Former UConn and now New Jersey Nets center Josh Boone and ex-Indiana guard Marshall Strickland are the two obvious choices for most notable Carroll County basketball players in recent memory.

Beyond those two, coming up with a list of other recent Carroll County players to play for major DI programs is difficult, something Winters Mill guard Cammeron Woodyard was extremely cognizant of.

“I don’t play in Baltimore and I don’t play in a place where there’s a lot of people recruited,” Woodyard said.

Thankfully for Woodyard, his location didn’t stop him from joining the likes of Boone and Strickland at the high-major level. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard verbally committed to Penn State on Feb. 17.

Woodyard picked Penn State over offers from Longwood, Loyola, UMBC and Youngstown State. He was also receiving interest from Holy Cross.

Woodyard credited Winters Mill coach Dave Herman and his AAU coach on the Maryland Mavericks, Thomas Caviness, with getting the word out to college coaches.

“Coach Herman called [Penn State] up and was telling them that I was being under-recruited, so they took the chance and came out and recruited me.”

Woodyard, who’s averaging more than 20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, did his part on the court once Ed DeChellis and his staff got a look.

On an unofficial visit to Penn State on Feb. 2, Woodyard was on hand to witness the Nittany Lions’ biggest win of the year -- an 85-76 shocker over then-No. 7 Michigan State.

“It made me understand that it’s tough to play on the road in the Big Ten,” Woodyard said, “and it’s good to have supporting fans. But it also made me realize that the team isn’t as bad as it seems to be with what they’ve been through the past couple of months.”

Penn State’s biggest problem this season was the loss of leading scorer and rebounder Geary Claxton with a torn knee ligament.

But the Michigan State win showed Woodyard that PSU was closer to being a winning program that most people would think. So when DeChellis called Woodyard two weekends ago to offer a scholarship, the Winters Mill standout didn’t even have to sleep on the decision.

“He called me up, and as soon as he offered, I took it,” Woodyard said. “He said [he was offering a scholarship], and I told him that I would come out and play for him next year. And he said, ‘You’re saying you’re coming?’ He was making sure I actually said it.”

Woodyard said it feels good not having to worry about returning phone calls from other coaches anymore. Rather, he can just focus on his game, and look forward to arriving in State College after his time at Winters Mill is done.

“It’s like a small town on campus,” Woodyard said of State College. “The people up there were cool and friendly, so it made me feel at home.”

The Sun’s Stefen Lovelace got Dave Herman’s take on Woodyard’s decision yesterday. Click here to read that Varsity Letters blog entry.