Moses Woof: Huskies Add Portland Transfer

The Washington Huskies may have found their shooter in University of Portland Transfer Moses Wood. The 6’8, 210 pound Senior wing player from Reno, Nevada is hoping to bring his shooting abilities 200 miles north to Montlake after shooting over 40% from 3 the past two seasons. After losing Senior Wing Cole Bajema to the transfer portal recently, finding a suitable replacement to help shoot from the outside became an obvious priority for the Huskies.

At first glance, Wood looks like he checks off several boxes and right away becomes a top shooting threat on the team.

Moses Wood is coming off a season where he was named 2^nd team All West Coast Conference and averaged 15.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, while shooting 40.3% from three on 6.2 attempts per game. Wood also shot 44.9% from the field and 83.9% from the foul line. The season prior at Portland, Wood averaged 14.2 ppg and shot 44.2% from 3 so has had two straight years of production coming into Montlake.

Wood spent the last two seasons at the University of Portland but the Huskies would be his 4^th team in 6 years. At first glance, that can look to be a little troublesome but a couple of the transfers were due to coaching changes along the way. Wood started his career at Tulane in the 2018-19’ season, where he played 31 games as a true freshman and averaged 4.5 ppg on 37% shooting from 3.

After a 4-27 season at Tulane, Head Coach Mike Dunleavy was fired and Wood decided to go back home to UNLV where he played for former Huskies Assistant TJ Otzelberger, redshirting his 1^st year. After a modest Redshirt-Sophomore year, where Wood averaged 6 ppg and 4 rpg off the bench, Coach Otzelberger left UNLV for Iowa State.

Wood was able to find a great landing spot in Portland under their new Head Coach Shantay Legans and found immediate success as a starter. Wood was the most efficient offensive player at Portland in his two seasons and by far the top shooting threat, which should be a much welcomed addition to the offensive challenged Huskies. Wood also finished as the 8^th most efficient player in the WCC (115.3 rating) with at least a 20% possession rate.

Coming from the WCC, Moses Wood had several notable games versus strong opponents. Wood finished with 19 points in both games versus Gonzaga while shooting a combined 9/17 from 3 (52%). Wood also tied his career high of 28 points this past season versus San Francisco on 10/15 shooting overall and 5/9 from 3.

Against other Power 5 schools, Wood had 21 points on 4/9 shooting from 3 versus North Carolina and 16 points on 3 /4 shooting from 3 versus Michigan State so the jump to the Pac 12 shouldn’t be that big of an issue. However in his two games versus Oregon, Wood has gone 0/9 from 3 while averaging only 8 points so something he will have a chance to improve on next season.

For his career against Tier A+B opponents per KenPom, Wood has shot 5-6% worse from the field from both 2 and 3 than his career averages. That provides just a little caution that he might not come in and instantly shoot 40%+ from deep right away.

How Does Moses Wood Fit With The Huskies?

Wood primarily played as a stretch 4 or 5 role in Portland’s spread-out offense but could play the 3 or the 4 at Washington. The Huskies are still awaiting the decision for Keion Brooks but Wood could potentially slide to the 3 if Brooks were to return, which could also help the Huskies on the boards with his size on the wing. At 6’8 and 210 pounds, Wood is listed at 35 pounds heavier than Cole Bajema (175 lbs), so gives the Huskies another bigger body overall. Also offers a little more athleticism and scoring ability at the rim, shooting over 52% on two-point field goals.

The Huskies finished the year shooting 31.3% from 3 while only shooting 20.9 attempts per game. The poor shooting would finish #319 in the nation and 11^th in the Pac 12 in KenPom 3-point Efficiency. Wood is coming from a program that finished #24 in overall 3-point efficiency and #31 in 3-point attempts so it will be an adjustment for the veteran shooter but will be much needed to help the Huskies improve on shooting wise overall.

Depending on who else is retained/added to the roster, Husky fans should expect to see Moses Wood replacing Cole Bajema’s role as a primary shooting threat but hopefully being able to keep his % as close or above 40% to really make a bigger impact on the wing. Wood will be 24 years old by the start of the season and brings a lot experience and maturity to the Husky Program but most importantly, should help spread the floor for a team that desperately needs it.