City of Basketball Love

Konner Metz (@konner_metz)
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Jeff Woodward is just as fun to watch as he is effective on the hardwood. From his animated reactions, to his always-swiveling head on defense, to his sneakily dangerous arsenal of left-handed finishes, the Colgate junior is a constant source of entertainment, looming large at 6-foot-11, 270 pounds.

Woodward, a former star at Methacton, always provides a burst of energy for the Raiders when he checks into the game. He is active on the glass, always heard calling out directions on defense and sports a mixed bag of reactions – eye rolls when the opposition scores, and often a beaming smile when Colgate converts.

“I’ve never been shy about using my voice, not just on the court but on the bench as well,” Woodward said Sunday after a win over Hartford on Sunday at the Palestra, part of the inaugural Cathedral Classic. “Especially my freshman year, the team really responded positively to that.”

“He’s just very uplifting and helps all our guys get fired up for a game,” Colgate senior Keegan Records said. “(Whether) we’re down 10, up 10, he just brings energy all around.”

That energy was seen this weekend at the Cathedral Classic, where Colgate played three games, round-robin style, against Delaware, Hartford and host Penn.

It was a return to Philadelphia for the Delaware Valley native, a trip that coincided with his 21st birthday on Sunday. Woodward showed out on his big day, with 12 points (5-5 FG), four assists and two blocks, and plenty of smiles post-game after Colgate’s 92-58 win.

“I’ve never played down here at the Palestra, so obviously, it’s been a really cool experience these past couple of days,” he said.

Woodward is averaging around 19 minutes per game this season, but in that time, he is constantly talking to his teammates, never seen expressionless. His on-floor communication and animation is something spreading to the rest of the team.

“Now it’s kind of just a habit, and we’re trying to get everyone else on board with it as well,” said Woodward. “I embraced it, and [I’m] trying to get all my teammates to embrace it as well.”

The bright lights don’t diminish Woodward’s personality, either. 

Both his first and second years with the Raiders culminated in NCAA tournament appearances, which meant far more eyes on Colgate than their typical outing. As a freshman, Woodward went viral for a ‘too-small’ celebration after a post bucket against No. 3 Arkansas in the tourney.

“It’s awesome being able to express yourself on a stage where you do have hundreds of thousands of people watching,” he said.

At the high school stage, Methacton won the District 1 6A title in Woodward’s senior year, a campaign in which he averaged 13.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest. But in college, he’s had to adjust to not being a first or second option – a process he said didn’t come with too much difficulty.

All of his three years, he’s been paired up front with the 6-10, 250-pound Records, the two of them forming one of the most imposing frontcourt duos in the Patriot League, and against most of their mid-major opponents. However, for most of those three years, Records has been the de facto starter and Woodward his backup, the former playing around four-to-six more minutes per game over the last few seasons.

During his debut year at Colgate, Woodward received Patriot League All-Rookie honors, averaging 8.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.9 apg in 16.1 minutes per contest in a 15-game, conference-only schedule. As a sophomore, playing a full 35-game slate, he averaged 6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 2.8 apg.

Records, a year older and a little more mobile, averaged 9.9 ppg and 6.2 rpg last year, and is putting up 11.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg through the Raiders’ first nine this year. With the two of them mostly splitting minutes at the ‘5’ spot, it means the Raiders have a significant presence in the middle all game long, a major reason they’re a top-100 team on KenPom and the favorites to repeat as Patriot League champs once again.
“As far as being a junior and being a ‘reserve,’ I don’t have any issue with that, there’s nothing that’s bothered me about that,” Woodward said. “I don’t care if I play 35 minutes or two minutes, I just want to win.”

“The drop-off aspect, there is none,” Records said. “I think that’s something that helps our team a lot — one of us comes out, another one goes in.”

Woodward started alongside Records in each of the Raiders’ first four games, but since, Colgate coach Matt Langel has gone back to playing his two bigs separately, for the most part. Woodward is averaging 5.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season, but 8.4 ppg and 5.8 rpg over his last five off the bench, including a pair of double-digit scoring outings this weekend at the Palestra.

When Records (14) and Woodward are on the court together, the Raiders have one of the biggest frontcourts around. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Langel knows the pace of the game makes it advantageous to have both bigs play with separate units, so they can get proper breathers and avoid any drop-off when one substitutes in for the other. Still, he is toying some with putting Records and Woodward on the floor simultaneously, including during the late going of Sunday’s blowout.

“It gives you the two largest people in the game, on the court, at the same time,” Langel said. “I think when we did it today, we were able to really attack the paint and get the ball inside and close to the basket.
“It’s not conventional, Matt Painter couldn’t do it at Purdue, but we’re going to do what’s best for the team,” he added. “There’s a chance, if they’re both playing well and guarding the opposition, to have them both out, and that’s certainly what we’ll do.”

No matter the rotation, Woodward and Records are both key pieces of a Colgate team looking to reach a third consecutive NCAA tournament in the Patriot League. 

Woodward recognizes the road back to the Patriot League championship, the only way to March Madness for a team from the one-bid league, involves a game-by-game approach and is “process-driven,” an outlook Langel has instituted.

“We don’t want to be worried about like, ‘oh if we don’t win this game, that won’t put us in a good position to get a high seed in the NCAA tournament,’” Woodward said. “That’s so far away and we have so much growth we need to have happen before that’s even a remote idea.”

The Raiders headed back to Hamilton, N.Y. after Sunday’s win, a couple wins in hand, some things to work on. Woodward was sly and non-committal about whether he might go out to celebrate, saying there are indeed a few good bars around Colgate’s campus.

“Not that I’ve ever been to any of them,” he added quickly.

Might he try one that night? 

“Potentially,” he laughed. “Potentially.”