Texas A&M Basketball
Key quotes from Barry Davis interview
“Bryan Davis is doing fine. I was just talking to him, he’s in Taiwan and just finished playing in the All-Star game this weekend. He’s really having fun and has been doing really well over there. This is his second season over there, with a different team. Over there he is simply known as BD. They call everybody else by their names but he is just BD.”
“Every coach has a different way of being successful. Coach Kennedy has a way of producing and doing things where if I had a son or nephew right now, I’d love for them to play for Kennedy. I say that because I know he would grow as a basketball player, but he would grow more as a person and would be more ready for some things that will come at him in life. He’s been great. All the other guys I’ve worked for have been different and had their own ways of getting things done, but it has all been a blessing.”
“(Hearing about Rudy Woods) was shocking. I got a phone call and it was very sad, very unreal. You know we get caught up in our day to day life and everything we’re doing. I meant to go by there and see him, then you wind up not doing it, and all of the sudden they are gone. It was a sad moment, but I was also happy for him because I know about his relationship with Christ and I know some of the things he was going through. So, I know there is no more pain and he is happy with his lord. There is no doubt he’s in a better place. With everything he was able to endure, he was able to do it all with the strength of Christ.”
“A lot of the credit (for getting Rudy) will go to coach Metcalfe. When Rudy came along, we had to have him. Coach Metcalfe and family, Miss Janice, they all worked very hard. Rudy was in her class coming through school, but Coach was the mastermind behind getting Rudy to stay at home, as well as a whole lot of help from the people of Bryan.”
“We had rehearsed the signing the day before, but Rudy had to go play in an All-Star basketball game in Washington, D.C. The Capitol Classic. That morning was the first day you could sign and you couldn't sign until after eight o’clock that morning. Rudy had an 8:15-8:30 flight out of Easterwood. So, they had to cross into College Station and I was going to meet them out on 2818 as they were coming from their home. I would pull over, get out of the car and go to the hood of my car where he would sign them. The papers blew off the hood because it was a windy day, so we had to go get them back. You bet (I chased them) but we got the papers signed, hopped back into our own cars and sped to the airport. People knew we were coming that way, so they let us go a bit past the limit. He got on the plane, went up there and played really well. The next day I got on a plane and went that way, but we did not want to let him play in that All-Star game without having him signed first. We were still fighting off people like Kentucky, Michigan and LSU, so we didn't want any last minute things to come up.”
“Rudy’s first year in, he had a very good year. We went to the NIT in 78-79, and almost qualified as one the last four teams. He was one of those individuals who just made everybody around him better.”
“Once we got Claude Riley, we realized pretty quickly that this could be a tough defense to score against. We could play man, zone, and there was no shot clock back then. If you shot the ball and didn't make it or it wasn't blocked, we were probably going to get the rebound. We looked really good and I believe it was Pink Floyd had a song called “The Wall” when Claude came along, he was another brick in the wall. Metcalfe, through the help of one of our manager’s, Mike Owen, picked that up and ran with it. Everybody coined it and ran with “The Wall.”
“Back then, to win, you had to have an aircraft carrier. Rudy was the carrier. He plugged up the middle and made it almost impossible to score near the basket because he’d either block the shot, cause you to miss it, or cause you to change your shot. If he didn't get you, one of the other guys would, but he was usually there to swat it away. He had a lot of great games individually. He was just ahead of his time. Most of us think of a guy like Deandre Jordan who is quicker, faster and can jump higher. He was easy going, fun to work with and the whole nine yards. He gave A&M national prominence at that time.”
“There’s been so many good teams at A&M, even coach Metcalfe’s first Sweet Sixteen team was very good. All these teams have their own special way and what I’ve come to is that they all have the ingredients and want to win. A lot of time the latest is the greatest, but I would have loved to play with this team or the 79-80 team. As time goes on, you just gain an appreciation for what you’ve seen.”
