Saturday, March 13, 2010

Better Days Behind

As I was covering the ACC Tournament last night played in front of a sparse and mostly disinterested gathering in cavernous Greensboro Coliseum, it occurred to me that I was probably sitting only a seat or two away from where I sat the night of my first ACC Tournament game, the aforementioned 1974 championship in which the Wolfpack of David Thompson, Tommy Burleson and Monte Towe outlasted the Maryland Terps of John Lucas, Tom McMillen and Len Elmore 103-100. For all the exansion the arena has undergone, the court, best I can tell, is in the same place.

The difference between watching that game and the ones I have watched this weekend is the difference between seeing the Grateful Dead—the vintage Dead, back before Pigpen boozed himself to death and Jerry stuck the needle in his arm—at Cameron Indoor Stadium and watching today’s incarnation of the band at, well, Greensboro Coliseum.

Forgive me if I’m coming off as an old warhorse who has out-lived his war. I’m whipped from having worked the graveyard shift the past two nights, getting in at 2, finally getting to sleep at 5 and getting back over to the Coliseum by the time the games tip off again. Watching inspired N.C. State barge past Clemson and Florida State has been fun, but the cumulative effects are wearing this old body out.

But the truth, as Lenox wrote so eloquently in this morning’s Journal, is the ACC Tournament a full decade into the 21st century is what it is, but it’s not what it was. It’s not even close to being what it was. Back then, when a team had to actually win the ACC Tournament to get a bid to the NCAA Tournament, it was as close to life and death as a sporting event can be. And the place was packed and pulsating. A ticket to the ACC Tournament was a truly prized possession and a seat on press row made you the envy of everyone you knew.. Today, whether you blame it on expansion, a watered-down product, the bad economy or whatever, it’s a empty shell of its former shelf

I still love coming, if nothing else than to see and catch up with so many friends that I usually don’t see any other time of the year. We swap stories, tell lies, bellylaugh with bellies way too full of free food we shouldn’t be eating. When the site is Atlanta, DC or Tampa, if I’m not at a game working you can always find me at the hospitality room at the media hotel, at least until they chase us out.

This year I’m actually thinking of hanging out at the hacienda for tomorrow’s championship and watching it on TV before heading over to Wake to cover the NCAA Tournament Selection show. I would have never, ever, even considered that in years gone by.

The ACC Tournament will never be what it was, but then, again, neither will the Grateful Dead.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Gary Williams Is On the Rampage—Again

Sitting directly across the court from the Maryland bench, it occurred to me how perfect it is that the Terrapins wear red. It matches the color of their coach’s face.

I used to be really down on Gary Williams because he is so out of control so much of the time. But over the years I’ve gotten to know him a bit better and have gained enough perspective to really appreciate who he is and what he has done. Yes he loses it, and yes he makes a real spectacle of himself on the sidelines. But I’ve also sat close enough to him at Joel Coliseum to realize that most of the time he’s not really as apopletic as he looks, and he’s not as bad for railing at officials as you might think.

Afterward I’m invariably amazed by how calm, collected and analytical he can be about what he has seen seen.

He just wants to win so badly that he can’t help himself. And he has passion. He wills his teams to victory. He reminds me of the old days, when guys like Norm Sloan and Lefty Driesell roamed the sidelines, raising all kinds of ruckus for 40 minutes.

He’s down 41-25 to Georgia Tech as we speak and I’m sure his players are getting an earful in the locker room. Be interested to see how they respond.

It’s When You Win

What Dino Gaudio has done at Wake Forest is impressive. Really impressive.

His first season, he guided a grieving but gritty team to a better finish than many, if not most, expected. His second season, the Deacons were 24-7 for the most victories in four years, made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years,  tied Duke for second place in the ACC regular season at 11-5 and and even got a brief but tantalizing whiff of the rarefied air of the No. 1 ranking in the land. His third team, this team, has absorbed the loss of two sophomores to the NBA to win 19 and lose 10 against a stiff schedule, finish fifth in the ACC at 9-7 and, unless the NCAA Selection Committee really holds today’s pratfall in Greensboro against it, make the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

His record is a nice round 60-30 and he’s 27-21 in league play. That’s regular-season league play. We’ll get to that.

And along the way he has recruited well enough to help replenish this team with two good ones and have a well-regarded class in the pipeline for next season.

How he has done is every bit as impressive. He has represented Wake Forest in fine fashion and is well-liked by the media and, best I can tell, his coaching brethren.

The reason so many people aren’t really happy with Gaudio right now, then, is not what he has done, or how he has done it. It’s when he has done it. Actually it’s not even that. It’s when he’s not done it. In post-season play, his record is 0-4. And two of those losses, the 84-69 collapse against No. 13 seed Cleveland State and today’s 83-62 drubbing by a No. 12 seed Miami playing without its leading scorer and rebounder were, to put it bluntly, fiascoes. And fiascoes are remembered.

