JaCobi Wood / Staff file photoNASHVILLE, Tenn. - Late in the first half of Belmont's 76-68 win over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last week at the Curb Event Center, sophomore guard JaCobi Wood grabbed an offensive rebound and attacked the basket before flipping a no-look pass to senior center Nick Muszynski for a dunk that put the Bruins up 16.
The Mocs called timeout, while a smiling Wood skipped up the court and celebrated with his teammates.
At that moment, it seemed that the offseason, one marred with an ankle injury that slowed the former Cleveland standout guard and 2020 Mr. Basketball winner, was a thing of the past.
"I'm having fun," he said after scoring five points and handing out four assists in the UTC win. "Just getting back healthy, really getting back to 100%, just doing all I can to be better defensively, offensively, efficiency and everything. Just getting better one notch every year is my main goal."
Wood was one of the top freshmen guards in the country last season, averaging 11.3 points per game and scoring in double figures in 20 of the Bruins' 30 games. There have been some struggles as he's worked his way back from the offseason injury, but he's still averaging 5.8 points per game for the 10-3 Bruins - ranked sixth in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll - and has topped double figures on a pair of occasions off the bench.
"JaCobi is a key piece to the success of our team," Belmont head coach Casey Alexander said. "He's in a unique role playing behind a couple of veteran guards (seniors Grayson Murphy and Luke Smith), but he's a dynamic, versatile guard for us off the bench. His ability to provide an instant spark on offense has fueled our team on many occasions."
Wood's freshman season led to a lot of expectations. One national publication listed him as one of the top 50 players in college basketball entering the season, but the fact that he hasn't yet been able to live up to that hasn't bothered him in the least.
"It was frustrating at first, but it's all part of God's plan," Wood said. "That's what kind of helped me be mentally better with that, so I just stay the course, stay on track and everything will come full circle for me.
"I've just had to mentally stay on track every day. I've been big on just staying on my game, trying to get better every day. That's one thing that's helped me improve in this year I've had, so it's doing that, staying together and then being on track with everything."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Cleveland's JaCobi Wood (10) sprints down court with the ball during the boys basketball game between Cleveland and East Hamilton at East Hamilton high school on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020 in Chattanooga, Tenn..