Qyntel Woods

Infobox Euroleague Player
name = Qyntel Woods
nickname =


caption = Qyntel Woods playing with Olympiacos in 2008.
position = Small forward
height_ft = 6
height_in = 8
weight_lb = 220
league = ULEB Cup
Lega Basket Serie A
team = UPIM Bologna
jersey =| number =
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|2|16
birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee
highschool = Carver High School in Memphis, Tennessee
college = Northeast Mississippi Community College
draft = 21^st overall
draft_team = Portland Trail Blazers
draft_year = 2002
career_start = 2002
career_end =
former_teams = Portland Trail Blazers (2002–2005)
Miami Heat (2005)
Boston Celtics (2005)
New York Knicks (2005–2006)
Bakersfield Jam (2007)
Olympiacos (2007–2008)
awards = 2008 Greek League All-Star Slam Dunk Contest Champion
2008 Greek League All-Star Game MVP

Qyntel Deon Woods (born February 16, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for UPIM Bologna.

After a college career at Northeast Mississippi Community College, Woods was selected by the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers with the 21st pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. Coming out of college, Woods was known to pro scouts as a player with exceptional potential (sometimes compared to Tracy McGrady), but with a history of off-court problems. He was an early entry candidate in the 2002 NBA Draft. He had committed to the University of Memphis before making himself available in the draft.

NBA career

In his first two seasons with the Trail Blazers, Woods played in 115 games (53 games and 62 games), averaging 2.4 and 3.6 points per game and appearing sparingly in the 2003 NBA Playoffs. The 2004-05 season was packed with off-court trouble for Woods, as he was charged with animal cruelty following an investigation. He plead guilty to first-degree animal abuse for staging dog fights in his house, some involving his pit bull named Hollywood. Both Hollywood and Woods' other pit bull, Sugar, were confiscated, and Woods was given 80 hours of community service and also agreed to donate $10,000 to the Oregon Humane Society. [ [http://www.oregonhumane.org/news/QyntelWoodsGuilty.htm Qyntel Woods Guilty - News - Oregon Humane Society ] ] In response to these events, the Trail Blazers suspended and eventually released Woods, in a settlement that involved pay withheld from Woods in the 2004-05 season, when he was supposed to be paid $1.1 million for the third year of a three-year contract. The Trail Blazers kept about $500,000, said spokesman Art Sasse.

Upon finally leaving Portland in January 2005, he subsequently joined the Miami Heat, playing in three regular season games (with averages of 3.3 points and 2 rebounds per game), but he was not used in the 2005 NBA Playoffs. He was part of a 13-player mega deal that sent him to the Boston Celtics on August 2, 2006. He was waived after having played in only three exhibition games with the Celtics, and he was subsequently signed by the New York Knicks on December 6, 2005. He showed some promise under then Knicks head coach Larry Brown, starting sixteen games and averaging career highs in minutes per game, field goal percentage, points per game, rebounds and assists. However, he was not kept for the following season, and he would end up playing a month (from February to March) in the NBA Development League with the Bakersfield Jam.

European career

Woods signed a two-year contract with the Greek League team Olympiacos on July 16, 2007. [ [http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/14476/180/item Olympiacos inks Qyntel Woods for two years] ] In 10 appearances with Olympiacos BC in the Greek League regular season, Woods averaged 12.5 points per game in 26.3 minutes per game. [ [ftp://ftp.esake.gr/statistics0708/ba108t02.htm Olympiakos BC Stats] ] In the Greek League 2007-08 post season, he averaged 8.1 points per game, while grabbing 2.1 rebounds per game in 20.7 minutes per game. [ [http://www.esake.gr/basket/agonistiko. Players' Greek League stats] ]

Woods was caught using marijuana during the Greek League finals and thus committed a breach of his contract, which led to Olympiacos terminating the final year of his deal. Woods signed a contract with the Italian League club Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna after he was released by Olympiacos [ [http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/news/i/33852/448/item Fortitudo nabs Qyntel Woods] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/qyntel_woods/ NBA.com Profile - Qyntel Woods]