On Saturday, January 4, the gym at Wayne County High School was formally dedicated as the Rodney C. Woods Gymnasium. Family, players, former players and assistant coaches surrounded Woods on the court, that was also dedicated in his name, for the ceremony which was held before the Cardinals’ game with Clinton, Tennessee.

The Wayne County Board of Education voted unanimously in April to name the gymnasium and the court after the successful coach. Woods is in his 28th year as head coach at Wayne County High School, where he has a record of 574-303. His career record is 781-375. He had led the program to 15 district titles, eight regional championships and a state runner-up finish in 1989.

“He’s a great coach, but he has also been a great role model for a lot of young men who have played in this program,” said Jarrod Gibbons, a 2004 Wayne County graduate who played for Woods five seasons. “He teaches you a lot of things about life and not just about basketball.”

Gibbons was a member of the 2004 regional championship squad, and he was among the many players who made the trip to Wayne County High School to attend the ceremony for Woods on Saturday. Gibbons said he and several of his teammates talked a couple of years ago about the gymnasium being dedicated to their coach, then found out that a plan was already in the works to get the facility named for Woods.

Gibbons, who now lives in Memphis, Tennessee, was glad he could make the trip to Wayne County for the ceremony Saturday. The atmosphere is the same, noted Gibbons, as when he played for Wayne County, with fans supporting the team.

“You don’t realize it until you play for a college. The fans support you here and they travel with you so well…it’s like a large family here,” said Gibbons.

Another former player who has kept up with Woods over the years is Barry Kincaid, who played for the coach at Powell Valley High School in Tennessee. Kincaid traveled from South Carolina on Saturday to participate in the ceremony, honoring his former coach.

Kincaid played for Woods in the first season he coached in high school, and he was a member of the state runner-up team at Powell Valley. But Kincaid knew Woods before then as a talented point guard for the University of Tennessee.

Kincaid recalls watching Woods light it up in Knoxville against the University of Kentucky when the point guard scored 20 plus points to help the Vols take the win. Little did he know that a few years later, Woods would be his high school coach.

“It was an honor to play for him,” said Kincaid. “I am very proud of what he has accomplished…He was an important part of my life, and I am so please I can be here today.”

Woods began his high school basketball career as a player at Lone Jack High School in Four Mile, Kentucky. His single-season high of 1,001 points is the 16th highest total ever achieved in Kentucky high school basketball, while his 418 field goals that year is the third most ever scored.

Woods scored 2,484 career points at Lone Jack. High scoring games in his career were 52 and 51 points.

After high school, Woods played for the University of Tennessee, where Coach Ray Mears’ use of him as “point man” or “one guard” perfected the role which is so prevalent in college basketball now. Woods also lettered in college baseball for two years.

After receiving his Bachelors Degree, Woods was hired at Claiborne County Schools in Speedwell, Tennessee. He worked in the Corbin City School district before returning to Claiborne County Schools.

Woods was hired by Wayne County Schools in 1986.

During his tenure at Wayne County, Woods has been named 12th Region Coach of the Year 10 times and in 2002 was the Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald Leader Coach of the Year for Kentucky.

————————————

An attempt to leave contraband at the Wayne County Detention Center on Friday, January 3 was thwarted, and a London, Ky. woman was cited by local officials.

A two-day investigation, which included staff at the detention center monitoring phone calls, led Jailer Ray Upchurch to a white car which was located on Highway 167 on Friday afternoon.

Upchurch and a deputy followed the car around town and to the Jim Hill Service Road, which leads to the detention center.

Upchurch said that Misty Hunter, of London, Ky., was observed throwing an object out of the window of the vehicle onto the roadway.

Detective Derek Lester, with the Monticello Police Department, and Wayne Conn, with the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force, were called to assist at the scene. Upchurch stated that 10 Suboxone strips were recovered by officers.

Hunter was cited for promoting contraband.

The investigation is continuing.

Upchurch stated that drugs were not taken into the detention center. Anyone caught trying to leave anything at the facility will be charged, he added.