On March 26, 2007, the Jays signed a 6'1" guard from Lewisville, Texas out of seemingly nowhere. The recruiting forum on The Bluejay Cafe generally has threads to track every player on Creighton's radar, and yet, there was nothing on this player until the day he signed. No one outside of coaches and a few others close to the program had even heard of him, much less knew he was being recruited by the Jays. Over the next couple of days, info started to trickle out.
"Booker Woodfox: (SO) 6-foot-1 (175) from Lewisville, TX. Woodfox is currently averaging 18.7 ppg and 3 assists this season from the two guard position. 'Booker can flat out score the ball and he has a quick shot release," said Horstman, his coach at San Jacinto. Booker had signed with Louisiana-Lafayette coming out of high school. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Sam Houston State and Utah are currently following Woodfox. Booker has shot 39.3% (72-183) from 3-point range this season. He is currently the 3rd leading scorer in the conference. Booker has scored 936 points over two seasons."
The Jays have had lots of lightly-regarded recruits over the years that turned into solid players. They've even had some turn into great, all-conference players. But there was no indication that Booker Woodfox would be anything more than a shooter, a one-dimensional junior college stopgap guy who could hit a few jump shots while the freshman recruits matured. Actually, considering his signing took everyone by surprise, there wasn't much indication of anything.
In his first year as a Jay, Booker struggled to adjust to Division 1 ball, as most JuCo transfers do. What was apparent from the get-go, however, was his jet-quick release. Even in traffic, he was able to get shots off. His percentage wasn't stellar early, but watching him shoot, you knew if and when he got accustomed to D1, he could be a deadly sharpshooter.
By the time the conference season rolled around, he began to show hints of what might be to come: hitting 33-67 of his shots from long range, a 49% clip. For the season, he made 56-132 shots from long range, a 42% percentage. He scored in double-figures in 14 straight games from January 26 through March 18, and averaged 11 points in conference games. He won MVC Newcomer of the Week honors three of the last five weeks of the season, and was named the MVC Sixth Man of the Year as well as captain of the All-Bench Team.
His debut year wasn't without signature moments, either. He hit the game-winning three pointer on the road at Oral Roberts in February. He scored a career-high 22 points in the NIT comeback against Rhode Island. He made 5-7 threes at Indiana State on January 2, and 6-7 in the rematch three weeks later. He grabbed 7 big rebounds in the MVC Quarterfinal win over Bradley.
Still, he was a solid player, a good shooter and a liability on defense. There was no indication he was on the verge of letting loose one of the greatest seasons in the storied history of Creighton Basketball.
In the season opener against New Mexico, Woodfox scored 26 on 4-8 shooting from long range, and 8-13 overall. With the exception of the Nebraska game, Woodfox scored at least nine points every game before a 29-point outburst on December 6 in Philadelphia against St. Joseph's. Three days later against Dayton, he went off again, this time for 21. In the two games, both wins, he was 16-25 from the floor and 12-17 from three point range. From there, he continued his hot shooting, scoring 16, 17, 24, 26, 16, and 17 in his next six games. For the month of December, he averaged 20 points.
An ankle injury in January precipitated a huge drop in his production, as he shot just 35% from the floor and saw his average drop to 13.5 points per game. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the Jays went 4-4 that month. Down the stretch, his injury healed and he emerged once more as the Jays Number One offensive option.
His defense and passing skills have even improved to the point where he became more than just a great shooter, but the best player on the team. Some may have scoffed at that notion before the season, figuring the uber-talented P'Allen Stinnett was that player. Stinnett's awfully good, a second-team All-MVC performer this season and perhaps has a POY performance in his future. But right now, at this moment in time, Woodfox is not only the best player of his team, he's the best player in his entire conference.
All season long, as Booker Woodfox went, so did the Jays. Minus the January games when Woodfox played injured, the Jays were 21-2 and Woodfox shot an other-worldly 56% from long range. To put that in perspective, Kyle Korver shot 48% in his senior year. Even Booker's season-long average of 50.9% eclipses that. (Granted, Korver made 40 more threes, but Booker also has more games yet to play.)
Statistically, Booker is in line to finish as the greatest pure shooter in Creighton history, impossible as that is to comprehend. Booker made a three-pointer in 27 consecutive games, 10th best nationally and 2nd in Creighton history behind Korver, who made a three in 28 straight games. He broke Korver's record by making 36 straight free throws. Barring a monumental collapse in the postseason, he will leave Creighton as the ALL-TIME leader in three-point shooting percentage both for a single season and for his career.
Additionally, if he finishes the season above 50%, which is where he sits right now, he'll be the first and ONLY Creighton player since 1955 to do so with more than 200 shooting attempts.
And now, he joins such immortals as Bob Harstad, Chad Gallagher, and Kyle Korver as the only Jays to be named MVC Player of the Year. Rodney Buford, the school's all-time leading scorer, never won that honor. Sir Rodney lost out to Rico Hill of ISU Red and Marcus Wilson of Evansville, coming in second twice. Ryan Sears and Ben Walker never won it. Nate Funk never won it. Yet Booker Woodfox, the surprise recruit that so few Jays fans had heard of before the day he signed, is the Jays fourth player to win the award.
Booker's ceiling turned out to be enormously higher than anyone imagined, including Dana Altman. Asked about it in the World-Herald, he shook his head and replied, "No" when asked if he thought Booker would turn into a MVC Player of the Year talent.
"After I saw him shoot the ball, I knew this was a no-brainer. But I knew he was going to be a liability on defense, and we'd have to work through that. And he has. He's worked hard defensively just to try to do a better job. To shoot the percentages that he did this year and to come on as strong as he did last year, I can't say I saw that. To become the kind of shooter he's been for us, wow. He hits tough shots, shots on the move. He's hit so many big ones for us."
From unknown to MVC Player of the Year in 23 months. From mystery recruit to one of the all-time great Jays, the best player on a team that has the opportunity to be one of the best in school history by season's end.
What a fantastic ride. Here's hoping Booker and the Jays can keep it going for a few more weeks.
You bet.
