Kam Woods makes NC State debut after NCAA transfer waiver court ruling
After he missed the first nine games while waiting on a two-time transfer waiver — which was denied in late-November — NC State guard Kam Woods took the floor against No. 12 Tennessee for his Wolfpack debut on Saturday night.
Woods, who has been on the bench for every game this season and has practiced with the squad, was able to play thanks to a court ruling in West Virginia, which overturned the NCAA’s transfer waiver process for 14 days. That was later extended to the end of spring collegiate sports in an agreement between the NCAA and seven attorney generals, including North Carolina’s Josh Stein.
The North Carolina A&T transfer scored 9 points and logged four rebounds in 18 minutes during his Wolfpack debut, a 79-70 loss to the Volunteers in San Antonio.
Woods knocked down his first field goal attempt, a 3-pointer, which appeared to foreshadow his night a little bit. He went 2-for-5 from the field in the defeat, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
“I was happy with Kam,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said on the postgame radio broadcast. “I was happy that he was able to get on the floor. I thought he did some good things. … I thought Kam helped us tonight.”
Woods was also 3-of-4 from the free throw line with a pair of personal fouls and two turnovers.
The guard said his 3-pointer before the end of halftime added confidence, but he said he tried to stay as prepared as possible during his time as just a practice player for the first set of games.
“I’ve been preparing in practice,” Woods said. “I’ve practicing the whole time, so I was just ready for the moment, ready for the stage. I’m just taking it slow and learning.”
Woods was the transfer that impressed NC State graduate forward DJ Burns the most this preseason of the seven that arrived in Raleigh.
“Kam Woods is a dog,” Burns said at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte. “I really hope he gets cleared to play. I’m not gonna lie, that’s going to be very key for us. I don’t see too many people stopping him when he’s going full speed.”
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The guard showed his speed against the Volunteers, but could not get his layups to fall on the neutral floor. He did, however, show off his elite 3-point stroke, which has followed him wherever he has played at the collegiate level.
Woods started his collegiate career at Troy, where he averaged 10.3 points and 2.9 rebounds during his freshman year. From there, he spent a season at Northwest Florida State Junior college, where he averaged 11 points to help the Raiders to the NJCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship.
The sharp-shooter then transferred to North Carolina A&T for his sophomore season, and he averaged 17.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in his lone campaign with the Aggies. While he was there, Woods led the Aggies with a team-high 83 made 3-pointers. He was fourth in the CAA in scoring, fifth in 3-pointers per game, fifth in minutes played and sixth in 3-point percentage.
After his breakout season in Greensboro, where he earned second team All-CAA honors, Woods went back to the transfer portal and ended up at NC State.
While Woods knew there was a possibility his waiver was not going to go through on the first attempt, he still arrived in Raleigh with the focus of making the most of this season. Now, he is able to play the rest of the season, and he embraced the challenge of meshing with his teammates in a game on the court.
“It was hard, but it’s nothing that I don’t wish for,” Woods said. “I wished and prayed to be in this position, so I wouldn’t say it was that hard. It’s something that I wanted.”
