Mean Green Sign Keith Wooden

[UNTLifer]

Mean Green Basketball Signs Keith Wooden

Courtesy: University of North Texas

Release: 08/24/2005

Courtesy: Arizona State University

DENTON (8/24/05) -- North Texas head men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones has announced that the Mean Green has issued its final scholarship of the season as it signed Lawrence, Kansas, native and Arizona State transfer Keith Wooden.

Out of Free State High School, Wooden originally signed with Arizona State as one of the top 100 national high school players according to several publications and websites, including Basketball Times, Athlon’s, CBS Sportsline and HoopScoop. The 6-9, 245-pound forward will have to sit out the 2005-06 season due to NCAA transferring rules, but will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Mean Green.

"We are excited about the addition of Keith to our basketball program," said Jones. "This will give us a big boost in our recruiting efforts for next season and make our practices more competitive this year."

Wooden, one of 19 freshman named "All-Midwest" by Street & Smith’s in its 2003-04 preseason issue and named by Clark Francis as the No. 29 power forward in Basketball Times the same year, was expected to make and immediate impact with the Sun Devils and did just that. He actually started his first ever collegiate game and eight more as a freshman. The tall and athletic forward averaged 3.3 points with a .540 shooting percentage (34-63), but averaged 9.5 points and 20 minutes in a four-game stretch in late January of 2004. For the entire season, he played in 24 games and averaged 9.4 minutes per outing. Among his top games as a freshman were a 12-point, seven-board outing against Oregon State and a season-high 13 points against USC.

As a sophomore, Wooden saw limited action but still contributed with 7.9 minutes of playing time in his appearances. He scored a season-high eight points against Jackson State and registered points in all but two games that he played.

The versatile Wooden, who can play forward or center, had an outstanding high school career that saw him earn four varsity letters and represent Free State High School as the basketball team captain for two years. He was a two-time all-state selection and an All-Sunflower league selection three years.

Wooden posted impressive high school numbers, averaging 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists as a senior and 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks his junior campaign. He set the school record for rebounds, blocks and points in a season and a career while he was with Free State High School.

For his efforts, Wooden finished his senior year ranked No. 54 by Prep Stars in the March issue of Basketball Times. He was also ranked No. 89 in the final CBS SportsLine recruiting rankings, No. 92 in Athlons’s top-100 college freshman and among the top 50 high school players by HoopScoop. Wooden was a top-100 pick for the McDonald’s All-American game as well.

[Harry]

here are some links and stories off of the web on him:

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=172&p=8&c=1&nid=219995

http://kansas.scout.com/2/77289.html

http://thesundevils.collegesports.com/spor...en_keith00.html

http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/sports.pa...cd27e.715,.html

Keith Wooden 6'9 BF (KC Nets)

He is a stud. When he plays aggressive, he is flat-out fun to watch. He is extremely quick and has the ball-handling skills of a guard. He also has a tremendous slashing game with the ability to finish. I've never seen a KU player over 6'5" during the Roy Williams era that can handle the ball as well as Keith. His passing in the high post was impressive as well. Also, Keith has grown since I saw him last summer. It was rumored that NIKE measured Keith recently at 6'9". The attractive thing about Keith is that he is only 16. As good as he is now, he still has tremendous upside. Once he gets more physically mature, I think it is reasonable to expect that he will be more explosive off the floor, and have the confidence to shoot from anywhere on the floor.

Keith will have another chance to prove himself at NIKE. If he gets high marks again this summer, that should eliminate the naysayers. If Roy has a shot at Keith, it would be a crime to let him get away. Players with his size, quickness, athletic ability and skills are rare. Its even rarer when you find it in your home town. Since Kansas is taking a class of five players and Kris Humphries is out of the picture, Keith would be an excellent pickup as a combo forward - especially if Roy can also land a legit post player like David Padgett.

