By: Ben McCormick
November 6, 2024
Last season, Duke women’s basketball forward Jordan Wood scored just 19 total points and grabbed 15 rebounds in 14 games. But in the No. 11 Blue Devils’ season-debut on Monday against Radford, the sophomore big had a breakout game, scoring 13 points and notching eight boards.
Wood might be the X-factor for this year’s squad.
Duke was dealt a serious blow when 5-star freshman center Arianna Roberson suffered a season-ending knee injury before getting the chance to make her college debut. The 6-foot-4, No. 17 rated recruit in the class of 2024 was set to be the replacement for former starting center Kennedy Brown. Without her, the Blue Devils only have one other player taller than 6-foot-3 — Wood.
To start the game, head coach Kara Lawson decided to play small ball, starting guards Taina Mair, Ashlon Jackson and Reigan Richardson, as well as sophomore forwards Jadyn Donovan and Delaney Thomas. The tallest of the starters was Thomas at 6-foot-3. While Thomas isn’t short, she isn’t really a traditional five either.
But once Wood entered the game, it was clear that Duke had a true center at its disposal — and one that has clearly made a leap from her freshman year. In a game that Duke won 89-56, Wood was +45 — a team best.
“A great first game for Woody,” Lawson said. “She continues to grow and mature. She's made a big jump from her freshman year to her sophomore year. Her freshman year she didn't play much; was really on the outside of the rotation looking in. It's a credit to her and her character and just her work that this summer and this fall she has really just clawed her way to improvement and is helping us on both ends of the floor.”
To go along with her 13 points and eight rebounds, Wood made some defensive noise on the box score by tallying a pair of blocks and steals.
“Then defensively I thought she was solid in battling down there,” Lawson said. “I think Woody will continue to be an important part of our rotation. I'm just proud of the way she played.”
Obviously the 13 points were a career high for Wood, as were the eight rebounds, but she was also the team leader in scoring. That’s not something a lot of outsiders looking in might have expected. But the opportunity has arisen for Wood to play serious minutes, and so far — and albeit it’s criminally early — she is making the best of it.
“All last year I took it as a learning year,” Wood said. “Making sure that I was learning from the best coach out there. You can quote me on that one. And just really making sure that I'm taking each minute that I'm getting and I'm not taking it for granted. So I was definitely super excited to play this first game.”
Having a consistent and reliable big is something Lawson’s first few teams have lacked. It’s still early, so it’s difficult to tell whether that will change this year. But for a team that lost one of its only true bigs just a couple months out from the season, Wood’s emergence is a big deal.
She may not be an all-conference level of player, but without stellar play in the middle, Duke will only be able to make it but so far in the NCAA Tournament. To make it to the Final Four, the Blue Devils will need a solid center.
The Blue Devils might just need a breakout year from Wood.
Ben McCormick | @BenMcC33 on X / Twitter
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