A&M basketball's Barry Davis discusses the life of Rudy Woods
Key quotes from Barry Davis interview
“Bryan Davis is doing fine. I was just talking to him, he’s in Taiwan and just finished playing in the All-Star game this weekend. He’s really having fun and has been doing really well over there. This is his second season over there, with a different team. Over there he is simply known as BD. They call everybody else by their names but he is just BD.”“Every coach has a different way of being successful. Coach Kennedy has a way of producing and doing things where if I had a son or nephew right now, I’d love for them to play for Kennedy. I say that because I know he would grow as a basketball player, but he would grow more as a person and would be more ready for some things that will come at him in life. He’s been great. All the other guys I’ve worked for have been different and had their own ways of getting things done, but it has all been a blessing.”
“(Hearing about Rudy Woods) was shocking. I got a phone call and it was very sad, very unreal. You know we get caught up in our day to day life and everything we’re doing. I meant to go by there and see him, then you wind up not doing it, and all of the sudden they are gone. It was a sad moment, but I was also happy for him because I know about his relationship with Christ and I know some of the things he was going through. So, I know there is no more pain and he is happy with his lord. There is no doubt he’s in a better place. With everything he was able to endure, he was able to do it all with the strength of Christ.”
“A lot of the credit (for getting Rudy) will go to coach Metcalfe. When Rudy came along, we had to have him. Coach Metcalfe and family, Miss Janice, they all worked very hard. Rudy was in her class coming through school, but Coach was the mastermind behind getting Rudy to stay at home, as well as a whole lot of help from the people of Bryan.”
“We had rehearsed the signing the day before, but Rudy had to go play in an All-Star basketball game in Washington, D.C. The Capitol Classic. That morning was the first day you could sign and you couldn't sign until after eight o’clock that morning. Rudy had an 8:15-8:30 flight out of Easterwood. So, they had to cross into College Station and I was going to meet them out on 2818 as they were coming from their home. I would pull over, get out of the car and go to the hood of my car where he would sign them. The papers blew off the hood because it was a windy day, so we had to go get them back. You bet (I chased them) but we got the papers signed, hopped back into our own cars and sped to the airport. People knew we were coming that way, so they let us go a bit past the limit. He got on the plane, went up there and played really well. The next day I got on a plane and went that way, but we did not want to let him play in that All-Star game without having him signed first. We were still fighting off people like Kentucky, Michigan and LSU, so we didn't want any last minute things to come up.”
“Rudy’s first year in, he had a very good year. We went to the NIT in 78-79, and almost qualified as one the last four teams. He was one of those individuals who just made everybody around him better.”
“Once we got Claude Riley, we realized pretty quickly that this could be a tough defense to score against. We could play man, zone, and there was no shot clock back then. If you shot the ball and didn't make it or it wasn't blocked, we were probably going to get the rebound. We looked really good and I believe it was Pink Floyd had a song called “The Wall” when Claude came along, he was another brick in the wall. Metcalfe, through the help of one of our manager’s, Mike Owen, picked that up and ran with it. Everybody coined it and ran with “The Wall.”
“Back then, to win, you had to have an aircraft carrier. Rudy was the carrier. He plugged up the middle and made it almost impossible to score near the basket because he’d either block the shot, cause you to miss it, or cause you to change your shot. If he didn't get you, one of the other guys would, but he was usually there to swat it away. He had a lot of great games individually. He was just ahead of his time. Most of us think of a guy like Deandre Jordan who is quicker, faster and can jump higher. He was easy going, fun to work with and the whole nine yards. He gave A&M national prominence at that time.”
“There’s been so many good teams at A&M, even coach Metcalfe’s first Sweet Sixteen team was very good. All these teams have their own special way and what I’ve come to is that they all have the ingredients and want to win. A lot of time the latest is the greatest, but I would have loved to play with this team or the 79-80 team. As time goes on, you just gain an appreciation for what you’ve seen.”
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