WHAT TO KNOW: Potential is the word to describe Keith, as he is a tall and athletic forward who has the athletic ability and the body to become one of the Pac-10's top forwards down the road with the proper work ethic. Is expected to help Ike Diogu on the blocks and in the lane with a year of experience behind him. Averaged 9.5 points and 20 minutes in a four-game stretch in late January.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2003-2004): A nine-game starter who had 12 points and seven boards vs. Oregon State on Jan. 24...season-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 25 minutes at USC on Jan. 17 in first start since Nov. 24...23-of-37 (.622) from the field in his final 13 games...one of four Sun Devil freshmen to start a season opener in the past 11 years, joining classmate Tron Smith (2003-04), Ike Diogu (2002-03) and Donnell Knight (1999-2000)...six points in 17 minutes vs. San Diego on Dec. 29...six points vs. McNeese State on Dec. 22...six points and six boards in 17 minutes in vs. Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 22.

FREE STATE HIGH SCHOOL: Finished senior year ranked No. 54 by Prep Stars in the March issue of Basketball Times...also ranked No. 89 in the final CBS SportsLine recruiting rankings, while Bob Gibbons ranked him at No. 83...listed as No. 92 in Athlon's top-100 college freshman in this year's preseason issue...one of 19 freshmen named "All-Midwest" by Street & Smith's in its 2003-2004 preseason issue and Clark Francis had him as the No. 29 power forward in Basketball Times...a top-50 player by HoopScoop...earned four letters while competing in the Sunflower League and was captain of the team for two years...an all-state pick for two seasons and an All-Sunflower League selection for three years...a top-100 pick for the McDonald's All-American game...averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists in senior year, and set school records for rebounds, blocks and points in a season and career...posted 23 points and 22 rebounds in one game and had 31 points and 16 boards in another...averaged 18 points, 10 boards and three blocks in his junior season.

ETC: Born Sept. 29, 1985, in Wichita, Kan....likes to play chess...mother, Christy Lane, is a cosmetologist...has a younger sister, Elizabeth Lane.

Q & A With Keith Wooden

My favorite Pac-10 road trip is...Los Angeles.

My favorite Pac-10 restaurant is...Aunt Kizzy's.

My toughest Pac-10 road trip is...Washington.

The toughest adjustment to college basketball is...pace of the game.

What our team will need to improve from last year...being physical and rebounding.

The strongest player on the team is...Allen Morill.

In practice, I hate to play against...nobody.

The best part about this team will be...our love for the game.

One word to describe Coach Evans...Treal (true and real).

If I could have lunch with anyone, it would be...my mother.

The most interesting thing I did this summer was...lift weights.

Nobody knows how much I like to...play chess.

If I was drafting a basketball dream team, the three players I would pick first are...Shaq, Kobe and Dwayne Wade.

My favorite professional sports team is...Kansas City Chiefs.

If I wasn't in basketball, I would...play football.

If I could live anywhere, I would live in...all of them.

The biggest influence on my career was...my stepdad.

The game I am looking forward to the most this year is...all of them.

Favorite course in college...Justice 105.

My most disappointing loss was...all of them.

My favorite sports figures is...Kevin Garnett.

My favorite non-sports figure is...my mother.

My favorite restaurant is...Gates BBQ.

The best city I have been to is...Atlanta.

Free State's Wooden shows his stuff at Nike camp

By SHANDEL RICHARDSON - The Kansas City Star

Date: 07/15/01 22:15

INDIANAPOLIS -- Mike Davis and Perry Clark are chatting in the bleachers underneath the basket.

Not too far away are Nolan Richardson and Rick Pitino. A sun-burned John Calipari sits a few rows over. Leaning against the gym wall and talking on his cell phone is Steve Lavin, hair so slicked. Even Roy Williams is spotted in the last row of the bleachers, sporting a pink polo shirt.

What's a 15-year-old high school basketball player have to be nervous about? Everything, if you asked Lawrence Free State's Keith Wooden after he was given the opportunity to showcase his skills in front of these high-profile coaches last week at the Nike All-America Camp.

"It's kind of overwhelming because you see the coaches right there standing on the sidelines," said Wooden, who will be a junior this fall. "So, of course, I was nervous."

The camp was held July 6-10 on the downtown campus of Indiana University-Purdue University. Locals call this place the "Circle City," because of the auto racing, but for one week it could have been for the roundball action. Nearly 200 of the top high school players attended. All sessions were closed to the public, unless you were college coach (or NBA scout), family member, or carried a notepad and tape recorder.

How a player performs during the camp can determine if he is NBA lottery material, a Division I prospect, or someone whose only role at Allen Fieldhouse is chanting, "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk." Indiana license plates read, "The Crossroads of America" and that's exactly what it was for the campers.

