Athlete of the Week

JULIA TIERNAN/YH

Onaje Woodbine, BK '02

Basketball forward

Hometown: Boston, Mass.
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 190
Major: Religious Studies and Philosophy
After Yale: Ph.D. in Religious Studies, ideally at a Boston school
Favorite movie: Rosewood
Best Yale sports moment: Beating Ivy league rival Princeton last season. "We had a tough, long season, and that win was wonderful."

Most athletes childhoods were filled with one team, one coach after another. After a while, they tend to blend together. Not for Onaje Woodbine, BK '02, however. Woodbine has played basketball since age four and still has fond memories of his youth teams and coaches. The "highlight of his life," at age 11, was going to the Saturday morning practices for his team at the Roxbury Boys and Girls Club. His love for the game has continued to grow all the way through college. Woodbine's speed has always been a key part of his game, and his shooting has improved significantly since last season. He currently starts for the Bulldogs, and has been Yale's leading scorer in the last five games. The Elis won the first two games of the Ivy season against Harvard and Dartmouth. Woodbine turned in two strong performances in both games—he led the team with 28 points against the Crimson and 26 points against the Big Green.

For Woodbine, playing college basketball "has been a dream come true," but his life does not revolve around the court. The 6'2" guard hopes to become more involved in theatre and playwriting at Yale during the off-season."I am trying to experience a little bit of everything here," Woodbine said. He also finds religion and philosophy intriguing, and is interested in expanding his religious knowledge and learning about all different beliefs.

However, during the season Woodbine is wholly focused on basketball. He credits the Elis new head coach, James Jones, for a great deal of the team's success this season. "Coach makes everything come together for us, and he has made a conscious effort to increase team chemistry," Woodbine said. Despite his strong ability to score often and in crucial situations, he does not concentrate only on his scoring. "Basketball is about relationships and not about points and shooting," he said. "Only in unity does it really mean something when you step on the court."

Although Woodbine did not anticipate playing such a large role on the team so quickly, his coach recognized his skills on the court. "Coming into preseason, I knew that Onaje had incredible potential," Coach Jones said. "He got off to a slow start, but he has been on a tear lately, and he is doing what he is capable of." Not only is Woodbine currently leading the team in scoring, but he is also among the leaders in steals, three-pointers, and minutes played.

Woodbine has led the Elis to a 2-0 Ivy record after going 2-10 in non-conference play. "The tough non-conference competition has helped us for the Ivy League competition," Woodbine said. "All of our hard work came together in the past two games." Hopefully, this newfound team camaraderie and a few more big games from Woodbine will carry over into more Ivy victories for the Bulldogs.

Photo by Julia Tiernan.

Back to Sports...

All materials © 2000 The Yale Herald, Inc., and its staff.
Got any questions, comments, or advice? Email the online editors at
online@yaleherald.com.
Like to join us?