Rudy Woods facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | October 12, 1959 Bryan, Texas |
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Died | January 28, 2016 (aged 56) Bryan, Texas |
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| High school | Bryan (Bryan, Texas) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Texas A&M (1978–1982) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1982 / Round: 4 / Pick: 73rd overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Dallas Mavericks | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1982–1987 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1982–1984 | Napoli Basket | |||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Wisconsin Flyers | |||||||||||||
| 1985 | Lancaster Lightning | |||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | AMG Sebastiani | |||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Breogán | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Rudy Dewayne Woods (born October 12, 1959 – died January 28, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He was a very tall and strong player who played as a center. Rudy was considered one of the best young players coming out of high school in 1978.
He played four years of college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies. Later, he was chosen in the 4th round of the 1982 NBA Draft. However, he never played in the NBA. Instead, he had a five-year career playing professional basketball in Europe (Italy and Spain) and in the CBA in the United States.
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Rudy Woods' High School Basketball Career
Rudy Woods started playing basketball when he was young. By the time he was a sophomore in high school, he was already 6 feet 10 inches tall. He was a very important player on his school's main team.
His coach, Bobby Joe Perry, helped him a lot. In his sophomore year, Rudy scored about 17 points per game. He also grabbed 439 rebounds. He was named the most valuable player (MVP) of his district.
In his junior year, Rudy scored about 21 points per game. People already thought he was one of the best young players in the country. He was again named the MVP of the high school tournament. As a senior, he averaged about 23 points and 15 rebounds per game. He was chosen for the all-state team. For the third year in a row, he was the tournament MVP. Many college coaches thought he was the best big player in the nation. During his three years at Bryan High School, his team won three championships in a row.
Because of his great senior year, Rudy was chosen as a McDonald's All-American. This is a special honor for top high school players. In the 1978 McDonald's game in Philadelphia, he scored 13 points. He also got 16 rebounds in 23 minutes. He was even named the MVP of that game! He also played in another all-star game called the Capital Classic, where he scored 16 points.
Rudy Woods' College Basketball Journey
Many colleges wanted Rudy Woods to play for them. Teams like Texas A&M, Michigan, USC, and Kentucky were interested. In April 1978, he decided to sign with Texas A&M. He chose to wear jersey number 23.
Rudy quickly made a big impact at Texas A&M. His first year, called his freshman season, was probably his best. He averaged almost 14 points and 9 rebounds per game. He played about 28 minutes each game. He also set a Texas A&M record for shooting accuracy, making 62.2% of his shots. He led his team in rebounds and blocked shots. He even got a career-high 17 rebounds in one game. At the end of the season, he was named to the All-SWC first team. He also won the SWC Freshman of the Year award. That year, he played for Team USA and won a gold medal at the 1979 Summer Universiade.
In his second year, his coach gave him more playing time. However, Rudy's scores and rebounds went down a little. He still led the team in rebounds and blocked shots. He scored a career-high 31 points in a game against Houston. Texas A&M won their conference title. This meant they got to play in the NCAA Tournament. They were later eliminated by Louisville.
Rudy's third year was his toughest at Texas A&M. He only played 13 games. This was because of problems with his school grades and missing classes. He had to go to a junior college for two semesters. This helped him improve his grades so he could return to Texas A&M. Rudy was able to play again for his senior year. He became a key player for his team once more. He played 31 games, averaging about 11 points and 8 rebounds per game. He also led his team with 1.5 blocked shots per game.
Rudy finished his college career as Texas A&M's all-time leader in blocked shots with 192. He also held the record for the best shooting percentage in a career. He is still one of the top scorers in Aggies history with 1,272 points. He is also fifth all-time in rebounds with 853. During his time at Texas A&M, he was part of a group of players known for their strong defense called "The Wall."
Rudy Woods' Professional Basketball Career
After college, Rudy Woods was eligible for the 1982 NBA Draft. The Dallas Mavericks picked him as the 73rd player overall. However, he did not make the team. So, he decided to play for an Italian team called Napoli Basket. In his first season there, he scored 703 points and got 371 rebounds. He also averaged 3.7 blocked shots per game. His numbers went down a bit in his second season.
In 1984, Rudy came back to the United States. He joined the CBA. He first played for the Wisconsin Flyers. Later that season, he moved to the Lancaster Lightning. He played well in the playoffs for them, averaging over 20 points and 8 rebounds per game. In total, he played 45 games in the 1984–85 CBA season. He averaged 10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocked shots per game.
In 1985, he returned to Italy. He played 38 games for AMG Sebastiani Rieti over two seasons. After that, he moved to Spain. He played the rest of the 1986–87 season for CB Breogán in the Liga ACB. He played 15 regular season games, averaging 19.5 points and 8.8 rebounds. He also played 4 playoff games, where he averaged 25.5 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Rudy Woods' Life Outside Basketball
Rudy Woods was the fifth of eight children born to Lemon Woods, Sr. and Ruthie Woods. After he stopped playing professional basketball, he worked in different jobs. He was a truck driver, a police officer in Denver, Colorado, and a correctional officer in his hometown of Bryan, Texas.
Rudy had a son named Rudy Woods, Jr. from his first marriage. In 1986, he married Vanita L. Williams. They had one son together, Samuel Alexander Woods. They later divorced in 1991. In December 1997, Rudy married Diane. He also became a stepfather to her four children. During his time playing basketball abroad, Rudy learned five different languages. Rudy passed away from problems related to diabetes. He had been battling this illness for several years.