Fans not being happy with you is a part, a really big part, of being an ACC coach. Gaudio knew that when he took the job. Being a big-time college basketball coach is not for the faint of heart. There are a lot of people down Chapel Hill way not too enamored of Roy Williams right about now. And it seemed like just yesterday when there was a larger portion of the Maryland fan base than would, today, care to admit it who were riding in the posse on Gary Williams’ tail. But the difference is that in the good years, those constituencies were overjoyed not with just what the Williams Boys did, but when they did it.

Dino, even after today, should get another crack next week to prove that he can not only win, but win when it matters most.

If not then, when?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

About As Bad As It Can Get

This is harsh, I know, but if there has ever been a time Coach Dino Gaudio and the Deacons had it coming, it would be today.

Having watched Wake Forest lose to a No. 7 seed in the ACC Tournament (Maryland) by 11, lose to a regular-season also-ran from the Horizon Conference seeded No. 13 in the NCAA Tournament (Cleveland State) by 15 and then lose to an ACC Tournament No. 12 seed missing its leading scorer and rebounder (Miami) by 21, I honestly don’t know where the Deacons can go to find someone they can beat in post-season.

A disturbing trend that began long before Gaudio took over as head coach only accelerated today when the Deacons were beaten just abut every way a team can get beaten by a Hurricanes’ team that had lost 11 of its previous 14 games. What is it about Wake Forest and the post-season?

That’s a question I asked everyone I could get to during an extremely somber post-game session. And no one had the answer.

“I don’t know,’’ senior L.D. Williams said. “Maybe we’re not used to being there. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I wish I could explain it. It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable.’‘

Chas McFarland, who played just one minute in the second half, was of no more help.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out too,’’ McFarland said. “It’s not like we come out here and lose on purpose and not play well on purpose. There’s only so much time you can work on it, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.’‘

The seniors, Williams, McFarland, Ish Smith and David Weaver, have now won one post-season game in six tries—and that was the first one in which they played. Since beating Georgia Tech in double overtime in the first round of the 2007 Tournament, Wake has now dropped successive post-season games to Virginia Tech, Florida State, Maryland, Cleveland State and Miami.

But none, other than the devastating loss to Cleveland State last March, hurt worse than the one today.

“Honest to goodness I’ve never see anybody get shot and killed over a basketball game,’’ Williams said. “You can’t be scared. It’s basketball. We play this for fun. This is why we live, for these types of games, for the ACC Tournament. And for four years I’ve had the worst taste in my mouth in the ACC Tournament.

“I’ll never be able to get over this as long as I live. I’ve won one game in four years.’‘

The Deacons had the look of a team in disarray, especially in the second half. The body language bordered on profane. On more than one occasion Gaudio turned his palms toward the arena ceiling in a “Just what is going on?’’ gesture. He pulled McFarland after McFarland picked up his third and fourth fouls early in the second half and didn’t put him back in. He left Al-Farouq Aminu on the bench for all but seven minutes of the second half, and later didn’t mention the bruised hand that Aminu said was bothering him from the time he shot an airball on a free throw with 4:50 left in the first half.

But not one person in the locker room would acknowledge internal problems on the team. If they’re covering anything up, they’re doing it in unison.

“We’re fine,’’ McFarland said. “The chemistry’s fine. We’re fine. Everybody on this team loves each other. That’s not even a question.’‘

It came from a senior, and it came from a freshman.

“We’re one of the closest teams I’ve ever been a part of,’’ C.J. Harris said. “Every one of us are brothers.’‘

So if it’s not dissension, there must be another reason to explain the Deacons’ post-season woes. If they’re lucky, they’ll get a chance to figure it out next week in the NCAA Tournament, and not the NIT.

An Honor I Can Do Without

Have you ever looked around the room for the mark and, not seeing it, realized it was you?

I had that experience last year in Atlanta when a bunch of us scribes got to wondering who had been to the most ACC Tournaments in a row and the more we asked around, the more it started looking like the honor belonged to me. And I didn’t want it. I’m old, but not that old. But through the recent wave of downsizing and retirements and people wising up and finding honest work and one generation passing into another, we couldn’t find anyone with a longer streak than mine.

There were many who had seen tournament since the 1960s, but as it turned out a Caulton Tudor had missed a tournament this season or a Bill Brill had missed one that season and no one had that long of an uninterrupted streak.

