Zachary Lyon:
Future150 Regional Analyst. Covering high and middle school basketball: NC, SC & VA
Columbia, SC (Future150) -- Seventh Woods, one of the top guards in the 2016 class recently announced that he will be choosing his college destination on November 11th.
At this point the finalists are Georgetown, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Future150 takes a look at the pros and cons of each potential destination and makes a prediction on which school Woods will select.
Georgetown: The Hoyas are certainly the dark horse of this recruitment and stunned a lot of people when Woods kept them on his final list.
Pros: Many minutes will be left open after senior D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera graduates. This should be one of the biggest pros for the Hoyas. This applies for any guards they're after in the 2016 class. Woods would be walking into a good situation in the backcourt, with a proven PG in Tre Campbell aided by an uber-talented wing in L.J. Peak. With these three out on the court during the majority of games, Georgetown could have one of the most talented backcourt in the Big East.
Cons: There are not many cons here for Woods. The one thing that may be tough to think about for Seventh's sake, is how Georgetown might look if guys like L.J. Peak, and Issac Copeland decide to test the NBA waters and declare for the 2016 NBA Draft. He would certainly still have plenty of minutes waiting on him, but he would be carrying a lot of pressure to live up to the hype and get this team to the NCAA Tournament. The challenge of acquiring an at-large bid would be a lot harder to do if they lose two elite guys like Peak, and Copeland.
Chances: Georgetown is the official underdog in this recruitment. It is not likely Seventh chooses the Hoyas, but they should still be considered an option since they made his final list.
North Carolina: The Tarheels are certainly one of the front runners in Wood's recruitment and always seem to have a lot more pros than cons in any player's recruitment.
Pros: UNC is probably the best overall fit for Seventh Woods as Roy Williams has had a knack for getting talented wing guards into the league lately. Harrison Barnes (Warriors), PJ Hairston (Hornets), and most recently JP Tokoto (Philadelphia 76ers). Even though Seventh isn't as tall as these guys, his athletic ability makes up for it, and he would be a perfect fit in Coach Williams run and gun offense.
Cons: It's hard to pinpoint negatives when talking about a blue-blood program like UNC. No recruit can wistfully choose UNC without considering the possibilities of sanctions and postseason bans. These bans that could occur revolve around the recent academic infractions in the athletic program. It is sad that UNC may get a postseason ban, which could punish players who had nothing to do with the infractions. Regardless, it is something recruits must look into when considering UNC these next few years.
Chances: UNC has a very good shot at Seventh and may be considered the heavy favorite once the day of his decision arrives. For now it still seems to be a fairly tight race between the Tarheels and the Gamecocks.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have been in this thing from the beginning. Head Coach Frank Martin and staff have done a fantastic job using the pipeline as a huge advantage. Also, Coach Martin worked at getting a good situation together for Woods.
Pros: Much like Georgetown, Seventh would not have to worry about fighting for any minutes once he arrives on campus as he would be a big piece of the puzzle right away. Just like the potential pairing at Georgetown, the potential backcourt of PJ Dozier and Woods could be down right scary. Seventh would have a great lead man and a plethora of other talents to work with like Sindarius Thornwell (considering he passes up the NBA draft and stays for his senior year), Duane Notice, Marcus Stroman, Chris Silva, and Eric Cobb.
Cons: Many people may argue that if Sindarius Thornwell stays for his senior year that may take away from Seventh's playing time, but he is just way too talented for any coach to not give him major minutes. The main issue with South Carolina could be media exposure, and TV time. High major recruits like Seventh are already in the back of NBA GM's minds. Choosing a school with big time exposure (Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, etc.) can you get to the front of their minds and land you in the lottery, which equates to more money on your first few NBA paychecks. Some recruits could care less about this subject. Woods has never publicly addressed this concern, but everything has to be taken in consideration, just like the possibilities of post season ban(s) at UNC.
Chances: Like UNC, South Carolina seems to have a pretty good shot at picking up a commitment from Seventh. It may come down to pipeline, and staying home (South Carolina) versus exposure, and better fit in style of play (UNC).
Final Prediction: It probably won't be Georgetown, but do not count them out all the way. This year has included some crazy recruitments (see Xavier Simpson). It will come down to UNC or South Carolina. The Gamecocks will land Woods by using the pipeline. It already worked well when USC landed PJ Dozier a year ago. You can never count Roy Williams out, especially considering Woods just visited UNC for Late Night with Roy this past weekend, but most likely Frank Martin gets the job done. He will once again reel in another big-time, pipeline recruit.
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