"I'm not going to say that (the camp) can make or break a kid's career, but it can really help a young man through the recruiting process," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "There are just so many people here watching."

Summer groove

Wooden's participation in the Nike Camp is more proof that AAU basketball is becoming just as important as, if not more than, the high school season.

Wooden's name didn't exactly dominate the area high school headlines last season. He averaged just 12 points a game and was Free State's second-leading scorer. But Wooden, a 6-foot-8, 211-pound forward, is suddenly invited to one of the two high-profile high school basketball camps (the other being adidas).

The reason? AAU basketball. It earned Wooden a ticket to the Nike Camp.

"Summer is becoming more and more critical," said Eric Bossi of PrepStars.com. "It's where reputations are made and broken. Sometimes, a great summer can carry you through a bad year in high school."

Wooden's break came while playing in a tournament at Louisville. Nike consultant Eddie Ford attended, was impressed and invited Wooden to compete at the Nike Junior Jamboree in St. Louis last month. Only 100 were selected, with the top 15 making the Indianapolis camp.

"Really, without AAU I don't even think he would've made it," said L.J. Goolsby, Wooden's summer coach. "It's given him so much exposure."

Classroom first

Like every other camper, Wooden is ready to step on the court as soon as possible. Finally, he'll show the other players from New York, California and Illinois that they play basketball in Kansas, too. All the ribbing stops once the games begin.

"All they keep asking me about is the tornadoes (in Kansas)," Wooden said. "They don't think we play ball in Kansas. But I'm here to represent."

Wooden first had to represent in the classroom. Campers spent the first two days taking classes ranging from dining etiquette to dealing with reporters.

Not too exciting for Wooden in the middle of summer. He'd rather be executing a pick-and-roll than enduring some SAT tutoring course. Passages from Ernest Hemingway books and the definition of the word "vicariously" don't interest him now.

"When a teacher gives you a book that you don't want to read, you need to read it anyway," instructor Donnie Simpson says as she tries to reach the students.

But basketball is on their minds.

"I mean, it's good for us to do stuff like that because it prepares us for our SATs," Wooden said. "It was just boring, but I know it's going to help us in the long run. Right now, I just want to play."

Game time

After completing the courses, Wooden gets his wish. Game time.

Players walk in the gym and see the line of coaches, who weren't allowed inside until day three. Under NCAA rules, coaches can't talk with high school players during this period. Just to make sure, Nike representatives often escort players when off the court.

Even to the bathroom.

"When I went last year," former Leavenworth standout Wayne Simien said, "that was so weird. I'm trying to (use the restroom), and then there's this guy from Nike standing behind me."

Wooden enters the gym, glances at the life-size posters of Jason Kidd, Damon Stoudamire, and Vince Carter hanging from the ceiling. Then it takes about one minute for Wooden to realize this wasn't the Sunflower League.

The first trip down the floor Wooden is matched with Michael Thompson, a 6-10, 250-pound bruiser from Joliet, Ill., who has already orally committed to Duke.

Thompson catches the ball on the low block, pushes Wooden aside and goes up for a two-handed dunk. Only a Wooden foul prevents the "SportsCenter" highlight.

"It was a big shock," Wooden said. "That dude, well, he was just big. He was banging me down low."

Wooden's struggles didn't end there. After his team's practice that night, he decided to challenge the coach to a game of one-on-one. Only this coach was a smooth, 6-7 left-hander and projected lottery pick in next year's NBA draft -- Missouri standout Kareem Rush.

Rush won 10-0.

"He wanted to play me and I had to show him what's up," Rush said. "I can't take it easy on anybody because I hate to lose. But he looks pretty talented to me. Like all young kids, he still has a lot to work on."

Eventually, Wooden picked up his play enough to earn a No. 13 ranking among juniors from PrepStars.com. He also made Bob Gibbons' top 25 underclassmen list.

"This is something that I will always remember," Wooden said. "Next year when some of the guys that were here are playing on television, I can always say I played with them."

Or vice versa.

[ADLER]

Wichita State is currently going through spin control explaining how they lost Wooden.

Apparently, they were convinced he would be going there, but this summer the star player stopped returning calls from Wichita State coaches and had his Arizona State transcripts sent to a different college.

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