Big Addition: Seventh Woods

Seventh Woods finally ready to make an impact at South Carolina STARS ALIGN

Seventh Woods had been a basketball star since he was 12 years old.

When he was a high school freshman, a video on YouTube proclaimed him “The BEST 14 Year Old In The Country!” The highlight reel of spectacular dunks and amazing plays attracted nearly 16 million views. Frank Martin once compared him to Zion Williamson, saying he was “Zion before Zion.”

By the time he was a senior at Hammond School in Columbia,

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Allen Sharpe

Woods was considered the best high school point guard in the country.

So you can imagine how incredibly difficult it was for Woods to sit on the bench for three seasons at North Carolina and then sit out as a redshirt last year after transferring to South Carolina.

“I love to play basketball, so any time I am sitting on the bench and I can’t check into the game, it’s definitely tough for me,” Woods said prior to last season. “But it’s about staying focused and staying confident and staying patient.”

That was Woods’ approach last season as he served as a valuable role model for his younger teammates. After transferring, Martin encouraged him to sit out last season, learn Martin’s system and prepare for his senior season in 2020-21. Martin believed the highly recruited star and former Tar Heel needed to get away from the spotlight, regroup and “just be at peace with his team.”

Woods embraced that approach.

“We wanted to sit out and just focus on me getting back into a groove,” he said. “Coming in and learning a new system, we didn’t want to rush anything, so just use this year as a sit-out year and rebuilding year and come out next year and give it all I’ve got.”

So Woods spent the season sitting, learning and leading. His focus was not only learning Martin’s system but helping lead a young team that finished 18-13 (10-8 in the SEC) and was fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament before the postseason tournaments were canceled due to the coronavirus.

When the season was over, Woods drew high praise for his contributions to a young group that upset three top-10 teams and meshed into a dangerous unit despite dealing with a host of injuries to key players. Woods’ leadership and team-first attitude was no surprise to Martin, who recruited him heavily in high school.

“The part no one ever wanted to talk about is what a great teammate he is,” Martin said. “I remember going to Hammond and here’s this kid that everyone is telling the world how great he is, yet his teammates and his coaches just really, really enjoyed being around him. That’s the thing that attracted me the most to him. It wasn’t his talent, it wasn’t his jumping, it wasn’t his dunking, it wasn’t his YouTube videos, it wasn’t passing and shooting. It was a combination of all those things and who he was as a teammate. That’s what got me excited about him.

“And it’s been no different since he got here. Our younger players really, really respect him and he’s developed real good relationships with his teammates.”

After choosing North Carolina over the Gamecocks, Woods’ career in the ACC did not go as expected. He played in all 40 games as a freshman, but averaged just eight minutes per game. As a sophomore, he missed 17 games with a broken bone in his right foot. In three years, Woods averaged just 1.8 points and 1.5 assists in 8.7 minutes per game while backing up two NBA lottery picks at point guard.

After transferring, Woods spent last season mimicking the point guard or top-scoring guard on rival teams during practice to help his team prepare for upcoming games. A three-year veteran, he was often a coach on the floor, helping young players figure out The last month of the season, he was starting to practice at a high, high level again and I was excited for what I was seeing and the confidence he was starting to show every day on the court. – FRANK MARTIN

where they needed to be and what to do in certain situations. Toward the end of the season, he started to flash the talent and promise that made him one of the top high school players in the nation.

“The last month of the season, he was starting to practice at a high, high level again and I was excited for what I was seeing and the confidence he was starting to show every day on the court and the aggression he was playing with,” Martin said.

Woods’ adjustment and development has Martin excited about the team he has returning next season. It could feature one of the deepest and most dynamic backcourts in the country. Though senior Jair Bolden decided to transfer, Woods will join point Jermaine Couisnard, who made the SEC All-Freshman team, and possibly leading scorer and junior AJ Lawson, who declared for the NBA Draft but could still return next season. TJ Moss and Trae Hannibal were valuable backups who showed a lot of growth last season.

Woods could push Couisnard to shooting guard, giving the Gamecocks their first true point guard since the 2016-17 Final Four team, or combine with Couisnard and Lawson to give them a strong three-guard rotation.

“Offensively, he’s going to give us another guy, much like Jermaine, who can play off the dribble and get in the lane and make plays for others,” Martin said. “He’s a pass-first guy, always has been. So we have to work really hard at getting him … he had lost his aggressiveness to score. When he got here last June he had lost that passion to go get a basket, but over the last month of the season, in practice, he was coming downhill and being aggressive, starting to make jump shots, which as he continues to trust that, it’s going to allow him to be even better because people are going to have to come out and guard him and then he can use that feel and athleticism to get by people.”

More importantly, Martin believes Woods will be a strong

defender, a prerequisite to earning minutes and playing a key role on his team.

