By Paul Gaeta
Sports Editor
He came in with the billing of a McDonald's High School All-American, a player who would lead the Demon Deacon basketball team into the year 2000. Two years later, sophomore Loren Woods will never put on a Demon Deacon uniform again.
Woods, a 7-foot-1 center from St. Louis, Mo. announced his decision to transfer in a press conference April 16.
He will leave after taking exams at the end of the spring semester.
While Woods has not announced the school to which he will transfer, Head Coach Dave Odom said Seton Hall, a school which he visited last week, and the University of Arizona are high on his list. Woods will have to sit out a full year before joining any team's active roster.
"I think the deciding factor was that we both felt too much water had gone over the dam," Odom said. "When you look at the percentages of starting over versus repairing an old wound, the percentages swung heavily on the side of starting over."
A start over seems like the perfect medicine to a problem Woods has endured since the beginning of his rookie year.
He entered the university a prized talent, a force in the paint who displayed strong physical talent. Some touted him as the next Tim Duncan for the Deacs.
When Woods entered college, however, his basketball game never started on the right track. He averaged 6.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game his freshman year as he played in Duncan's shadow.
In his sophomore year, his numbers increased slightly to 8.8 and 7.1 points and rebounds per game, respectively.
But perhaps the most significant news in this past season was the decision of Odom to suspend him for seven games for reasons related to taking basketball too seriously.
The day before the suspension, Woods had been involved in an alleged physical altercation with junior Joseph Amonett in a team practice. Odom, however, denied that Woods' suspension was a result of the incident.
Woods said, "There are a lot of factors in the decision to leave."
"Certainly many people might think that the separation from the team was the reason I am leaving. It's fair to say the separation was one factor, but certainly not all the factors.
"And I think that most of the other factors --as I and Coach Odom have addressed in the past behind closed doors --will stay there behind closed doors."
Woods did say the most difficult will be leaving his friends. "It's like I'm leaving home again," Woods said.
The loss of Woods leaves a significant hole in an already weak Demon Deacon front court. Freshmen Rafael Vidaurreta and Josh Shoemaker are the only big men that saw good playing time this past season.
The recent signing of 6-foot-9 recruit Darius Songaila should help fill that void.
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Carlton Ward/Old Gold and Black