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Derrick Woods ready for fresh start at UDel

08/23/2016, 6:15pm EDT
By Jeff Griffith

Derrick Woods (above) will have three years of eligibility remaining after he sits out the 2016-17 season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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When Derrick Woods moves into the University of Delaware on August 25 to start his sophomore year, it will be with a much different feel for the 2015 Pennsbury product than his move-in at St. Bonaventure just twelve short months ago.

For starters, his first day at the Newark, Del. campus falls directly on his birthday, which he shares with junior guard Anthony “Champ” Mosley.

More importantly, as he recently transferred out of St. Bonaventure and into the Blue Hens’ program this offseason, the year ahead brings a wealth of new opportunity, in a program reborn with new players and coaches.

Following last season's dismal campaign of 7-23 (2-16 CAA), UD fired head coach Monte Ross, and lost two key scholarship players--Kory Holden (South Carolina), Maurice Jeffers (Boston College)--to transfer. 

Although Woods will have to sit for the first year of that rebuilding process due to NCAA transfer rules, he hopes to begin making his mark on the program as soon as possible.

“I talked to the staff, they want me to come there and be an immediate impact, whatever I can do, score, defense, all of that,” he said. “I told them I can do that for them, I know the record wasn’t that good last year and I’m not so sure how it’ll be this year coming up, but I trust their recruiting process and that they’re bringing in guys around me who can help us win and go to the NCAA tournament.”

The reasoning behind leaving the Bonnies was pretty simple; as most transfers tend to echo, Woods didn’t feel the program was the type of fit he was expecting when he committed to play at the central New York school.

“It was pretty much my relationship with the coaching staff and the players, I didn’t have the best relationship with them,” he added. “I felt as though I wasn’t being used to my ability...I just felt like I was told one thing and they had me do a different thing, it just wasn’t what I expected. It’s a great team, but it just wasn’t a good fit for me.”

Upon Woods’ leaving St. Bonaventure to pursue other options back in June, four schools quickly became the top suitors for the 6-foot-9 forward, including Delaware, Ball State, Nevada, and Seton Hall.

Delaware’s closeness to home and the opportunity to make a major impact on a currently struggling program were the leading factors in Woods’ decision to join the Blue Hens.

Also aiding UD’s advantage in adding Woods to their roster was assistant coach Torrian Jones. The former Pennsbury High School assistant has known Woods for most of his life, and that familiarity in both a personal and athletic sense certainly encouraged Woods’ commitment to Delaware.

Jones' cousin, Cameron Jones, was a teammate of Woods' at Pennsbury, where Cameron's father, Gary Jones, is also an assistant.

“(Torrian Jones) was one of the coaches on my team, a family friend, I kind of grew up with him,” Woods said. “He knows where I’ll be, what I can do, he knows what I want to do in the future and such.”

While Woods time on the court will have to wait until the 2017-18 season, the year ahead will still be a busy one for the rising sophomore, who looks to use it to work on himself as a player and a student, whilst acclimating himself to the UD campus.

During that year off, he'll also be able to glean from the example of the Blue Hens' upperclassmen backcourt, which includes the likes of senior Barnett Harris, junior Skye Johnson, and redshirt sophomore Eric Carter.

“I want to work on my game and get ahead in my grades and stuff so I can try to graduate earlier than I would have, but other than pretty much just working out with the team, getting in the gym all the time, working on my game, just everything so I can try to become a versatile player.”

And despite the question marks that still remain throughout his new team, Woods is confident in the abilities of Inglesby, the coaching staff, and himself and his teammates, to eventually revitalize the Blue Hens over the next few years.

“My fear is that we aren’t going to be ready, but I have a year off and I trust their recruiting process, but we have pretty good players,” he said. “I mean, we definitely need some more to help us if we want to go further, but I feel as though I can help that team a lot..the coaches are new, I’m new, the whole program is new. I just have to trust in the coaches, I’m looking forward to playing with them and helping them achieve their goal.”

 

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