“I always thought Seventh could be an unbelievably good on-ball defender cause he has unbelievable athleticism,” Martin said. “He has instincts and he has toughness and now after having him practice for a year, my thoughts and my visions have been reinforced. I think he is going to be a great defender.”

After three years at North Carolina, Woods is glad to be home again, surrounding himself with family and friends and playing for a coach he says he trusts. (“I trust him and he trust me, and that was big for me.”) He hopes to resurrect his career and reputation and earn an opportunity to play at the next level.

His approach and goals for next season are simple.

“Just be the best version of me,” he said. “Not sure what that entails, but just go out there and play freely and with a free mind and with confidence at the highest level and just go out there and produce.”

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Madison Stokes

Luke Berryhill

TJ Hopkins

MISSING THE GAME

Former Gamecock stars missing baseball, staying active during postponed season

TJ Hopkins had already been at spring training in Arizona for a month, building on a strong finish to the 2019 season and preparing for his first full season of professional baseball.

Teammate Luke Berryhill had been in Arizona even longer, reporting to Cincinnati Reds camp with pitchers and catchers in early February. After an injury-plagued summer after being drafted, he had rehabbed and worked hard during the offseason to prepare for his quest to become the Reds’ catcher of the future.

Madison Stokes had played winter ball in Colombia, South America, was in the best shape of his career and poised for a big season when he reported to the Phillies spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla. He was even looking forward to a possible switch back to shortstop after playing first, second, third and some outfield during his first full pro season.

But over the course of 24 hours on March 12-13, their lives would change dramatically as Major League Baseball canceled all spring training games and then closed training camps and sent players home. Suddenly, thousands of big-league and minor-league players had their lives disrupted and joined the rest of the population in the battle against the COVID-19 coronavirus.

South Carolina currently has eight former players in the major leagues, while Hopkins, Stokes and Berryhill are among 34 former Gamecocks that played in the minors last season and were preparing for another pro season when spring training was shut down.

They should all be two months into the 2020 season by now. Instead, they are home, doing their part to keep themselves and their families healthy and safe, and wondering when they will get to resume their baseball careers.

“It’s crazy, man. It’s hard,” Hopkins said from his home in Summerville, S.C.

When the virus first started to spread in the United States, major league teams began taking safety precautions at spring training complexes throughout Arizona and Florida. Media were prohibited from entering the clubhouse. Players were encouraged to use hand sanitizer, which was readily available at every field and work station. Teams began scrubbing the clubhouse

By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Allen Sharpe & Jenny Dilworth

after every workout and portions of the facilities were closed off. They held frequent team meetings to give players updates on the virus and provide tips on health and hygiene.

Eventually, workouts were cut short and players were told to stay in their hotel rooms or apartments when not at the complex. Finally, on March 12, they were told that the remainder of spring training had been canceled and the start of the majorleague season would be delayed by at least two weeks. Then, on March 13, they were given travel money and sent home.

Players like Hopkins (2016- 19), Stokes (2015-18) and Berryhill (2019) couldn’t believe it.

“That was really wild, it was really the last thing I expected,” Berryhill said. “I had heard a little bit about the spread of the

virus but I didn’t think it would be anything serious. … And then they called us all back into the facility and told us, ‘Here’s the deal, go see the people inside and we’ll get you packed up and sent out.’ It was really weird, it all happened really fast.”

Hopkins, a four-year starter for South Carolina, had gone out to eat with some teammates when the NBA announced it had canceled its season after player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. They were joking, he said, about baseball being postponed but didn’t believe it would actually happen.

“I was like, ‘no way,’ because our season hadn’t even started yet,” he said. “And then a couple of days later they said we have to send you guys home, that’s the safest thing to do right now.”

Stokes, who played with Hopkins on the 2018 Super Regional team, said he and his teammates were jokingly making predictions on how many MLB games would be postponed when the NBA announced that a second player, Gobert teammate Donovan Mitchell, had tested positive.

“We didn’t think it would get this serious,” he said. “… Then we get to the field and they call

They should all be two months into the 2020 season by now. Instead, they are home ... wondering when they will get to resume their baseball careers.

for a meeting and they basically explained what is going on. That was a short day of practice, and then the next day we came in for an early meeting and that’s when they told us the news. … They called us in and explained the whole situation, how everybody was getting home and we don’t know how long you guys are going to be home for.

“I packed my bags and drove home that day.”

For each player, the news was a shock that triggered a series of mixed emotions.

“I had prepared for about six months just to try to play my first full professional season and to hear it get ripped out from under me, that really sucked,” Berryhill said.

Stokes was also disappointed. He had climbed three levels, from rookie ball to high-A, in 2018, had a solid 2019 season (10 home runs and 42 RBI in 418 at-bats) and was looking forward to continuing his climb in 2020.

“Part of me, as bad as it sounds, didn’t want to go home because I had prepared and trained all fall for this,” he said. “I was just really hungry for the season and had high expectations for myself. We were just starting to get into game mode, getting our bodies in shape to play games and I was all excited.

