While the March Madness run for HBCU basketball might have ended in the first round. Former North Carolina A&T guard Kam Woods has been front and center for one of the most memorable runs in recent NCAA Tournament history, as his new team, the NC State Wolfpack continues to “survive and advance” to the 2024 Final Four.
NC State entered the ACC tournament as the 10 seed with little expectation of even making a run in the conference tourney. Nine wins later the Wolfpack are headed to the Final Four, and former Second Team All-CAA Selection Kam Woods has gone from a first-round exit in the CAA tourney last year to the pinnacle event in NCAA college basketball, the NCAA Final Four.
“It’s been humbling and exciting to see all this,” said Woods in an interview with HBCU Gameday during the ACC tournament. “Coming from an HBCU it’s been humbling, normally we only get to see this on TV.”
The Bessemer, Alabama native came out of high school with a reputation as a. bucket getter scoring 3,871 career points as the Alabama Class 6A player of the year for two consecutive years. Once he got on campus at an HBCU, he continued in that role as a high-volume scorer at North Carolina A&T, leading the Aggies in scoring, assists, and three-pointers made in their first year as a member of the CAA.
Transferring from a mid-major to a power conference does come with sacrifices, and for the first time in several years, Kam Woods has had to become more of a role player in the ACC with NC State.
“I wouldn’t say I haven’t been myself, that’s just not what my team needs this year,” said Woods. “At this level, learning how to score is easier… That’s what I learned here, playing off two or more, like you got shot blockers… league guys., first round, lotto. So you gotta come with it.”
Kam Woods has averaged 7.2 minutes per game during his 13 games at NC State, with his season-high of nine points coming back in December against Tennessee. And while he hasn’t logged many minutes during the Wolfpack’s Final Four run, Kam Woods is gaining valuable experiences that he will surely take with him into his senior season in 2024-2025.