Pitt's Tray Woodall Makes It Through Hard Times

There's not much to say about this article about Pitt basketball's Tray Woodall except that it's a really good article about the extremely tough life Woodall had growing up.

"Me and my sister had to sell drugs," Woodall says. "What other outlet did I have? I couldn't get a regular job. I was in fifth grade."

Tray had stopped going to school altogether -- except to eat the free lunches -- and he would be held back a year because of his excessive absences.

"He was on a path of destruction," [Woodall's sister} Shataya says. "Going to juvenile, just a lot of bad things."

Basketball was his path out -- through AAU basketball, he met a man named George Fontan (who was still in his twenties) who eventually invited him to stay at his house with him and his son Jio. If only most kids in that situation could be so talented or lucky. Anyway, this is some really nice work by the Post-Gazette, and I recommend you read the whole thing.

For more on Pitt basketball, check out Cardiac Hill.