“I didn’t want to come home because I was so ready to play the season and get sent to an affiliate. Then I was like, I can’t do anything about it and it will be good to spend time with family, but the baseball side of me and the competitive side of me was like, ‘Nah, I want to stay here and compete.’”

Hopkins was equally disappointed. He was packing to head home to Summerville when he realized how fortunate he was. While most minor league players are being paid $400 per week, that’s not a lot of money for older, more established players with families.

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“I have a few friends who have a family and they have only $400 coming in right now, and that’s what I started thinking about,” he said. “I feel bad for guys like that that are still in the minor leagues and they are 25 and they have a family they have to provide for. It’s just hard.”

LIFE WITHOUT BASEBALL

While most minor leaguers are working odd jobs to help make ends meet, they are also keeping their minds on baseball and preparing for when the season resumes. Hopkins, Berryhill and Stokes were all working out at local gyms until those too were closed. Now they are developing their own routines, whether it’s lifting weights and training at home or hitting and throwing at local fields.

Hopkins, an outfielder for the Reds, continues to train every day, whether it’s going for a run, lifting weights or finding a place to hit.

“I have to do at least something because I can’t go to sleep at night if I don’t do anything, because I just feel terrible about myself,” he said. “I make myself do at least something baseballrelated each day. … I have to do something like that so my mind can take a break because we are supposed to be playing baseball right now so I’m still trying to be in that baseball mindset.”

Stokes is staying at his parents lake house in Winnsboro, S.C. and has had to get creative with his workouts. He hits balls into a net or takes batting practice with his brother and goes to a local field where his dad hits him ground balls.

When he travels to Raleigh to visit his girlfriend, he goes to a church field where he throws and hits into the fence.

“I can’t really throw that hard to my girlfriend, so I have been throwing to a fence, and the fence isn’t that great at throwing back,” he said.

His mission is to stay as prepared as possible for when the call comes to return to baseball activity.

“I’m training as if I was in spring training and as if I was going to play next weekend,” he said. “It’s not a super-intense workout but I am doing something every single day just to stay in really good shape and stay in baseball shape. That way I am prepared regardless of when they tell us to come back.

“I am doing everything I can with what I have, which is enough.”

The biggest challenge is staying sharp mentally and not getting down while waiting for their athletic careers to resume. Most are working odd jobs and trying to stay busy during their spare time.

When he’s not working or working out, Hopkins goes fishing and watches classic baseball games and sporting events on TV. Berryhill, who is also an aspiring country music singer, has been playing guitar and writing a few songs. He’s even played a few gigs around his Canton, Ga. home.

They all play video games to stay mentally sharp and as a way to stay connected with their teammates and friends. Such activities are important to keep their minds occupied and their spirits up.

“Knowing that it’s probably going to be at least a few months away, it kinda starts to get you a little unmotivated because you have already worked for so many months with a deadline and now you don’t know if the season is even going to come at this point,” Berryhill said. “I’m doing my best to stay motivated but those thoughts are starting to creep in a little bit.”

I had prepared for about six months just to try to play my first full professional season and to hear it get ripped out from under me, that really sucked. – LUKE BERRYHILL

Luke Berryhill

Stokes likes to read and listen to podcasts but also plays whiffle ball, ping pong or shoot pool, anything to stay competitive.

“Whenever I am doing some kind of activity, I try to make it as competitive as possible,” he said. “My family and friends might not like it, but it helps me keep my edge.”

Stokes says having a daily routine is also important. A devout Christian, he starts his day with meditation and Bible study.

“As soon as I wake up, I get on my knees and it’s that first act of praying that just really sets the tone for the day,” he said. “Then I make my bed and complete a task. Within 10 minutes of waking up I have already prayed and completed a task, and something as simple as that sets the tone and sets your mind right.”

Though they are doing everything they can to stay in shape and stay active, it’s hard not to think about baseball and what they would be doing right now if not for the pandemic that has affected every aspect of life. They dream of the day, hopefully soon, when they will be able to return to the game they love.

“I miss it a lot,” Hopkins said. “I was right in the swing of things. We were already playing games and I was just getting pumped up because it was my

TJ Hopkins

Madison Stokes

first spring training and I already had experienced some of it. … We weren’t around the big-league guys but we would be working out and they would come up and introduce themselves. It was just cool to be around all that.”

“I miss it every single day when I wake up,” Stokes said. “I’m used to waking up at spring training and going straight to the field. Some days I wake up and I’m like, ‘Gosh, this stinks, I can’t do anything and can’t go play baseball.’ I 100 percent miss the competitive side of it.”

For Berryhill, he’s missing more than just the game and the daily routine.

“I really miss being around my teammates and the guys that I have built up friendships with,” he said. “Not being able to really see many people, it gets kinda lonely at times.”