When tasked with the option of where to play his final year of college basketball,
Syracuse native Mika Adams-Woods had a few options. Though he originally chose
to stay with his current school, Cincinnati University, he ultimately decided to
entire the transfer portal. It was there he chose the small university with less than
2,000 undergraduate students known as St. Bonaventure.
Since arriving on the campus of St. Bonaventure in August, Adams-Woods has
been a crucial part of the Bonnies success this season. Through thirteen games,
the 6’3” starting point guard has averaged 14.8 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.7 RPG at an
average of 29.5 mins per game. Adams-Woods gained national notoriety for the
Bonnies, earning a USBWA National Player of the Week accolade after tallying
24.0 PPG and 3.5 APG on an impressive 95% from the field (19-20) and 1.000%
from the three-point line (9-9) across two games.
While Adams-Woods’ impact in the box score surely does not go unnoticed, it’s
the little things he does that set him apart from most collegiate point guards. In a
2022 Syracuse.com interview, then Cincinnati assistant coach Mike Roberts had
this to say regarding Mika’s skillset,
“He just has a good feel for the basketball, he’s a good decision-maker.” Said
Roberts. “He’s just played a lot of high-level basketball. Obviously, one of his
strengths has been his ability to dribble, penetrate and finish. He plays to his
strengths and that’s his superpower.”
Adams-Woods’ work ethic and ability go far beyond his time playing collegiate
basketball. Adams-Woods played three seasons for Bishop Ludden High School, a
private Catholic school in Syracuse, New York. There, he was the team’s starting
point guard under long-tenured coach Pat Donnelly from his freshman to junior
seasons. Adams-Woods had this to say regarding his time at Bishop Ludden,
“Bishop Ludden was new for me.” Said Adams-Woods. “Going from an inner-city
school to a Catholic school required a lot more discipline. Coach Donnelly put me
in a role I was never in before as a freshman, which taught me leadership being
the starting point guard on varsity at a young age.”
Through his three years at Ludden, the crafty guard averaged 19 points per game,
amassing an impressive 1,241 points in 65 games played for the Gaelic Knights,
and earned First Team All-Central New York honors as a Junior.
Following his junior season at Bishop Ludden, Adams-Woods would embark on a
new journey in New Hampshire. He would play his senior and postgraduate
seasons at the New Hampton Preparatory School. At New Hampton, he averaged
over 19 points per game, helping to lead the team to a runner-up finish at the
2018 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class AAA Championship.
After his two years at New Hampton, Adams-Woods would commit to Cincinnati
University in Ohio, where he would average 7.9 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.4 RPG on
39/32/82 shooting splits in 121 games in four years for the Bearcats.
Adams-Woods is one of two graduate transfers this season for the Bonnies. The
other, guard Charles Pride from Bryant, is also a Syracuse Native. Adams-Woods
and Pride have a long-standing friendship from playing AAU and high school hoops
together.
“We’ve known each other since we were 7-8 years old when we started playing
with and against each other from elementary to middle to high school.” Said
Adams-Woods. “We always talked about playing with each other. We played
together in AAU, then split up. We wanted to play our last year together but
couldn't. We always talked about playing college together, but we didn't know it
would come to this and never thought it was possible. So it's definitely a different
feeling to have. It’s a different feeling having your best friend here with you and
talking to you, and it's a relieving feeling.”
Though it did not seem possible that the two guards from Syracuse would play on
the same team again following their AAU days, fate decided otherwise. The
distance between Syracuse and Olean also played a factor in Adams-Woods’
decision to come to St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies long-time rival city is only three
hours away from campus, making a short weekend trip home feasible.
If you are reading this story, it is because you're subscribed to our Team Unfurl
newsletter. In today's current landscape of college basketball, Name, Image, and
Likeness (NIL) is a crucial piece to building your school's program. Adams-Woods
spoke about the positives and negatives surrounding NIL and how it helped form
his decision to transfer to Bonaventure.
“It’s good to hear about all the new opportunities that NIL brings.” Said
Adams-Woods. “The opportunity to earn on my NIL was encouraging, especially
with having a big opportunity to play here at Bonaventure. I like that NIL has ‘a
little swag with it’, but college basketball is beginning to be all about NIL, which is
both bad and good.”
NIL and Team Unfurl were both very important pieces to landing Adams-Woods as
well as many other Bonnies, so your support to our collective does not go
unimpacted or unnoticed.
I asked Mika a series of fun and wholehearted questions to help us get to know
who Mika Adams-Woods is on and off the court.
Q: “Where do you hope to see yourself this time next year?”
A: “Getting ready for the summer league and hopefully if not NBA G-League or
overseas— just somewhere pro to be able to continue playing the game that I
love.”
Q: “Who's the funniest player on the team?”
A: “Chuck [Charles Pride] is up there, he’s really funny - but there's so many, I can
name a few; Melly [Melian Martinez], Barry [Evans], that's top 3, and then DT
[Duane Thompson].”
Q: “If you had to be stuck in an elevator with one of your teammates, who would it
be and who WOULDN’T you want it to be?”
A: “For would I have to say Daryl cause he's a quick thinker and always has a
solution. And, for sure I wouldn’t want to get stuck with Melly - he’d have me
panicking.”
Q: “Who on the team or across all of college basketball would you choose as your
teammates for a game of 3v3?”
A: “I’d pick Chuck, then we need a big, so I’d pick Chad [Venning] - gotta go with a
big man - we need that.”
Q: “What's your all-team NBA lineup?”
A: PG: Magic Johnson
SG: Stephen Curry
SF: Kobe Bryant
PF: Lebron James
C: Wilt Chamberlain
The sky’s the limit for the point guard nicknamed “Shoey” and we here at
TeamUnfurl cannot wait to see what he does for us rest of this season. Thank you
for reading and thank you for supporting Team Unfurl.