Woods Trims List To Three

Rashad Woods, one of the top small forwards in the country, has narrowed his list of schools down to three. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound small forward from Westbury High School in Houston, Texas, has set up a couple of visits and is close to reaching a decision about his future. Woods spent last year at Heritage High School in Cleveland, Texas.

“My top three schools are DePaul, SMU, and Baylor,” Woods said. “I don’t have a leader right now. I’m going to wait until I’ve seen all of the campuses and then make my decision.”

DePaul, SMU and Baylor have done an outstanding job in their recruitment of Woods. The No. 40 ranked player in the class of 2005 has a lot of interest in all three schools and realizes that making a final decision will be a difficult process.

“I like DePaul a lot. They have been recruiting me real hard and that means a lot to me,” Woods said. “I’ve built a good relationship with Coach Dave Leitao and Asst Coach Josh Oppenheimer. They are both good guys and seem like they would be fun to play for. I will be visiting DePaul on September 9 and will be able to learn more about the coaches and the campus.”

New SMU Head Coach Jimmy Tubbs and the rest of the Mustang staff have made a good impression on Woods. He also indicated that Baylor is still very much involved in his recruitment.

“Coach Tubbs was recruiting me last year while he was at Oklahoma. He seems like a nice guy and a good coach,” Woods said. “I think he will get things turned around at SMU. I also like that it's not to far from home.

“I’ve always liked Baylor. They have been recruiting me as long as anyone has,” he added. “I have a great relationship with Asst Coach Jerome Tang. We have known each other for a while. I also like the campus and their facilities a lot.”