Saturday afternoon’s competition was not just the resumption of the South Carolina season. Florida A&M’s reception, a 78-71 victory for Carolina, was Seventh woods‘first game played with Gamecocks in his hometown.
The Columbia native, who starred at Hammond School before leaving to play in North Carolina, has been waiting to take the field at Colonial Life Arena since announcing his move to South Carolina in the summer of 2019.
“It meant a lot to me to finally be able to get ready and have my first CLA game,” said Woods after the game. “I had my parents out there, my brother and my girlfriend. It was good to play in front of them. They haven’t seen my play since 2018. It’s great to be there in front of them. “
With the Gamecocks guard heavy due to only nine active players, Woods started out as a point guard. He made an impact, with eight points, four rebounds, four assists, two turns, a steal and a block in 27 minutes played. He had 4 of 9 field shots, with three mid-range jumps in the second half.
“The seventh offers winning moves”, head coach Frank Martin said. “Everyone treated him a lot when he was a child because of his ability to dive high. They are there when you can have them, but that is not what makes people good players. He makes winning moves. I was with him about reaching a range of 10 to 12 feet and showing up and making those medium range shots. He’s very good at it and you saw it today. “
.@ Kingsev_803 in Garnet and Black ?? #Gamecocks???? // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/12JNvQooCa
– Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) January 2, 2021
Woods was part of a great sequence of moves in a two-point game with less than four minutes to go. With Carolina leading 71-69, he turned the ball in the middle of the court. Teammate AJ Lawson tracked Florida player A&M and blocked the attempted lay-up. Woods grabbed the defensive rebound and gave Jermaine Couisnard a passing pass for a three-pointer that put the Gamecocks in five. They never led by less than four points in the rest of the regulation.
“He was nervous,” said Martin of Woods’ high school debut in his hometown. “He has a great spirit and is a great young man. I am very happy that he is playing for us ”.