2008 Woodie Awards
Woodfork humble despite successes
Brad Hurt
Issue date: 2/13/07 Section: Sports
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Woodfork, a 6-9 St. Louis native, reached the milestone early in the Skyhawks' 82-74 loss at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 1.
While achieving such a lofty goal might lead some to brag or hold their noses in the air, Woodfork recognizes that he is joining an elite club of Skyhawk athletes.
"I think it's a great honor to score 1,000 points on this level with all of the great athletes. Joining the 1,000 point club here at UTM is not something that happens around here often. I'm just happy that I'm going to leave my mark on the university," he says.
Woodfork is in his fourth year with the Skyhawks as a fifth-year senior after spending a year at Christian Faith Prep School in North Carolina. During his high school playing days, Woodfork starred at Riverview Gardens in St. Louis where he helped lead the team to a conference championship.
Although he established himself as a solid offensive contributor early in his Skyhawk career, Woodfork now bears the extra weight of holding a leadership position on the team. As an experienced post player, he accumulated impressive statistics in his first two years with the Skyhawks.
Woodfork started 24 games as a sophomore, finishing second on the team in rebounding and field goal percentage. As a junior he led the team in field goal percentage by shooting a blistering 55 percent from the floor.
Just like last year, when former Skyhawk guard and Louisville native Jeremy Kelly wowed his hometown fans in the season opener, Woodfork got the chance to play in front of familiar faces earlier this season. The Skyhawks traveled to St. Louis University to face the Billikens of the Atlantic Ten Conference on Dec. 16, falling 77-53.
Woodfork handled the pressure of playing in a familiar environment well.
"It was an honor to go back home and play. My family was really happy to get a chance to see me play basketball but I wish the outcome would have been different," he says.
Once his playing days come to an end, Woodfork would like to continue to cater to his love for the game of basketball and help a future generation at the same time.
"I want to continue playing basketball for as long as I can then come back to school and get my master's and become a college coach," he says.
In order to prepare himself for his future occupation, Woodfork has soaked up as much of Coach Bret Campbell's teaching as possible.
"I would have an up-tempo style, scoring a lot of points and forcing turnovers. He has influenced me a lot," he says.
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