Sports Spotlight on Malik Wood | Video

Scott Westerberg | 11/21/2012

Coming out of high school in Atlanta, Malik Wood did not have plans to play college basketball. He didn`t even plan on going to college at all. But Wood and Bismarck State found each other and now both are reaping the benefits.

"He`s better than we expected, to be honest with you," said coach Jason Harris.

When Harris first saw a highlight video of Wood, he knew that was the type of player he wanted at Bismarck State. A year later, Wood is a returning all-american and the Mystics` leading scorer.

"He`s a really talented young man, and we need him to do that for us to be successful, and he knows that, so he steps on the floor and knows what he`s capable of and just goes out and does it," Harris said.

Because Wood has faith in the talent around him, he doesn`t feel pressure to carry the load all on his own.

"We have way more shooters than we did last year. We`re a much deeper team. We work harder this year than we did last year. A lot of guys are committed, so it actually makes my job a little easier cause some nights I don`t need to score big numbers. I can just pass the ball, and I trust my guys to knock down shots."

Wood`s teammates are rewarding that trust. Wood is currently fourth in all of Division I junior college basketball in assists and just as amazing is his 25 and a half points per game average which ranks him third in the country.

"My ball handling as well as my scoring separates me a little from other point guards who may be bigger than me or more athletic than me and just my knowledge of the game, it helps me a lot," he said.

Wood`s stats are even more impressive considering he had virtually no interest from any colleges coming out of high school. That is, until BSC assistant Eddie Collins was sent some highlights of Wood in action.

"At first I didn`t know I was going to go to college. I thought I was about to work, and then luckily I was fortunate and blessed to come to BSC, so it wasn`t really a big deal for me to come out here. I just want to play basketball," Wood said.

"If they would have seen what he`s been able to do for us last year and what he`s doing for us this year, yeah, I`m sure there are a lot of colleges that wish they would have been on him a lot quicker than they were," Harris said.

And now everyone else`s loss is BSC`s gain.

Wood`s basketball career will not end after this season. He has already signed to play for MSU-Moorhead after he`s finished at Bismarck State.

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