Sean Woods (born March 29, 1970
[) is an American former ]basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player and former head coach for the Southern Jaguars basketball team.
Playing career
Woods attended Cathedral High SchoolIndianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
before playing college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
at the University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
. As a Wildcat in 1992, he was a member of a senior-laden team colloquially known as the "Unforgettables" who had come to Kentucky in 1988 and had stayed with the school for all four years,[ despite the ]NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
putting the university's basketball program on probation for three years, including a ban on post-season competition in both 1990 and 1991, for recruiting and academic violations in 1989.
The Unforgettables were coached by Rick Pitino and included fellow seniors Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, and John Pelphrey. The team surprised many by garnering a number 2 seed and reaching the Elite Eight in the 1992 NCAA tournament. Woods and the Wildcats defeated Old Dominion, Iowa State, and the University of Massachusetts en route to the regional final. With a 29–6 record, the Wildcats faced off against Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
at the Spectrum
A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
In the finals against Duke, Woods cemented a legendary status in Kentucky lore by scoring 21 points, including a floater over Christian Laettner in overtime. The basket gave Kentucky a 103–102 lead with 2.1 seconds remaining. However, the Unforgettables lost the game on Laettner's subsequent jumper as time expired.
After Woods graduated, he was added to the NBA's Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
preseason roster but did not make the team.
Coaching career
He then ran a popular basketball camp, which polished future basketball players such as Tony Delk and Antoine Walker (both of whom had played at Kentucky). He was an assistant coach at High Point University before he moved to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, also as an assistant.
In 2005, Woods became a charter member of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the Unforgettables. Immediately following the Duke loss, every Kentucky senior's jersey (though not their numbers) was retired. Woods is currently fifth all-time on Kentucky's career assist list, with 482.
On June 24, 2008, Woods became the head coach of the Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball team. In 2012, Woods's last year there, the Delta Devils won the Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...
regular season and conference tournament, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The team lost in the First Four round. Woods was chosen as the 2012 winner of the Ben Jobe Award, given annually to the most outstanding minority men's college basketball head coach in NCAA Division I competition.
On May 14, 2012, Woods was announced as head coach at Morehead State University, taking over for Donnie Tyndall.
On November 22, 2016, Woods was suspended as head coach as result of an investigation into player mistreatment. He was subsequently charged with misdemeanor battery after two players accused him of assaulting them during a game, and a player's father claimed to ESPN that Woods head-butted his son. Assistant coach Preston Spradlin was named interim head coach during the investigation.
On December 15, two days after Woods was charged with misdemeanor battery in Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
for allegedly assaulting two of his players during a game versus Evansville, it was announced that Woods had resigned. Spradlin would continue as interim coach while the school conducted a nationwide search for a replacement.
On June 9, 2017, Woods was hired by Stetson University
Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson.
The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...
as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team. He stayed on the Hatters' staff for one season before being named the 12th head coach in Southern University history on April 12, 2018. He replaced Morris Scott who served as interim head coach for the 2017–18 season.
Head coaching record
Personal life
Woods is married and has two children. His son, Martiese Morones, a high school point guard in Kentucky, was signed by TCU for the 2006–07 season. Woods joined the TCU staff shortly afterwards.
References
External links
Sean Woods stats at BigBlueHistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Sean
1970 births
Living people
African-American basketball coaches
American men's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Indiana
Basketball players from Indianapolis
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils basketball coaches
Morehead State Eagles men's basketball coaches
Point guards
Southern Jaguars basketball coaches
TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
Cathedral High School (Indianapolis) alumni