When Keyshawn Woods made the decision to leave the Wake Forest program as a graduate transfer, he had some options. But to him, any team that didn’t have the pedigree to make the NCAA Tournament wasn’t a part of his decision process.
Woods made the Big Dance one time at Wake as a part of the First Four, and that only whet his appetite to get back to that place and experience it all again with a chance to do more.
When asked about being a part of the NCAA Tournament this week, Woods didn’t beat around the bush. “It’s the whole reason why I chose to become a Buckeye,” Woods said. “The belief I had in the guys, C.J., coach Holtmann, the staff, it’s a great feeling, especially to see our name pop up there.”
He’s not the only one that knows it either. Chris Holtmann, when talking about Woods reiterated that he came to OSU to experience more of this so-called March Madness stuff.
“Keyshawn, the reason he came here was to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Holtmann said. “It wasn’t me. He basically came here and said, ‘Hey, I’m putting my faith in you that I can get there.'”
Well, they’ve now arrived and will take on Iowa State Friday night, and the team will need Keyshawn Woods to continue the high level of play we’ve seen from him over the last four games where he’s led OSU in scoring in three of those.
Yeah big man Kaleb Wesson’s performance is going to be crucial. As he goes, so too does Ohio State — we’ve seen more than a few examples of that being true. But it can’t just be him. The Buckeyes need a secondary option on the perimeter to take advantage of the space and attention Wesson can command.
And with all the inconsistencies we’ve seen over the year from the guard position, the veteran Woods seems to be the most likely one to step up in the moment, just like he did in the Big Ten Tournament.
Ohio State doesn’t beat Indiana without Woods’ heroics. Without beating the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes would have likely already hosted a home game in the NIT this week rather than putting their dancing shoes on.
Keyshawn Woods has to be over the moon that he made the right choice and got back to the NCAA Tournament with the Buckeyes, now it’s up to him to keep shooting for the stars and not be satisfied with that as the end goal.
