South Carolina Basketball: 3 takeaways from Gamecocks loss to Houston
Not enough production from Seventh Woods
In South Carolina’s season-opening 78-62 loss to Liberty, Seventh Woods was a fairly solid contributor off the bench, notching eight points on 4/7 shooting (57%) in 17 minutes of play. However, the story was a bit different in the Gamecock’s 69-58 rebound victory over Tulsa, as he played just 9 minutes, attempted one field goal, committed two turnovers, and failed to score a basket.
While I don’t want to say that I disregarded Woods’ poor performance against Tulsa, I did believe that he would show up in South Carolina’s biggest game of the year thus far. To say that Woods’ performance against Houston was disappointing would be a huge understatement, as he failed to provide the kind of meaningful minutes, that Frank Martin (South Carolina head coach) needs/is looking for from him.
In 10 minutes of play, Woods went 0-3 from the field, committed two fouls, and ended the game with zero points. I’m amazed that Martin elected to give Woods double-digit minutes on Saturday because in all honesty, he didn’t deserve more than 5. If you think that I’m being too critical of Woods, go back and watch the game for yourself, and I am sure that you will end up making the same observations, that I am getting ready to make.
The North Carolina transfer lacked the fluidity that is required, in order to be as effective as possible on the offensive end of the floor. While Woods ended the game with just one turnover, he seemed to be pressing a little too much offensively (which is why Frank Martin did not hesitate to pull him out of the game).
As of right now, Woods’ limited offensive repertoire, stiff posture with the ball in his hands, and inability to make decisive moves/get low enough in order to get a step or two on his defenders prohibits him from being able to do his own thing on the floor (when plays break down).
Additionally, the fact that Woods does not have a clear go-to move that he can turn to when he needs to make something happen, is a major problem at the moment. Why? Well, because when Woods looks confused as he is handling the ball, his defenders have the ability to press up on him, and determine/dictate where he ultimately ends up on the floor.
Woods already has a tendency of standing straight up when he dribbles, so if he was able to lift up for a few seconds, take notice of the relaxed defensive stance of his defenders (due to the fact that they do not view Woods as a competent offensive player), and perform a quick rhythm crossover that would allow him speed past his defenders, he would be more of a problem offensively (for opposing teams).
When Woods had the ball 30-35 feet from the basket and was simply asked to get the Gamecocks into a set, he had some problems accomplishing this task. Woods’ rather loose handle caused him to succumb to Houston’s pressure a few times, and lose control of the ball (which is still a problem, even if he didn’t wind up turning the ball over on those possessions).
This could have a lot to do with the fact that, Woods doesn’t have a strong sense of urgency right now, and thinks that defenders are going to allow him to stand out on the perimeter and watch him orchestrate South Carolina’s offense. However, I think that it has more to do with the fact that, Woods doesn’t have a reliable handle right now, that will allow him to deal with defenders, who give their opponents no room to breathe.
It is definitely still early in the season, but Saturday’s game showed me that if South Carolina wants to start playing their best basketball, Woods will need to show Frank Martin, that he can be trusted when he is on the court.