Tray Woodall finds college humbling
by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall is back on the court for his senior season after a frustrating year in which he battled through a severe abdominal injury.
Woodall, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., missed 11 of the first 12 games last season but returned to start the final 20. Woodall, who has a knack for hitting clutch shots, leads the Panthers in assists this season and averages 12.3 points a game while making more than 50% of his field goal attempts.
Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon says Woodall and promising freshman James Robinson are interchangeable at point guard and shooting guard. They make for a formidable backcourt duo as the Panthers look to challenge the upper echelon of the Big East Conference.
USA TODAY Sports caught up with Woodall recently.
Players I look up to
Now it would be (former Pitt players) Carl (Krauser), Levance Fields and Brandin Knight. I take a little bit from each. Patience from Levance. Leadership and talking from Brandin. Being aggressive from Carl. We are all close. Guys don’t know how close we are. They will text and call after games.
What I’ve learned most about life from being in college
That it humbles you. I came from a high school that finished No.1 in the country. I came to college thinking I am probably going to be the man. You just have to be ready for it. It’s a life experience.
Beside my parents, the most influential people in my life
My godfather and my godbrother. Jio Fontan plays at (Southern California), and his father, Jorge. When I was in the worst times, and when I could have gone down the wrong path and didn’t have to play basketball anymore, he basically put the basketball back in my hands when I moved to Paterson (N.J.). I moved from Brooklyn to Paterson. When I left Brooklyn, I was labeled one of those bad kids. Everyone knew I could not be on their team because I was one of those bad kids. When I moved to Paterson, I met him and then Jio became one of my best friends. I started staying with them on … [For more on Healthy Panther Tray Woodall finds college humbling, click here.]
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