I had a great Where are they Now? interview with former KU standout Steve Woodberry in February 2000 at Mr. Goodcents in Lawrence. Steve, who was back in Lawrence after playing professionally overseas rehabbing his knee and working at Retirement Management Company, talked to me fondly over his lunch break about his KU career and his professional career in Australia.
Then a young woman recognized Steve and asked him if he played for KU. Steve was very kind and said he did. They had a very nice conversation.
“It’s a good feeling to have,” Steve told me. “When they come up and talk to you, you can tell that you left a mark, along with the other players around you.”
Woodberry, who Roy Williams once said was the best defensive player he ever coached at Kansas, reveled in his KU experience.
“It was too short,” he said. “Four years was too short. It was a great four years.”
Woodberry arrived at KU after a heralded career at Wichita South High School under head coach Steve Eck. The Kansas Naismith Player of the Year in 1990, Woodberry averaged 20.5 points and 10 rebounds per game that senior season with single-game highs of 31 points and 15 boards. He led WSHS to two state championships and three straight conference titles while the Titans only lost three games during his career.
Woodberry, whose most admired athlete is Michael Jordan, improved each year of his KU career, averaging 3.0 points his freshman season, 7.2 points as a sophomore, 10.1 points his junior season, and then a team-high 15.5 points as a senior.
He boasts career averages of 9.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 23.6 minutes per game (138 games), while shooting 47.6 percent from the field, 79.1 percent at the free throw line, and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. Woodberry shot a scorching 87.9 percent at the charity stripe during the 1992-93 Final Four season (No. 3 all time for single season in KU annals), where he was regarded as the best sixth man in the land.
Woodberry’s KU teams went a sparkling 110-28, where he played in two Final Fours (1991 and 1993), won three Big Eight regular-season titles, one conference tournament championship and one Preseason NIT title.
After graduating from KU with an economics degree, Woodberry embarked on a highly successful 11-year career overseas. He played in Switzerland in 1995 before enjoying a six-year career in Australia. He was the league’s MVP with the Brisbane Bullets in 1999 and an all-league selection in 1998 and ‘99. Woodberry then played two seasons in Lithuania, winning a championship in 2001 and voted the league’s Import player of the Year, before playing in Greece, Sweden and Finland.
Woodberry, who retired in 2005, then embarked on a coaching career, serving as an assistant at Missouri State from 2006-12, where he was part of five winning seasons, including three 20-win campaigns and three postseason berths. The Bears played in the NIT twice (2007, 2011) and won the postseason CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2010.
In 2012, he joined KU legend Danny Manning as his assistant Tulsa, where he coached for two years. Woodberry was instrumental to Tulsa in winning the 2013-14 Conference USA regular season and tournament titles--the program’s first league title since 2003. Tulsa played in the postseason both years, earning a a No. 13 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, its first NCAA berth in 11 seasons.
The former KU standout guard then moved to Wake Forest, where he’s continued as Manning’s assistant coach. Woodberry helped lead Wake to the 2017 NCAA Tournament, where the Deacs ranked in the top-10 nationally in offensive efficiency. Wake set school records with 268 three-pointers and 77.8 percent at the free throw line, averaging 82.8 points per game.
Steve and his wife, Bianca, have three children -- sons Shaylen and Sherron and daughter Sanaa'. He also has two other children, Steven and Kaylen.
Here is my Where are they Now? interview with Woodberry from 2000. Steve, I truly appreciate your kindness and the time you gave me.
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Every now and then, Steve Woodberry will turn on the TV and see a fellow Wichita native, Adrian Griffin, starting at small forward for the Boston Celtics. Woodberry, who played against Griffin in high school (Woodberry starred for Wichita South while Griffin, two years younger, played at Wichita East) and briefly in the CBA, can’t help but beam with pride.
“I’m happy for him,” Woodberry said this recent afternoon at a Lawrence restaurant during his lunch break from RMC (Retirement Management Company). “I’m glad he’s doing well, because there’s not very many guys from Wichita — if any — besides Adrian Griffin in the NBA. ... He does a great job for them.”
While Griffin toiled in the CBA (he played in college at Seton Hall) before getting a shot at the NBA, Woodberry has spent the majority of his time after college playing basketball overseas in Australia. The former Kansas basketball star has been one of the top players in the league for six seasons, and was even named MVP last year (27.0 ppg) despite an injury-riddled campaign.
Woodberry said he has no regrets about not pursuing a CBA career after college, where he would have received more exposure from NBA scouts.
