Sean Woods' Career Highlights As A Wildcat
Former Kentucky Basketball star Sean Woods makes his return to Rupp Arena when his alma mater hosts his Southern Jaguars in the inaugural game of the Unity Series. Woods is eight games (3-5) into his fourth season as Southern’s head coach. At 7 p.m. tonight, he and his Jaguars will take a swing at the tenth-ranked Wildcats.
Before the game tips off on the SEC Network, let’s look back at Woods’ career highlights as a Kentucky player. Can you believe it’s been almost 30 years since he ran point guard for Rick Pitino? (Sorry if that makes you feel old.)
Jog your memory of Sean Woods below. Or for the Generation Z crowd, maybe you’ll learn something new about a UK great.
A high school standout in Indiana, Woods followed family ties to Lexington.
Like many UK greats before him, Woods signed with the University of Kentucky out of high school in Indiana. He is a 1988 graduate of Cathedral High in Indianapolis and a member of the ’88 Indiana All-Star Team, among many other prep career accolades.
Woods was recruited to Kentucky by Dewayne Casey, who was then an assistant to head coach Eddie Sutton. Making the decision easier, Woods’ mother grew up in Lexington and her side of the family still resided there as Woods was making his college decision.
Woods’ recruiting class included Shawn Kemp and Richie Farmer.
Woods signed with Kentucky along with one of his close friends in high school basketball, All-American Shawn Kemp, and familiar names to you in Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, and John Pelphrey. The group was Eddie Sutton’s last signing class at Kentucky; although, Woods never played a game for Sutton having sat out his freshman year in 1988-89, Sutton’s last season.
Woods played 91 career games at Kentucky.
Once he took the court as a sophomore in Rick Pitino’s debut season as Kentucky’s head coach, Woods shined at point guard, leading the Wildcats in assists his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. He played opposite Derrick Miller that first season and the two reunited earlier this week during Southern’s shootaround in Rupp Arena.
From BBN Tonight’s Keith Farmer, Woods penetrated and threw one last assist to Miller for old times’ sake.
Woods ranks first in career assists per game.
At 5.3 assists per game in those 91 appearances at Kentucky, Woods’ assists-per-game mark is the highest ever in the Wildcats’ record book. Tyler Ulis is a close second at 5.29 assists per game in his two seasons in Lexington.
In total, Woods’ 482 career assist is fifth all-time behind Dirk Minnifield, Anthony Epps, Roger Harden, and Wayne Turner. Had he played a fourth season, Woods would’ve challenged Minnfield’s record of 646.
He ranks fifth in career steals per game.
Another mark on history, Woods is fifth in Kentucky Basketball’s records in steals per game in a career. He averaged 1.582 steals per game over three years, only outdone by Rajon Rondo (2.294), Derek Anderson (1.782), Ashton Hagans (1.776), and Rodrick Rhodes (1.646).
He made the shot before the shot.
If not for Christian Laettner’s heroics (and Kentucky not guarding the inbounds pass), Sean Woods hits the biggest shot of the 1992 NCAA Tournament. Woods made the go-ahead basket with 2.1 seconds to go, a floater over Laettner, of all people, in overtime of the famed East Regional.
Watch it below but TURN IT OFF AFTER WOODS’ SHOT GOES IN.
He became an Unforgettable.
With that Elite Eight finish, Woods secured his place in Kentucky Basketball lore as one of the four seniors who took the Wildcats from probation back to the national stage. Woods, Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, and John Pelphrey make up The Unforgettables and their jerseys hang in the Rupp Arena rafters today with the program’s 38 other all-time greats who have been honored.
The Unforgettables’ jerseys were retired in a surprise ceremony in April of 1992 following the NCAA Tournament run.
Woods is also in the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.
Woods was inducted into the UK Hall of Fame in 2005 as a member of the Hall’s charter class. He and 88 other former Wildcats with retired jerseys were enshrined.
Welcome back, Sean Woods.
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