How Kentucky ‘Unforgettable’ Sean Woods found a new home as Scott County’s coach
Sean Woods, one of the University of Kentucky’s “Unforgettables” who spent two decades in the college coaching ranks, stepped through the doors of Scott County High School’s sparkling new Billy Hicks Gymnasium two months ago and found himself wonderstruck by the moment.
“It was something that I can’t explain, and it was something special. … I looked around, and it’s like, ‘This is an opportunity of a lifetime for someone if it ever presented itself,’” Woods said, recalling his initial thoughts about SCHS as he prepared for the 42nd District Tournament as a commentator for Glicod.com back in February. “And it happened to be presented to me.”
Tuesday, the freshly hired head coach of Scott County’s boys basketball program sat answering questions from media outlets in the same entryway that captured his imagination.
To his right hung the framed red blazer of the late Billy Hicks, the state’s all-time boys high school wins leader who guided the Cardinals to 13 of their 18 region titles and the 1998 and 2007 Boys’ Sweet 16 state championships.
“This is a second-to-none,” Woods said. “You want to be around people who have great passion for what you do and for the program. And there’s not a place in the state of Kentucky who has more passion and more backing than Scott County.”
Woods motivated to return to coaching
Woods, a 55-year-old Indianapolis native, has been out of coaching since being let go at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2023 after five seasons with the Jaguars. He and his wife, Dashaynia, a Lexington native, moved back to Central Kentucky shortly thereafter. Woods decided to take a break from the game aside from some consulting work.
He soon turned up as a color commentator for Glicod.com, a company that video streams high school games in the Lexington and Louisville areas on YouTube.com.
“He was super prepared in all the games, but as you spent time with him, you knew that his angle was still to get back to coaching,” Glicod CEO and play-by-play man Chris Labar said. “I’m very happy for him. He’s a great hire.”
The experience of calling games like this season’s standing-room only 42nd District championship title tilt between Bryan Station and Frederick Douglass motivated Woods to return to coaching even though he hadn’t coached at the high school level since his first days as an assistant at Paul Laurence Dunbar and Lexington Catholic in the 1990s.
“I’ve been all over the world. I’ve been at every level. And, sometimes, you get to a point in your life where you’re tired of chasing, and you come to a point where you want to be somewhere where I can lay my feet in the sand and leave my print long term,” Woods said. “I never thought I’d be a high school coach, but this is so familiar because of the tradition and the support. And that’s what a coach wants — he wants to be where something is highly important and he’s wanted.”
Woods was joined by Scott County High School principal Elizabeth Gabehart as he met individually with members of the media Tuesday.
“Continuing this amazing tradition of Scott County High School basketball with a legend like Sean Woods is a match made in heaven,” Gabehart said. “I’m excited for the opportunity for our players and I’m excited for our students as well as our fans.”
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A career that has circled back to Kentucky
Woods’ playing career, of course, included being the point guard of the beloved Kentucky team felled by Christian Laettner’s infamous shot for Duke in the 1992 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Woods’ head coaching career began at Mississippi Valley State in 2008 after several years as an assistant. He led the Delta Devils to the 2012 SWAC championship and earned an NCAA Tournament bid while he took conference coach of the year honors.
That success brought Woods to Morehead State for five seasons. But his time with the Eagles was cut short by controversy when he was accused of assault by two players. The charges were later dismissed, but Morehead suspended and later fired Woods in the aftermath.
“Being accused of something and one incident doesn’t define who Sean Woods is,” Woods said. “The Lord has a way of putting you in places where you need to be, and sometimes he takes you through a storm to prepare you for something that you’re going to be able to do great. And that’s how I feel. I’m the type of person who lives by faith and never looks behind, only looks forward.”
Woods bounced back to become the head coach at Southern from 2019 to 2023 where he finished 15-17 in his final year. His overall head coaching record is 191-232 over 14 college seasons.
Woods takes over a Scott County program that went 6-21 last season under Steve Helton, who coached the boys team for one season after 24 seasons as the girls coach. Helton had phenomenal success with the girls program, leading Scott County to three region titles and a state finals appearance in 2010 while compiling a career record of 479-242.
But Helton’s boys team was outscored by an average of 20.7 points per game last season. He announced his resignation as boys coach and athletic director last month. Former Sayre girls coach Bart Bellairs, also a longtime men’s college coach, was recently named as Scott County’s athletic director beginning this summer.
Facing a tough district
Scott County has not had a winning season since the 2019-2020 campaign led by Tim Glenn, a longtime Hicks assistant who led the Cardinals to a stunning upset of No. 4 Lexington Catholic in the 11th Region finals that year, his first year in charge.
Glenn, who retired from coaching in 2023, praised Woods’ hire. Glenn alternated commentating duties with Woods for Glicod and has known the new Scott County coach since their playing days.
“To have to play in that league (the 42nd District) is a different animal,” Glenn said. “It’s a good place to be, it’s just tough. Sean called some of those games, and he probably knows, but I’ll tell you something — until you’re down in the trenches and experience it, you don’t really know. It’s a tough league, man. It just really is.”
Since 2020, 42nd District newcomer Frederick Douglass dominated the district until Bryan Station’s 42nd finals win this year. Henry Clay has won a region title in the interim as well. Sayre has proved tough to solve, too.
Scott County went 0-9 in district play last season and lost 83-48 to Sayre in the opening round of the district tourney. Bryan Station and Frederick Douglass ranked in the state’s top five all of last season and are expected to return a number of key players.
“I want to be involved with the best, and for a long time, this was the cream of the crop in the 42nd district,” Woods said. “My dream and my goal — not only that, but every day I wake up, is to get this back to being the darling of the 42nd District.”
And the other team down the road
Scott County’s struggles have come in the wake of the county’s high school enrollment getting split in half in 2019 when Great Crossing High School opened 2 miles down the bypass in Georgetown. A great deal of basketball talent, including 6-foot-11 Kentucky signee Malachi Moreno and Morehead State signee Vince “Tre” Dawson III, went to the new school.
The Warhawks basketball program reached fruition this year as Boys’ Sweet 16 state champions and has won back-to-back region titles. But Great Crossing graduates Moreno, Dawson and other key seniors this year, perhaps putting Scott County back on level terms.
“I’m worried about Sean Woods and Scott County. I’m not worried about Great Crossing and (coach) Steve Page,” Woods said. “They had their run and had a great year. I just think with my experience, my connections, and how we’re going to make Scott County so attractive that, you know, hopefully people will be looking at our back here pretty soon, you know, trying to catch up to us.”
New wardrobe needed
Woods’ first priority, however, will be to enhance his wardrobe with some more flashes of red. Woods admitted the polo he was wearing Tuesday was the only red shirt he owned.
As a legendary Kentucky Wildcats player, perhaps there was a built-in aversion to the red of the rival Louisville Cardinals.
But he’s a Scott County Cardinal now.
“I’ve always been able to establish a wardrobe wherever I’ve been. Unfortunately, it’s never been red.” Woods said. “But guess what? I foresee this being my last stop, so when I’m buried, dead and gone, I’m sure my wardrobe will be at least half red or more than it was starting off. So, I’m looking forward to that.”
He’d like to have a red jacket like the one Hicks wore, too.
“When I walked in this door with (district athletic director) DT Wells, the first thing I saw was Coach Hicks’ jacket. And the first thing I said was, ‘I’ve got to get me one of those,’” Woods said, smiling, with a hope that maybe some fans might donate toward that cause. “But it’s got to be tailored … It’s got to look good on me. “
