing a woman's spine is a serious, especially when done in the presence of the victim's mother, the attacker's mother, and the child of the victim and the attacker. But Woods is also the only big man on the Demon Deacon's roster with any kind of experience.

No doubt he is a very important piece to Wake's puzzle.

But teaching a lesson here may be even more important.
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Wake Forest's Tony Woods arrested after fracturing a woman's spine

Tony Woods is slated to be the starting center for what could be a very good Wake Forest team.

But the 6'11", 20 year old junior may be facing a change of plans pending the outcome of an investigation into his Labor Day activities.

According to a report from WXII, Woods has been arrested:

[He] was arrested and charged Monday with three crimes: assault while inflicting serious injury, assault on a female and assault while inflicting serious injuries with a minor present.

Arrest warrants show that Woods kicked and pushed a woman who he lives with in the presence of his one-year-old child. The woman suffered a fractured spine, the warrant says.

According to the warrant, Woods hadn't been drinking when the incident happened.

Tony Woods was arrested over Labor Day weekend.
(photo credit: Eastbay)

This is bad news for all involved. For starters, Woods -- if found guilty -- should be punished harshly by Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelikz. Not only did he hit a woman, he hit a woman hard enough to fracture her spine, and he did it in front of his one-year old child. That is, in a word, inexcusable.

If Woods does miss some time, it is a huge blow to the Demon Deacons team. Over the last two years, Wake has lost much of their front court. Woods, who has played fairly limited minutes in his career, is by far the most experienced front court player on the roster. Ty Walker is a junior that has barely seen the court, while Carson Desrosiers, Travis McKie, and Melvin Tabb are freshmen.

"We are still in the process of gathering facts regarding this incident," Wake Forest Athletics Director Ron Wellman said. "We will cooperate with the campus and local authorities as they investigate this incident. Wake Forest University and the athletics department have policies and protocols regarding these matters and those will be followed."

Jeff Bzdelik is currently out of town recruiting.

Woods isn't even the most well-known college hoopster that has been charged with domestic violence this offseason. UNLV's Tre'Von Willis is facing similar charges stemming from an incident back in June.

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