“I don’t recommend anyone going to play in the CBA,” said Woodberry, who actually played 30 games in the league for Quad Cities in 1997. “If you’re willing to stick it out, that’s fine. But what happens if you don’t make it? He’s (Griffin) an exception to the rule. All it takes is one person to like you. What happens if the coach doesn’t like you? I thought it was better for me to go overseas. You make more money overseas than you do with the CBA anyway. I wanted to make the money,” Woodberry said, laughing.
After undergoing three knee surgeries in eight months, Woodberry is currently taking a year off from basketball, rehabbing his knee, and working in Lawrence (he’s been living here since November). An economics major, Woodberry is enjoying getting invaluable working experience at RMC, where he’s involved in accounts payable.
Woodberry, who plans on playing basketball three to five more years and then possibly joining the coaching ranks, is fortunate to currently have the opportunity to keep close tabs on the Jayhawks and watch his former coach, Roy Williams, conduct practices. Williams once gave Woodberry the ultimate compliment, saying that he was the best defensive player he’s ever coached at KU.
“That meant a lot,” Woodberry said. “I don’t think many players today take pride in defense. Nowadays, it’s whose got the best crossover, who can jump the highest and shoot the most. I think him saying that really says a lot about me and how much pride I took playing on both ends of the floor.”
Woodberry admits he compensated for his lack of athletic gifts by learning shortcuts and watching other great defensive players like Alonzo Jamison. With scorers like Mark Randall, Rex Walters and Adonis Jordan, Woodberry wasn’t asked to shoot much his first three years in college He thrived in the role as Super Sub, and was generally regarded as the best sixth man in the country in 1993.
“It’s good when you can come in and play the point, two and three,” Woodberry said. “I gave us what we needed. ... I took a back seat to be unselfish and make sure other guys got involved. I thought there was more to my game than just scoring. I enjoyed playing defense, rebounding, getting steals. I’m glad I came here and did it that way.”
Woodberry wound up leading the team in scoring his senior year in 1994 (15.5 ppg) and silently carved his way into the KU record books. He tied the school record for most games played in the NCAA tournament (16), and ranks among the all-time Jayhawk leaders in assists, steals, and three point field goals.
Of course, Woodberry will never forget going to two Final Fours (1991 and 1993) and hitting game-winning shots throughout his career, including buzzer beaters against K-State in 1992 and Oklahoma State in 1994. Woodberry, who calls the three-pointer against the Cowboys one of the biggest shots of his life, said he lives for those moments.
“Most people are scared,” said Woodberry, whose also hit a couple of game-winners in Australia. “But why not? Either you miss it or you make it. What’s going to happen? Nobody’s going to kill you. You step up to the challenge and see if you can meet it. Michael Jordan, as many as he’s made, how many did he miss? No one remembers that.”
And how would he like to be remembered?
“To me, everything was about winning,” Woodberry said (he won two state championships in high school). “I’d just like to be remembered as a winner. I did everything I could to help us win.”
And while Woodberry would certainly love to be playing in the NBA with Griffin and former KU teammates Walters, Jacque Vaughn and Greg Ostertag (the Milwaukee Bucks actually asked Woodberry to work out this summer, but he was unable due to his knee injury), he’s perfectly content continuing to play basketball overseas or anywhere but the CBA.
“People are doing worse things,” Woodberry said, smiling. “Basketball is fun. You get paid to do it two hours a day.”
A Closer Look at Steve Woodberry:
Years at KU: 1990-94
Career Notables: Member of 1991 and 1993 Final Four teams... No. 19 leading scorer in KU history...Among KU all-time leaders in three-point field goals, assists, steals, and games played... Second team All-Big Eight in 1993 and ‘94.
Education: B.G.S. Economics, 1996
Family: Woodberry has two children (Steven, 2, and Kaylen, 7)
Since Leaving KU: After being cut by Larry Brown’s Indiana Pacers in 1994, Woodberry spent the next six seasons playing overseas in Australia. He also had a brief stint in the CBA (30 games with Quad Cities) in 1997.
Currently: Woodberry is living in Lawrence while rehabbing his knee and working for Retirement Management Company.
Favorite KU Memories: “How close-knit everyone is. We’re lifelong friends.” … Going to the Final Four as a freshman in 1991. “Mark Randall was the star, but everybody did their role and played together. That was a special year.”
On the Jayhawks Today: “He’s (Roy Williams) getting a lot more talent than what we had back then. ...This team can go as far as any other team, but they have to play together.”
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