NBA draft 2020: Robert Woodard II picked No. 40, headed to Sacramento via trade
Robert Woodard II is set to represent the Magnolia State at the next level.
The Memphis Grizzlies selected Woodard, a Columbus, Mississippi, native and a two-year player at Mississippi State, with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Woodard is headed to the Sacramento Kings via a trade.
Woodard started 32 of the 65 games he played in maroon and white. He was one of three Bulldogs to start all 31 of Mississippi State's games during the 2019-20 season.
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Coach Ben Howland put Woodard on the floor for nearly twice as many minutes as a sophomore than he did when Woodard was a freshman. Woodard subsequently upped his averages from 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game to 11.4 and 6.5, respectively.
Woodard spent a lot of time working on shooting from Year 1 to Year 2 as well. He shot 27.3% from the 3-point line as a freshman but improved to that mark to 42.9% as a sophomore.
As well as Woodard has shot the ball recently, though, it's still only a small part of the 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward's game. He has a nose for the ball around the rim and is a versatile defender at multiple positions.
Woodard followed his father's footsteps to Mississippi State. Robert Woodard Sr. was a Bulldog basketball player from 1987-90, but he never played in the NBA. His son his well on his way to forging his own path on that front.
Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!