Basketball Gave Me An Opportunity Now I Give Back.

I’m Al Woods, founder of Woods Recruiting, and basketball has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I’m originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, where I attended Bayside High School and developed a love for the game that eventually became an obsession. 

Basketball taught me how to compete, how to respond to disappointment, and most importantly, how to keep going when things did not go my way.

One of the defining moments of my life happened when I didn’t make the 10th-grade basketball team.

I could have quit. 

I could have blamed the coach. 

Instead, after school, I went directly to an outdoor basketball court and started working.

I was determined to get better.

That same day, I remember seeing my coach slowly drive past the court. 

A little later, my father came by and stopped to watch me.

Neither moment required a speech.

The message was simple: Keep working.

I did.

I made the varsity team in 11th grade and again as a senior.

That experience helped create values I still believe in today:

• Opportunity should never depend on money
• Every student-athlete deserves meaningful exposure
• Hard work deserves to be recognized
• Education must remain the priority
• Character matters beyond basketball ability
• Exposure can create life-changing opportunities

My Basketball Journey

My road through college basketball was anything but perfect.

I attended several junior colleges before eventually finding my way to West Virginia State College in 1983 at the age of 22. 

I went to summer school, worked hard academically and athletically, and eventually put together a solid college basketball career.

Then came an opportunity I will never forget.

In 1986, I had the chance to play professional basketball in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Basketball had taken a kid from the outdoor courts of Virginia Beach all the way to another country.

After my professional playing days ended, I returned to college and earned my degree in 1990. 

Finishing my education meant a great deal to me because basketball was never supposed to be the final destination. 

It was a vehicle that opened doors, created experiences, and taught lessons that stayed with me long after my playing career ended.

From Basketball Player To Recruiting Advocate

After playing, I knew I wanted to remain connected to basketball and help student-athletes.

I remembered how recruiting exposure once worked. 

A player's name could appear in a newsletter alongside a few statistics, contact information, and a short evaluation and that information could reach a college coach and potentially create an opportunity.

That idea fascinated me!!!

In 1989, I launched my own recruiting service. 

Initially, I didn't charge anything because I wanted to learn the business, understand recruiting, develop relationships, and become better at evaluating and promoting student-athletes.

By 1996, it became a paid service. 

By 1998, I took one of the biggest risks of my professional life: I quit both of my jobs and went full-time into recruiting.

And it worked.

For years, recruiting became my business and my livelihood.

But life had another challenge waiting for me.

A Battle Bigger Than Basketball

In 2017, I was diagnosed with APL leukemia.

Suddenly, basketball and recruiting weren't the most important things in my world.

Survival was.

Chemotherapy was difficult. 

There was exhaustion, weight gain, emotional ups and downs, and an entirely different kind of fight than anything I had experienced on a basketball court.

But I made it through.

I stepped away from recruiting and gave myself the time necessary to recover, rebuild, and appreciate life from a different perspective.

When I eventually returned to basketball, I knew I didn't want to return to the old business model.

A New Mission For Woods Recruiting

By 2023, I was ready to get involved again but this time, the mission had changed.

I no longer wanted to operate a traditional recruiting service.

I didn't want to chase families with sales calls or convince parents to purchase recruiting packages.

Today, I do not charge student-athletes or their families for my scouting coverage.

My focus is producing basketball content and providing exposure free of charge.

Through Woods Recruiting, I write scouting reports, basketball evaluations, recruiting articles, player features, recruiting education, commentary, and opinions about the constantly changing world of college basketball recruiting.

I share that information through my website and a growing email audience, including college basketball coaches and people throughout the basketball community.

The player gets exposure. 

The family gets information. 

The coach gets another prospect to evaluate.

That's the mission.

Exposure Without The Price Tag!!!

I understand that one scouting report cannot guarantee a scholarship.

No legitimate person can guarantee that.

But I also know something else.

A college coach cannot recruit a player they don't know exists.

That's why exposure matters.

There are talented basketball players everywhere who may not have national rankings, thousands of social media followers, major shoe-circuit opportunities, or families capable of spending large amounts of money chasing exposure.

I want Woods Recruiting to help shine a light on those players.

The goal isn't to promise scholarships.

The goal is to create visibility.

It's about giving coaches information they can evaluate and giving student-athletes another opportunity to get their name, academics, ability, character, and basketball potential in front of the right people.

Basketball Is Still My Passion

I've called Cleveland, Ohio home since the end of my playing career. 

I'm a passionate supporter of Cleveland sports, including the Browns, Cavaliers, and Guardians.

Away from basketball, I enjoy reading and have built a huge book collection over the years. 

I also enjoy chess and spending time with family and friends.

But outside of family, basketball remains my greatest passion.

The game has been part of virtually every stage of my life.

I've been the kid who didn't make the team.

I've been the player practicing alone on an outdoor court.

I've been a junior college player searching for the right opportunity.

I've been a college basketball player.

I've played professionally overseas.

I've spent decades around recruiting.

I've experienced professional success, stepped completely away from the business, battled leukemia, recovered, and eventually found my way back to the game.

Now I'm here for a different reason.

I'm here to write.

I'm here to evaluate.

I'm here to educate.

I'm here to share what I've learned.

And most importantly, I'm here to help student-athletes gain exposure without asking their families to pay me for it.

Basketball changed my life.

It gave me an education, experiences, relationships, memories, and opportunities I never could have imagined when I was that kid shooting basketballs on an outdoor court in Virginia Beach.

Today, Woods Recruiting is my way of giving something back to the game that gave so much to me.

One scouting report at a time.

One article at a time.

One email at a time.

One student-athlete at a time.

The mission is simple find deserving basketball players, tell their stories, provide free exposure, educate families about recruiting, and help college coaches discover student-athletes they may otherwise never have known about.

That's what Woods Recruiting represents today.

And as long as there are student-athletes chasing opportunities, I'll keep writing.

Al Woods
Founder, Woods Recruiting
Basketball Scouting • Recruiting Education • Free Student-Athlete Exposure