Kameron Woods (born April 22, 1993) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League.[1] He played college basketball for the Butler Bulldogs. He spent two seasons playing professional basketball for the Oklahoma City Blue before transitioning into a coaching position with the Blue and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
| Oklahoma City Blue | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | NBA G League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 22, 1993 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Eastern (Louisville, Kentucky) |
| College | Butler (2011–2015) |
| NBA draft | 2015: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2015–2017 |
| Position | Forward |
| Coaching career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2015–2017 | Oklahoma City Blue |
| As coach: | |
| 2018–2020 | Oklahoma City Blue (assistant) |
| 2020–2022 | Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant) |
| 2022–present | Oklahoma City Blue |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As head coach: | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
College career
editWoods spent four seasons as a member of the Butler Bulldogs. In his first collegiate game, he came off the bench and recorded five points against the Louisville Cardinals.[2] As a freshman, he averaged 4.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.[3] As a junior, he became a starter and led Butler and the Big East in rebounding. On January 9, 2014, Woods put up 17 points and 14 rebounds in a 94–99 loss to the DePaul Blue Demons.[4] At the end of his collegiate career, Woods left Butler as the leader in blocked shots for four straight seasons and second all-time leading rebounder at Butler.[5]
Professional career
editOklahoma City Blue (2015–2017)
editAfter going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Woods joined the Oklahoma City Blue for the 2015-16 NBA D League season.[6] When Woods started his D League career, he told himself he would play for two seasons and re-evaluate how close he was to the NBA.
I don’t want to be somebody who plays so long that they pass up on opportunities because they’re chasing something, The NBA is so much younger. Windows for guys to make it are shorter because there’s 19-year-olds that are getting drafted all the time.[7]
— Kameron Woods
In his first season with the Blue, he averaged 4.7 points, 5.2 rebounds in 49 appearances which included an 11-point, 15 rebound performance in a 90–94 loss to the South Bay Lakers.[8] Woods joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[9] In his summer league stint, Woods appeared in four games averaging 12 minutes.[10] In his second season, he averaged a new career high in games started and minutes while averaging 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. Following the season, Woods did not return to the Blue for a third season and instead moved to Atlanta and becoming an IT recruiter.[11]
Coaching career
editIn 2018, Woods returned to the Oklahoma City Blue as an assistant coach under head coach Mark Daigneault for the 2018-19 season.[12] When Daigneault was promoted to the Thunder as an assistant coach, Woods was retained by incoming head coach Grant Gibbs for his second season.[13] Woods was promoted to the Thunder as a player development coach for the 2020-21 season under Daigneault's first year as head coach.[14] Despite the Thunder being one of the youngest teams during the 2021-22 season, the Thunder finished top-ten in defensive rating due to Woods's credit. Woods received praise from Mark Daigneault and players on the roster.[15]
Oklahoma City Blue (2022–present)
editOn September 23, 2022, the Thunder named Woods the new head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue following Grant Gibbs's promotion to the Thunder coaching staff. Woods previously served as the head coach for the Thunder in the 2022 NBA Summer League in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas leading Oklahoma City to a 5–3 record.[16] On November 4, 2022, the Blue opened up their season against G League Ignite that saw the Blue winning 134–125, after trailing by 28 points to give Woods's his first career win.[17] In his first season with the Blue, the Blue finished with a 13–19 record and finished top-ten in defensive rating, however the team missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.[18]
In his second season, Woods led the Blue back to the playoffs following a 21–13 record, their best record since the 2018–19 season. After a 2–9 start following the Winter Showcase, the Blue finished 3rd in the west, clinching their first playoff appearance since 2019. In the playoffs, the Blue defeated Rio Grande Valley Vipers at home and Sioux Falls Skyforce and top-seeded Stockton Kings on the road to make their finals since the 2009–10, when the team was known as the Tulsa 66ers. In the finals, the Blue defeated Maine Celtics 2–1 on the road following Ousmane Dieng's 25 points. With the win, Woods gave the Blue their first championship as the Oklahoma City Blue, their third overall as a franchise.
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Butler | 36 | 5 | 17.6 | .370 | .180 | .605 | 4.8 | .6 | .4 | 1.1 | 4.2 |
| 2012–13 | Butler | 36 | 0 | 17.0 | .547 | .250 | .654 | 4.9 | .8 | .6 | .7 | 4.5 |
| 2013–14 | Butler | 30 | 30 | 33.4 | .448 | — | .657 | 9.0 | 2.0 | .9 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| 2014–15 | Butler | 34 | 34 | 31.3 | .506 | — | .659 | 9.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | .9 | 7.8 |
| Career | 136 | 69 | 24.4 | .464 | .185 | .650 | 7.2 | 1.1 | .8 | .9 | 5.9 | |
NBA G League
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Oklahoma City | 49 | 14 | 21.8 | .480 | .383 | .679 | 5.2 | .9 | .5 | .7 | 4.7 |
| 2016–17 | Oklahoma City | 50 | 29 | 25.5 | .401 | .235 | .640 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .7 | .5 | 4.5 |
| Career | 99 | 43 | 23.7 | .436 | .298 | .660 | 4.9 | 1.2 | .6 | .6 | 4.6 | |
Coaching record
edit| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
Regular season
edit| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City | 2022–23 | 32 | 13 | 19 | .406 | 10th in West | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Oklahoma City | 2023–24 | 34 | 21 | 13 | .618 | 3rd in West | 6 | 5 | 1 | .857 | Won Championship |
| Career | 66 | 34 | 32 | .515 | 6 | 5 | 1 | .857 | |||
References
edit- ^ "Thunder Announces Coaching Staff Updates". nba.com. September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ "Kameron Woods Bio". butlersports.com. September 24, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Kameron Woods Stats". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "DePaul vs. Butler - January 9, 2014". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "OKC Thunder Summer League Profile: Kameron Woods". si.com. September 24, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Oklahoma City Blue announces training camp roster". oklahoman.com. November 3, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ Mussatto, Joe (July 13, 2022). "How OKC Thunder Summer League coach Kameron Woods rocketed through NBA ranks". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "South Bay vs. Oklahoma City - November 24, 2015". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Thunder Announces Summer League Roster". nba.com. July 1, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "2016 Oklahoma City Thunder Summer League Stats". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Oklahoma City Blue announces training camp roster". oklahoman.com. November 3, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Blue Names Kameron Woods Assistant Coach". oklahomacity.gleague.nba.com. October 24, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Oklahoma City Announces Coaching Staff Updates". oklahomacity.gleague.nba.com. September 17, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "Mark Daigneault finalizes OKC Thunder coaching staff for 2020-21". okcthunderwire.usatoday.com. November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "Kameron Woods is starting to find, and lose, his voice". thunderousintentions.com. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Thunder Announces Coaching Staff Updates". nba.com. September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ "OKC Blue: Notable performances, highlights in 134-125 win over G League Ignite". okcthunderwire.usatoday.com. November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "NBA G League Stats - Defensive Rating". stats.gleague.nba.com. March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.