What Woods's commitment means for South Carolina

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

It took a little longer than the Gamecocks probably expected to during his initial recruitment, but after a quick detour at North Carolina Seventh Woods is a Gamecock.

South Carolina added the latest piece to their roster Friday with Woods officially enrolling as a walk-on and beginning his much-anticipated, although shortened, career at South Carolina.

Since South Carolina doesn't have a scholarship to offer Woods in this class—Micaiah Henry took the last one in May—Woods will have to walk-on to the team and wait to be put on scholarship before the start of the 20-21 season.

Also see: Four-star lineman raves about USC visit

While there's always the possibility of a waiver to play immediately, the prevailing thought is Woods will sit this year out due to transfer rules and be ready to make his impact as a redshirt senior the following season.

Now the college stats may not jump off the page—he averaged 1.8 points and shot 34.8 percent over his career in Chapel Hill—but any time a program can add a former top 50 player like Woods, it certainly doesn't hurt.

Homegrown players who have played in three NCAA Tournaments, been a part of a national-title winning team and has two regular season conference titles are hard to come by and Woods checks all of those boxes.

Woods never reached his full potential at North Carolina, something he'll have every opportunity to do in Columbia.

Also see: Grimes has USC "definitely closer to the top" after official visit

As a point guard, he'll be able to anchor Frank Martin's offense and be the top of a defense Martin has become known for.

It's no secret that Frank Martin loves having as many point guards on the court as he can, and Woods will fit right into a backcourt featuring Trae Hannibal, Jair Bolden, TJ Moss and potentially AJ Lawson, depending on what the rising sophomore chooses to do professionally after next season.

His experience in the ACC will be invaluable this season in practice and next year when he's finally able to play his last year of eligibility at Colonial Life Arena.

A physical guard that can pass really well, Woods seems like a perfect fit for Martin's system on both ends of the court with athleticism and length on the perimeter.

He has a knack for getting into the paint and finishing dating all the way back to his viral sensation high school days but can knock down the three-pointer at times when the defense sags off of him.

Also see: Could the Gamecocks flip a commit from another SEC school?

He runs well in transition—something Martin's teams have done well the previous few years, especially last season—which will be a big boost having multiple guys that can lead a break.

Plus, if he garners a lot of defensive attention, it could open up more driving lanes and room down low for guys like Justin Minaya, Trey Anderson, Keyshawn Bryant, Jalyn McCreary and any one else on the roster.

This would have been considered a huge recruiting win for Frank Martin and his staff in 2016 when Woods was coming out of Hammond and should be considered a win now, even though it probably took a little longer than the Gamecocks hoped for Woods to come back to Columbia.