Woodard II Headed to Sacramento Kings After NBA Draft Night Trade

Photo by: Garrick Hodge/Columbus Dispatch

Woodard II Headed to Sacramento Kings After NBA Draft Night Trade

November 18, 2020 | Men's Basketball

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

BRISTOL, Connecticut – After growing up 25 miles from Humphrey Coliseum in nearby Columbus and following in his father's footsteps in Maroon and White, Robert Woodard II is headed west to the capital city of California and the Sacramento Kings in a pending NBA Draft night trade.

The Memphis Grizzlies originally chose Woodard II with the No. 40 pick during the second round of Wednesday's NBA Draft from ESPN Headquarters and have a pending draft night trade with the Kings.

Woodard II is the 26th player to etch his name in Mississippi State's draft history. It marks back-to-back seasons that the Bulldogs have had at least one player chosen in the NBA Draft as Quinndary Weatherspoon made his NBA debut after being a second-round pick of the San Antonio Spurs last season.

"I truly am excited, it's a special moment that I've waited 21 years for," Woodard II said. "I feel like Sacramento they took a chance on me, and I'm not going to let them regret it. The Kings are getting a great player with a great work ethic and great character that is going to check all the boxes. Mississippi State and the coaching staff has prepared me greatly for the NBA. Coach Brooks has been putting it in my head since high school that this day was going to happen. They threw me in the fire, have shown me the ropes and have prepared me well. "

Woodard II adds his name to head coach Ben Howland's legacy as the 20th overall player to hear his name called on the NBA Draft night. The group is headed by current pros Russell Westbrook (2008 – No. 4), Kevin Love (2008 – No. 5), Zach LaVine (2014 – No. 13), Jrue Holiday (2009 – No. 17), Kyle Anderson (2014 – No. 30), Trevor Ariza (2004 – No. 43), Norman Powell (2015 – No. 46) and Weatherspoon (2019 – No. 49). LaVine was recruited by Howland at UCLA but played under Steve Alford.

"I think Robert Woodard II is going to be an excellent pro for a long time," Howland said. "His ability to shoot the three-point shot from NBA range and stretch the floor makes him much more difficult to defend which is what every NBA team wants now. Then, Robert's ability to guard multiple defensive positions and rebound. He can switch onto a one [point guard] or two [shooting guard]. He can defend the three [small forward] and four [power forward] positions."

"Robert is long with a 7-2 wingspan," Howland continued. "He's 230 pounds with rock-hard, strong body. Every NBA team interviewed him, and so many of the teams I heard back from said he was the best interview of anybody this entire class going into the draft, which says a lot about his character and his maturity. I'm very confident that Robert is going to have a great career."

Woodard II more than doubled his scoring average from 5.5 points to 11.4 points per game between his freshman and sophomore seasons. He showcased his versatility as one of three Power 5 players along with Colorado's Tyler Bey and Michigan's Jon Teske to average over 10 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal last season.

Woodard II notched 19 of his 22 double-digit point performances and made 31 of his 32 starts during the 2019-20 season. The Columbus, Mississippi native knocked down a 49.5 shooting percentage from the field and upped his three-point shooting clip to 42.9. He registered 539 points, 342 rebounds, 53 steals and 49 blocks over his 65 career games.

Mississippi State embarks on its 2020-21 season against Clemson on Wednesday, November 25, as part of the Space Coast Challenge from Titan Field House, located on the campus of Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida. Tip time is slated for approximately 7:30 p.m. CT televised by CBS Sports Network.

Mississippi State won 11 of its last 15 SEC games to earn a top four finish in the conference standings last season, the program's highest overall regular season finish since 2010-11. The Bulldogs have tucked away three consecutive 20-plus win seasons under sixth-year coach Ben Howland. The last time the program accomplished that feat was the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The 68 victories also are the fourth-highest total in program history for a three-year span.

Mississippi State will look to punch its return ticket to March Madness in 2020-21 led by returnees Abdul Ado, Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. The trio will be joined by talented transfers in Javian Davis, Jalen Johnson and Tolu Smith along with a skillful freshmen class headed by Derek Fountain, Andersson Garcia, Cameron Matthews, Keondre Montgomery and Deivon Smith.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.