Robert Woodard II didn’t have visions of grandeur for his first season with the Columbus High School boys basketball team.
Instead, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard/forward wanted to fit in and do whatever he could to help the Falcons soar.
Twenty games into his high school career, Woodard has done much more than just fit in. Not only has Woodard been able to transition to the speed of the high school game, he also has been able to showcase his versatility and be an inside-outside threat.
Last week, Woodard had 21 points in a victory against Northwest Rankin and 16 points in a loss to Holmes County Central at the Hot Bed Classic in New Albany. His efforts helped push Columbus’ record to 15-5 and 3-3 in Class 6A, Region 3.
For his accomplishments, Woodard is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“I have put a lot of work in (on my game),” Woodard said. “It started in the summer, working with the team. It started when I was very young. I used to come to the high school and practice with coach (Sammy) Smith in the middle school and he and my dad really taught me a lot about the fundamentals of the game.”
Woodard said he started learning how to play the game of basketball when he was in the second or third grade. He said he quickly enjoyed playing the game and looked to his father, Robert, a former player at Mississippi State, for guidance. Robert Woodard provided that tutelage by coaching his son in the YMCA’s youth league and in church league basketball and laying the foundation for his prep career.
“It is paying off pretty well because it is making the game easier than saying I would have started working on fundamentals in the seventh grade,” Woodard II said of the time he invested in his basketball game when he was younger. “(My dad) would tell me stories about what he used to do in high school and in college, and it really encouraged me to try my best and to work hard at everything I do on and off the court. He has really been a great inspiration on me.”
Smith anticipated Woodard coming in and playing a key role this season. The veteran coach admits, though, he wasn’t sure how big of a role Woodard could play. He knew from working with Woodard at an early age that he was fundamentally sound. He also knew that Woodard had a solid family background and a father who played basketball for four seasons at Mississippi State. Robert Woodard, whose nickname was “Horse” for his penchant for working hard and hustling, played in 97 games and averaged 4.4 points per game. In 1987-88, he earned the Babe McCarthy Memorial Award, which exemplifies characteristics of leadership, desire, and academics.
Smith hoped the younger Woodard would bring some of the same traits to the court for the Falcons, but he believed it would take time for Woodard to transition to the high school game.
“He has been well prepared,” Smith said. “We played him three or four games last year. We can misunderstand and forget he is a ninth-grader. That makes a big difference. People can think they are already for something and not really be ready for something, but he came in and has been above and beyond all of my expectations.”
It didn’t take long for Woodard to adjust. He scored a season-high 26 points in a victory against New Albany on Nov. 21, 2014, in the team’s fourth game of the season. He nearly eclipsed that mark, pouring in 25 points in a 70-66 victory against New Hope on Jan. 3. Woodard had scored in double figures in 15 games this season. He is averaging 13.3 points per game.
Woodard feels his court vision, his shooting, and his ballhandling are his strengths. He said he wants to get stronger so he will be better suited to handle a versatile role on the wing or in the post. He also takes pride in being asked to play one of the best players on the other team.
Smith praised Woodard’s parents for preparing him on and off the court. He said he has tried not to put too much responsibility on Woodard’s shoulders to do too much this season. He said Woodard’s maturity and ability to stay grounded this early in his career bodes well for his future.
“We want to keep him hungry and keep him humble,” Smith said. “He is a very coachable kid. That makes the job so much easier.
“He understands and he is humble enough to know that he doesn’t have everything down. We tell him to work on something to get better, he works on it to get better. If you can do something good, you have to keep doing it, but you work on things you can’t do. It is hard to make kids understand that. If they can dunk, they want to go in the gym and dunk. If they can shoot the 3-pointer, they want to go in the gym and shoot threes. He is the kind of kid you can tell him, ‘This is what you need to get better at because they are going to start taking things away from you.’ He has always done that and said, ‘Coach, I am going to do the best I can.’ ”
Columbus (15-5) will try to continue its late-season push tonight when it plays host to Aliceville.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
