North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Wood Looking to Find Shooting Touch
11/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Freshman Scott Wood says he hasn't found his shooting touch quite yet, but he is definitely in his comfort zone.
The 6-foot-7 freshman forward from Marion, Ind., has started in each of the Wolfpack's four games this season and heads into Sunday's 2 p.m. game against New Orleans at the RBC Center as the team's third-leading scorer.
Wood came into the season with the reputation as the Pack's best deep threat and impressed his teammates throughout the preseason with his accuracy and range. So far, he's made six of his 20 3-point attempts, which is second in number to senior Dennis Horner's team-leading seven on the year, but not the percentage Wood is used to.
"Truthfully, every shot I have taken I felt like it was going in," says Wood, who was rated the best shooting guard in the state of Indiana during his senior season. "They are going halfway down and coming out.
"As I get stronger, I will get better."
Wood's wiry frame is fairly slight, about 170 pounds. He's spent most of his time on campus since he arrived in the summer working out in the weight room, trying to add a little muscle and some weight that he knows he'll need as the season progresses.
But he proved during his prep career at Marion High School. In four years, he made 215 of his 523 long-range shots, a 41.1 3-point shooting percentage. He also made 89.3 percent of his free-throw attempts.
He's been a shooter his whole life, practically. His father, Scott Wood Sr., was a college basketball player at Vincennes (Ind.) Junior College and Western Carolina during the early 1980s and he spent hours in the gym with his son.
"As long as I can remember, I would take 500 shots a day," Wood says. "Being a good shooter is just about getting to the gym and putting up the shots. That's what makes you better. That's what I have been trying to do, and eventually they are going to fall."
Wood says he never emulated any specific player growing up, though he has always admired the way Steve Nash plays.
The main thing he has worked on since arriving in Raleigh in the summer is adding a little bulk to his wiry, 170-pound frame. He's spent hours in the weight room trying to add the muscle he knows he'll need as the season progresses.
So far, he doesn't believe those workouts have affected his shooting touch.
"It's just a matter of getting some repetition and they will start falling," he says.
Wood was the high school teammate of Wolfpack sophomore point guard Julius Mays. The two took Marion High to the state championship game two years ago and have maintained a close relationship ever since. They are now roommates at NC State.
But their season apart might have been the most beneficial thing to happen to Wood. He spent most of his senior season as Mays' replacement at the point, refining his ball-handling skills and honing his ability to drive to the basket. Now, he believes, anyone who thinks he is just a shooting threat will be dead wrong.
"That really helped improve my penetration game," Wood says. "I like to think of myself as a complete player. I am out there to win. I learned a lot about playing defense from my father, who was a very good defensive player. If I hold my guy to zero points, then I did my job.
"The main thing is winning. I hate losing. One of those things I learned from my dad, even if I am playing video games or golf, I don't want to lose. If we win, I am happy."
Wood says the Wolfpack doesn't mind the low expectations that have been predicted by outside observers. He feels good about the chemistry of the team and the veteran leadership.
"We can be as good as we want to be," Wood says. "I am not saying we are going to go out and be national champions or anything. We're good. We are under the radar. We all believe in one another. We have good chemistry. We all want to win. That's all you can ask for.
"If you have the desire to win and you go out there thinking you are going to win, you are already steering yourself in the right direction.The main thing is, when I came in here, the chemistry is a lot better than I expected. We just have to keep the desire to win and we will be okay."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
