Dave Wood, a three-time varsity men’s basketball letter winner, graduated from Knox in 1972. He led the team in both scoring and rebounding all three years he played.
Former Register Mail sports writer and Knox alumnus Max Ustsler ’70 followed Dave throughout his basketball career, beginning as a standout at Galesburg High School. Dave helped lead the Silver Streaks to a second-place finish in the state tournament in 1968.
“I knew he was good against high schoolers and the current Knox players who stuck around in the summer. I guess I just wasn’t prepared for him to be that good, but he was,” Ustsler said. “When Dave Wood joined the (Knox) varsity in the ’69-’70 season and immediately became a team leader, I wasn’t surprised.”
Dave averaged 12.9 points and shared top rebounding honors with his average of 6.1 during his first season as a sophomore. He increased his scoring average to 16.2 points per game as a junior and led the squad with 7 rebounds per contest. Dave capped off his career at Knox by putting up 21.7 points and grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game, earning him First-Team All-Midwest Conference honors.
Dave led the conference in scoring his senior year, and he was nominated to play in the Illinois All-Star basketball game.
Dave also cracked the men’s basketball record books when he connected on 18-of-19 free throws in a game during his senior year against Monmouth College. The 18 made free throws is the third-most in a game in Knox history.
Former teammate Mark Perrone ’73 shares a remarkable play Dave made that sent a game into overtime. “I recall a time when we were losing by three points with time all but expired,” Perrone said. “Woody was fouled and at the line to shoot two free throws. He made the first, (and) then intentionally shot the ball off the front rim such that it would bounce back to him. He got the rebound and put the ball up to tie the score. He had practiced that shot.”
At the time of his graduation, Dave held Knox records for points in a game (36), points in a season (477), and points in a career (1,104).
Dave and his wife, Sandy, live in Galesburg. He was the sales manager for many years at the Lindsay Auto Center in Galesburg, which later became Bob Lindsay Cars, prior to his recent retirement.
