So Tony Woods is transferring from Wake Forest to the University of Louisville.
Guilty of assaulting his girl friend, fracturing her spine. Somehow determined to be a misdemeanor in Winston-Salem. Given a 60-day suspended sentence.
Whether the victim was female or male is beside the point. Or even the parent of his one-year-old child. He used brute force on another human being.
The circumstances surrounding the episode in question are vague. The man could have been defending himself for all we know. However, we are fully aware of the negative consequences for the University of Louisville’s image.
Why does Rick Pitino want to give him a second chance? Probably has a lot to do with Woods’ connections with U of L assistant Tim Fuller, a former Wake Forest basketball player.
He’s also a big man. The 6-foot-10 Woods, a five-star prospect coming out of high school, averaged only 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He would be eligible for the 2011 season.
Pitino has talked in the recent past about wanting only quality young men to represent U of L. The coach often says one thing and does another. One has to wonder whether this is just another example of Pitino doublespeak.
Exactly what Pitino doesn’t need with an extremely challenging season straight ahead.
Charlie – what’s the scoop on Zach Price?
He’s still at Jeffersontown, as far as I know.
Living in Winston-Salem, I can tell you the local Wake Forest fans hate to see Woods go (as a basketball player) but love to see him go (as a girlfriend beater).
There’s no excuse for what Woods did. However, he was charged with a misdemeanor in a court of law — nothing more. So we can all speculate further but the court did what it did.
And let’ not forget that Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith were both charged with misdemeanors in their fight at Kye’s.
Regardless, I wish Tony Woods well, along with Pitino and the rest of the Cards, as they prepare for the basketball season.
They are going to need your best wishes, Steve.
The ethics of this situation have already been discussed at length and it seems Pitino is determined to drag the school through the mud once again. What I can’t understand is why we need this guy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but by my count we’ll have Jennings, Goode, Buckles, Van Treese, Dieng (possibly), Price and Behanan all competing for time at the PF/C spot. Baggage aside, why do we need to add another average player to the mix? When you consider the plans Pitino has to bring in a large class in 2011, who’s spot is this guy going to take?
He can coach ( or used too.) I think his world crumbled when he moved his son Richard out because of his activity.
Although he is getting close to 60 yrs. He needs people to work hard at recruiting and this is where his assistant coaches falls short.
For people to forgive in a hurry would be to have a better season than last year. I have a sick feeling he has a struggle ahead.
UOFL and most fans have given Rick Pitino a second chance so our reputation is already ruin and he is a role model not a college student
By taking Woods, Rick isn’t risking UL’s reputation — he’s cementing it as a bottomfeeder with no standards.
Everyone needs to quit questioning Rick!! Woods is a good player who needs a second chance. Tim Fuller and Rick are gonna help this guy out and make him a great player. Louisville basketball will be back. Go Cards and take it easy on Rick!
Interesting that you said “great player” and not great person. I believe the latter to be more important.
Not everyone deserves a second chance. And before we start in on the standard “haven’t you guys ever made a mistake” nonsense, Not like this kid. I’ve never beaten my wife or a girlfriend, I’ve never fractured anyone’s spine, and I’ve never assaulted another human being in front of by infant child.
No need to bring this person into freedom hall, no matter how he plays basketball. I don’t want to cheer for him.
Too bad we do not play in Freedom Hall anymore. Everyone deserves a second chance and Pitino is making sure that there are no more underlying circumstances as he is calling multiple sources to check that he can get this under control. By the way, he and his girlfriend who he fractured her spine are back together.
You MIGHT be correct if this was a second chance but according to Sports Illustrated college basketball writer Andy Katz it is not.
“According to multiple sources who had knowledge of the WFU hearing, it was revealed that this was not the first incident involving Woods and Barbour, who has since supported Woods.”
And the fact that they are back together is meaningless. Many, if not most, battered women have a difficult time ending such relationships. Many even try to refuse to press charges no matter how badly they are injured. I caution you not to read a thing into the fact that they seem to still be together.
Well we have a great foursome now for a golf tournament pro-am. Rothlesberger, Pitino and Tony Woods accompanied by Tiger Woods.
Photo was made at spring Cardinal Caravan, when Coach was trying very hard to explain how things are and how they are going to be. Probably choosing his words very carefully. If you could see rest of photo, you would be shocked to see his very casual attire, with shirttail out. Signs of a rough season, for sure. (I know — which season???) GO CARDS!
Pitino is desperate and taking this program in a direction it certainly does not & SHOULD NOT be going. Beginning of the end for Rick. As a die hard fan, I’m not unhappy about it.
We must be close to the bottom.
thanks gentlejohn…good summary
Lori–you are right on target and raise a number of good questions in a short space. 1-RISK, yes but the rewards could be great, too. Fans have short memories, if it works out well. 2-SECOND CHANCES, time will tell. The kid probably needs to leave town for obvious reasons. Maybe he and Rick will recover together. Let’s hope so. 3-SELL THE BRIDGE, (Brooklyn? how fitting) Rick might as well try to sell it–it is what it is and we can fight it or go with it. 4–UNABLE TO REACH BETTER PLAYERS… Hey, disco is dead. (So are white leisure suits, darn!) Kids have moved on, and successful coaches in the current decade will have moved along with them. It isn’t about age, it’s about keeping up with your target audience. Ask Woody Hayes (I know–he’s dead), Bobby Knight and a raft of other ex-coaches who thought kids would keep coming to them and their old-school regimen forever. Doesn’t happen. And lastly, THE PHOTO. Get used to it in this tough year. But Go Cards.
You can be assured that Pitino will research and check heavily into all the details surrounding Woods’ arrest. And, there are 30 other teams that have expressed an interest in Woods’ services. He was a 5 star recruit coming out of high school.
If it checks out and Woods gets sufficient recommendations after Pitino’s investigation, give the guy a second chance. If it doesn’t, drop the hot potato and move on.
It is a risk. Time will tell if it proves to be a good choice. Frankly, the double speak is nothing new. Pitino knows all to well what second chances are about. I really do not think this helps the bridge he is trying to sell.
Has Pitino lost that much ability to reach out to better players? What is it that is happening to the recruiting at U of L?
The photo Charlie…. what a scowl he has.
The problem is that we have a revolving door of assistant coaches. Thank about it we started having problems when his son left because he was doing the recruiting. When things started to turn the corner we loss Walter Mcarty. We are the only school that doesn’t keep their assistants longer than one or two years. Most schools hold their assistants for at least five years.