Ray Woods

Ray Woods

Personal information
Born	February 2, 1895
Died	October 1965 (aged 70)
Nationality	American
Career information
High school	Evanston (Evanston, Illinois)
College	Illinois (1914–1917)
Position	Guard
Career highlights and awards
Helms National Player of the Year (1917) 3× Helms All-American (1915–1917) 3× First-team All-Big Ten Jersey retired by the University of Illinois Illinois All-Century Team

Ray James Woods (February 2, 1895 – October 1965) was an American college basketball standout for Illinois in the 1910s. A guard, Woods helped lead the Fighting Illini to two Big Ten Conference championships in 1915 and 1917, with the former being an undefeated 16–0 season that resulted in a retroactive national championship. In all three seasons he played at the school, Woods was named an All-American and was honored as the Helms Foundation National Player of the Year as a senior in 1916–17. He was Illinois' first-ever All-American in basketball and teamed up with his brother, Ralf (a forward), in guiding the school to their first era of basketball dominance. Woods was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

References