Kenny Wooten

Kenneth Wooten Jr. (born April 17, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks.

Kenny Wooten
No. 45 – New York Knicks
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-04-17) April 17, 1998
Stockton, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeOregon (2017–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Westchester Knicks
2020–presentNew York Knicks
2020–present→Westchester Knicks
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

Wooten was born and grew up in Stockton, California and initially attended Stagg High School before transferring to Manteca High School after his sophomore year.[1] As a senior, he averaged 13.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game and scored 26 points with 18 rebounds and nine blocks in the Buffaloes win over Ayala High School in the 2016 State title game. Rated a four-star recruit, Wooten initially signed a national letter of intent to play college basketball at Nevada before asking to be released from his commitment in order to re-open his recruiting due to coaching changes at the school.[2] He then transferred to Trinity International School in Las Vegas, Nevada for a postgraduate year in order to reclassify for the class of 2017.[3] After initially committing to Arizona State, Wooten de-committed and accepted a scholarship to play at Oregon.[4][5]

College career

As a freshman, Wooten averaged 6.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and a Pac-12 Conference-leading 2.6 blocks per game and was named to the conference's All-Defensive team.[6][7] Wooten's 92 blocked shots was the third most in a single season by an Oregon player.[8] He averaged 6.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game and was again named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team in his sophomore season.[9][10] Wooten had a career-high 20 points on December 8, 2018, in an 84–61 win over Omaha.[11] Following the end of the season, Wooten announced that he would forgo his final two seasons of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2019 NBA draft.[12] Despite only playing two seasons, Wooten left Oregon as the Ducks' third all-time leading shot blocker with 166 blocks.[13]

Professional career

After going unselected in the 2019 NBA Draft, Wooten was invited to play for the New York Knicks' summer league team.[14] The Knicks signed Wooten to an Exhibit 10 contract on July 20, 2019.[15] Wooten was waived by the Knicks on October 19, 2019 and joined the team's NBA G League affiliated, the Westchester Knicks.[16] The Knicks signed Wooten to a two-way contract for two years on January 14, 2020.[17][18] However, he did not play a game for the Knicks in the 2019–20 season as he suffered a thumb injury requiring surgery in late February 2020. He averaged 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 65.1% from the field for Westchester.[19]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Oregon 361019.8.681.000.5944.5.3.62.66.4
2018–19 Oregon 342724.0.589.000.6724.8.6.42.26.3
Career 703721.8.634.000.6334.7.5.52.46.4
gollark: They do not.
gollark: Partly.
gollark: Also the new rules.
gollark: Your past actions and various comments imply that I DEFINITELY SHOULD.
gollark: Authoritarianism is actually quite uncool.

References
  1. "Ducks love Wooten's peaks, but want him to avoid the valleys". The Register-Guard. February 11, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  2. Murray, Chris (May 11, 2016). "Four-star commit Wooten has not ruled out playing for Pack". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  3. Burns, James (May 10, 2016). "Wooten leaves Manteca High for Trinity International in Las Vegas". The Modesto Bee. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  4. Metcalfe, Jeff (December 20, 2016). "Forward Kenny Wooten commits to ASU basketball". Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. Nemec, Andrew (January 12, 2018). "Oregon's Kenny Wooten, former Arizona State commit, has 'no regrets' about recruiting flip". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  6. Alger, Tyson (March 21, 2018). "Kenny Wooten won't test NBA draft waters, announces return to Oregon Ducks". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  7. Wade, Kevin (June 22, 2018). "Multiple Ducks trending in 2019 NBA Mock Drafts". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  8. Alger, Tyson (March 26, 2018). "Kenny Wooten's shot-blocking prowess is fueling Oregon's Sweet 16 run". The Athletic. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  9. Mack, Jared (June 19, 2019). "What NBA team offers the best fit for Kenny Wooten?". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  10. Crepea, James (March 11, 2019). "Oregon's Kenny Wooten, Louis King honored by Pac-12 coaches". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  11. "Wooten scores career-best 20, leads Oregon over Omaha 84-61". USA Today. Associated Press. December 8, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  12. Amaranthus, Bri (May 20, 2019). "Concerns surround Oregon forward Kenny Wooten's NBA readiness". NBC Sports Northwest. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  13. Skopil, Erik (June 25, 2019). "Report: Kenny Wooten to play for Knicks in NBA Summer League". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  14. Amaranthus, Bri (June 21, 2019). "NBA Draft: What's next for Louis King and Kenny Wooten?". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  15. Berman, Marc (July 20, 2019). "Kenny Wooten getting another big Knicks chance". New York Post. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  16. Hersch, Corey (October 19, 2019). "Knicks waive guard Lamar Peters, forwards VJ King and Kenny Wooten". SNY.tv. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  17. "Knicks Sign Kenny Wooten to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  18. Smith, Alex (January 15, 2020). "Kenny Wooten eagerly awaiting first game action with Knicks". SNY.tv. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  19. Wolfe, Alex (March 21, 2020). "Keep or Cut: Kadeem Allen and Kenny Wooten". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
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