Howloween Hoopla
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Nutter Center
What: Short scrimmages by Wright State men's and women's basketball teams followed by trick-or-treating and autographs with players stationed at tables on the concourse
FAIRBORN — Derrick and Kelly Woods went through several rounds of family solicitations for daughter names when expecting their second child, a girl.
One grandmother suggested Jemima, but that was a little too old fashioned. Another wanted Becky, but that was a little too plain.
Kelly Woods asked her husband to list the cities he visited in the Navy (they met as members of the service). Somewhere down the list, he mentioned Milan, Italy, and it clicked.
Since, Mylan Woods has been an admitted daddy’s girl. That affected her life significantly at Northwestern last fall when, feeling far away from a father who had undergone a double lung transplant the previous winter, the 5-foot-11 sophomore transferred to Wright State as one of the most significant additions in recent Raiders women’s basketball history.
Woods, a former two-time Ohio Division II prep player of the year, will appear for the first time in a WSU uniform today at the school’s Howloween Hoopla event at the Nutter Center. It will include short men’s and women’s team scrimmages at 2 p.m. followed by fan interaction and trick-or-treating.
After sitting out most of last season following her transfer from a Big Ten program, the former Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown star overcame some personal struggles to reach this point.
“It was rough last year,” Woods said. “I was a glorified walk-on.”
Her father’s medical situation played a major part in her decision. Derrick began teaching his daughter basketball at age 2, and he eventually moved the family to Pickerington, where a strong girls basketball tradition existed. She dabbled in other sports, including two trips to junior national track and field meets as a pentathlete.
By 2006, Derrick felt run down. He finally saw a doctor two years later and learned he suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a scarring of the lungs that restricts airflow.
“I didn’t know the extent of it,” he said. “I thought it might be like asthma or something.”
But it was worse. Mylan had already committed to Northwestern before her junior season at Hathaway Brown — she would eventually help the school to an 89-19 record with four straight state championship game appearances and two state titles as a four-year starter — when Derrick learned he needed both of his lungs replaced.
The February 2010 surgery came just more than a month after Derrick watched his son, University of Cincinnati wide receiver D.J. Woods, play in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans (during which D.J. had four catches for 46 yards in a 51-24 loss to Florida).
His six-month hospital stay lasted until Mylan’s high school graduation, and her first few months in Evanston, Ill., seemed too distant. Her parents moved from Strongsville to Canal Winchester, about an hour from the Wright State campus, and WSU boasts a nursing program that interested Mylan. She transferred to WSU last January after averaging 4.8 minutes in eight games for Northwestern.
By NCAA transfer rules, Woods will be eligible to play in games once this year’s first-quarter grades are posted (exams end Nov. 18). Because she couldn’t travel with the team last season, she spent many weekends at home with her father, plowing through Harry Potter, Star Wars and any other movie series they could find.
In the offseason, she hired a personal trainer to prepare her body. The VertiMax workouts were the most grueling, using a resistance band around her waist as she slid, shuffled and jumped to strengthen her lower body.
“She’s trimmed down, she’s in good shape, and she’s quicker,” said WSU coach Mike Bradbury, who helped the Raiders to a Division I-era best 20 wins last season.
Derrick has attended several practices, and he hopes to return to work soon. At first against his daughter’s transfer because he didn’t want her to change her path on his account, he said he has been energized by Mylan’s frequent visits.
He’s well enough to provide his fatherly presence both on Mylan’s car — he attached decals reading “Mu Mu,” her nickname, and “Black Mamba,” a tribute to family favorite Kobe Bryant — and at games.
“I can act the fool in the stands,” Derrick said, “like the rest of them.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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