Woods Going Pro UM signee Qyntel Woods decides to go pro By Gary Parrish March 23, 2002 Saying it's an opportunity to take care of his family that he simply can't pass up, University of Memphis signee Qyntel Woods told The Commercial Appeal on Saturday morning that he will make himself eligible for the NBA Draft. ``It's for my family,'' said Woods, a former Carver High standout who recently ended his junior college career at Northeast Mississippi Community College. ``I have to cash in while I'm a hot commodity.'' A 6-9 guard with skills some compare to Orlando Magic star Tracy McGrady, Woods's stock has risen over the past two months and most "mock drafts" have him listed among the top three picks. He said he will not return to Booneville, Miss., to finish school and that his next move will be to sign with an agent. Woods's announcement leaves the Tigers with just two signees for next year, and it is unclear how it will affect the recruiting efforts of coach John Calipari. Wow...if Wagner and Stoudamire come out too, that means Memphis had a chance for 3 potential top 10 picks, and was left with none of them. Now we can virtually guarantee that the first 3 picks in the draft will be Woods, Wagner, and Ming. The order though, is TBD.
That is fine by me. That means that, assuming the Rockets have the 5th pick (which is not likely, I know), then Drew Gooden would only have to slip one pick to fall right into the Rockets lap. That is just fine and dandy by me.
If we're at #5, Wagner or Gooden would have TREMENDOUS trade value. It looks like the upper echelon cut-off will be five...Williams, Woods, Wagner, Gooden, Ming. Maybe another foreigner (Tskitishvili, an 18-year-old 6'11'' SF/PF, allegedly Gasol II), or if Dunleavy comes out, it will extend it. Amare Stoudamire may shoot up the boards as well. The 2nd tier looks solid with Jared Jeffries, maybe Stoudamire, Caron Butler, Borchardt, Marcus, Rush, Wilcox, and Haislip.
I think he was hurt much of last year, if not the entire season. He got some PT as a freshman, but not a lot behind the Collins twins. This is basically the only year in which he has contributed something worthwhile. I was really surprised how well he played this season, because as a freshman he didn't really stand out to me.
I like Gooden, but he's basically in the Eddie Griffin mold (except with less overall talent) and we don't need another 4. We need a 3 with flexibility (Woods or Dunleavy) or a 5 with offense (Ming). If we can't get one of those 3 guys then we need to trade out of the draft all together. Other guys can fit in well, but what we could get in a trade of Wagner or Gooden would better help our team (unless we go with the permanent 3 gaurd and put Wagner in there....lol).
