When you’re a member of the No. 1 team in the state’s biggest classification, every game is going to be a test.
When you’re a sophomore and you already are regarded as one of the state’s best players, everything you do gets examined and scrutinized.
The combination of those factors doesn’t faze Robert Woodard Jr. In fact, the Columbus High School sophomore welcomes the challenges because he wants to be the best, and he wants to help the school’s boys basketball team attain that status, too.
Woodard Jr. did his part last weekend to help Columbus reach that status with two strong performances at the Third-Annual Lighthouse Thanksgiving Classic in Corinth. On Friday, Woodard Jr. had 16 points and 15 rebounds in a 72-44 victory against Madison Academy (Ala.). On Saturday, Woodard Jr. had 31 points and nine rebounds in a 64-54 loss to nationally ranked Miller Grove (Ga.).
For his accomplishments, Woodard Jr. is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“It was a test to see what you have in you and see what you have to work on,” said Woodard Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard/forward. “I think I did pretty good. There were some things I could have done more on defense, like getting an extra rebound in clutch time, but, overall, I think I had a pretty good game.”
Alterique Gilbert, a 5-11 guard who has committed to Connecticut, had 25 points to help Miller Grove (Ga.) High, which is from Lithonia, Georgia, outlast Columbus. Miller Grove is ranked No. 25 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent Top 25 national poll. It also was ranked No. 24 in the USA Today preseason poll.
Columbus (5-1) trailed by two points with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining. Columbus first-year head coach Luther Riley said the game against Miller Grove was a great way for his players to see how they had to buckle down in “winning time” and pay extra attention to detail. He said Woodard Jr. set the example for the Falcons, who are the top-ranked team in Class 6A in the latest state rankings by The Clarion-Ledger.
“He was ready for the challenge,” Riley said. “That is one of our goals with this team is to be a national team. I know we want to be the best in the state, and I think they have us ranked as the best team in the state, but we don’t want to settle for that. We want to be one of the better teams in the country. Once you have that standard — and I certainly have it. I work as hard as anybody in the country, so why not be represented as one of the best teams in the country.”
Riley hopes Woodard Jr. can help lead a senior-laden team to those heights. He said Woodard Jr. possesses the qualities to be a leader, so it has been easy for him to encourage him to find his voice. He credits Woodard Jr.’s parents (Robert and Velma) for establishing a strong foundation for their son. Riley said he wants Woodard Jr. to share his desire to be great, his willingness to learn, and his strong character to his teammates. He believes giving Woodard Jr. a chance to be a leader and to speak to his teammates helps the players see the standard he wants everyone to strive to attain.
“I have just given him more opportunities to exert those abilities that he has from a leadership standpoint, and he has done great,” Riley said. “Every day in practice I tell him what I want done to start. He gets the guys together and huddles them up. … It doesn’t always have to be leadership through scoring points. You can communicate eyeball to eyeball and let them know your standards are high and that is how it is going to be, and maybe it can be contagious.”
Riley said he used similar approaches when he worked as head coach at Provine High in Jackson and as head coach at Division I Alcorn State in Lorman. He said it is natural for him to give Woodard Jr., who won a gold medal earlier this year as a member of the USA Basketball Men’s U16 National Team at the FIBA Americas Championship, a chance to share his experiences as a player with his teammates at Columbus High. He feels allowing Woodard Jr. a chance to talk to his teammates will help everyone grow.
“If one of the better players is doing it, or who they deem to be the best player on the team, if they are doing it, everybody else has to do it,” Riley said. “Leadership is one of the things that we sometimes miss.
“I am tickled to death I get a chance to coach him because it is hard to find that total package, and he has the total package, in my opinion.”
Woodard Jr. said he is following the example of his parents, who he saw as leaders at an early age. He feels the example they set is helping him emerge as a bigger leader. He believes his maturation is continuing from his time on the middle school team, where he also was a leader. That process continued last season as a freshman for coach Sammy Smith’s team. This season, he said Riley is pushing him to be a vocal leader and someone who sets the standard on and off the court.
“He really wants me to pick up and carry the team on the court, off the court, offense, defense, all the way around. He wants me to lead the team,” Woodard Jr. said. “He really encourages me every day. I like to call it constructive criticism. He is on me all the time.”
Woodard Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard/forward, said Riley encourages him to be a vocal and a lead-by-example leader for the Falcons, who opened the team ranked No. 3 in The Clarion-Ledger’s Super 10 preseason poll.
“I wouldn’t say there is any pressure. It is more like you have to work every day and not get arrogant about where you are now because you can easily get your spot taken,” Woodard Jr. said. “It is more like outworking other teams and doing what we do and not letting the numbers get in our head.”
Woodard Jr. likes the progress the Falcons have made. He said it is “just a matter of time” before everyone comes together and realizes the potential to be the great team everyone believes is there.
Riley agrees and is confident Woodard Jr. will lead the Falcons the right way and take them in the right direction.
“He has been on that circuit, and some of these kids haven’t had the opportunities Robert has had,” Riley said. “If that can become contagious and (they develop that mind-set) I believe in myself and my team, I think the sky is the limit for these guys.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.