I’ve been to at least one session of every tournament since 1974. I was still a student at that state university in the general vicinity of the geographical center of the state when I saw my first ACC Tournament game. It was the championship of 1974, N.C. State’s 103-100 victory over Maryland that is still widely considered the greatest game in conference history. No wonder the hook sank in so deep.

Finally we ran into Al Featherston, the venerable scribe who after writing for decades for the Durham Herald and Durham Herald-Sun now covers ACC basketball for Basketball Times. Al, to my great relief, said he had made every tournament since 1968. So Al, best we can tell, gets the prize. Good for Al. Good for me.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Walker Says He’s Back

Everyone has heard the rumors about Ty Walker transferring from Wake Forest, including Ty Walker.

Today, after the Deacons’ pre-ACC Tournament practice in Greensboro Coliseum, Walker set the record straight.

“I’m 100 percent back,’’ Walker said. “I’ve heard all the rumors and everything, and I don’t say any of those things. I’ll be back next year.’‘

Walker, a sophomore who two years ago was one of the most highly-rated centers in high school basketball, has played in only six of the Deacons’ 28 games. His last appearance was a two-minute stint at UNC Wilmington in his hometown on Dec. 16. He said he did expect more after playing in 11 games as a freshman.

“I thought I was going to get some of an opportunity,’’ Walker said. “I wasn’t asking this year to be the first, second or even third option. But I thought I was going to be the fourth option. I didn’t know it wasn’t going to turn out like this, but I’m fine either way.’‘

With the graduation of seniors Chas McFarland and David Weaver, and highly possible (if not probable) departure of sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu to the NBA, the Deacons will be looking for inside players next season to play alongside sophomore Tony Woods. The only other potential post player on the roster is Nikita Mescheriakov, a 6-8 transfer from Georgetown who will become eligible second semester next season, though the incoming recruiting class does include 6-8 Melvin Tabb or Raleigh and 6-11 Carson Derosiers of Lawrence, Mass.

“I think most definitely I’ll get a chance, God willing,’’ Walker said. “Me and Coach (Gaudio) talk on a regular basis and he tells me that next year, I mean it won’t be my year, but he’s going to give me the opportunity. And what I do with the opportunity is up to me,’‘

Walker, according the the Wake coaches, needed to grow both physically and emotionally, and he admits to certain, unspecified behavior that didn’t set well with the staff. In midseason Gaudio had Walker begin to practice with the Scout team to prepare the Deacons for an upcoming opponent, and he also put Walker and Mescheriakov on a weight-training program that has them lifting four times a week.

“(It was) just not agreeing with the coaches about some things, and I guess sometimes worrying about myself a little too much,’’ Walker said. “But I’ve grown over the year, and now it’s more about being a team player and putting myself to the side.’‘

A Close Shave Gaudio Wouldn’t Mind

Just where does Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest get off, showing up in public with a beard?

The assembled media ribbed Gaudio a bit today at the ACC Tournament for his heavy 5 o’clock shadow. For the record, the time was around 2:45.

Gaudio joked that it might have to do with his Italian blood. He even said he wants to look like the Wake Forest beat guy for the Winston-Salem Journal, but we all know his wife, Maureen, is having nothing to do with that.

“I actually shaved this morning,’’ Gaudio said, in jest. “But hopefully I’ll have to shave a couple of times in a couple of days here.’‘

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Deacons Braced For Miami Zone

Coach Dino Gaudio has a ready-made answer for anyone who tells him that Miami might play some zone in Thursday’s first-round game against the Deacons.

Do you reckon?

The Deacons saw an industrial-sized helping of zone in the two regular season games against the Hurricanes, the 67-66 loss in Coral Gables on Jan. 9 and the 62-53 victory in Winston-Salem on Feb. 2. Wake, in the two games, made 39 of 94 shots from the floor (41.5 percent) and nine of 28 from 3-point range (32.1 percent). Coach Frank Haith would have to be tired of coaching ACC basketball in South Florida and just want out if he didn’t play a lot of zone Thursday.

And knowing Frank Haith, I know that’s not who he is.

“We’re going to see 80 percent, 90 percent zone,’’ Gaudio said. “We did some good things against us in both games. We will have worked against it three days. We watched a lot of film yesterday, some of the things we did well and some of the things we need to do better. And we’ll work hard against it for two days now and hopefully we’ll play well against it.’‘

Monday, March 08, 2010

Deacon Offense Back Up and Running

Oliver Purnell is all right by me. He takes his job far more seriously than he takes himself, and he knows what he’s doing. In my limited dealings with him, I’ve found him to be straight forward and insightful. And he’s really good basketball coach.

But in one respect, he might be the most predictable coach in the ACC. His teams are going to come get you defensively and they’re going to the basket when they get the ball. That’s the way he does things. That’s how his teams play.

Tonight Purnell’s Tigers played a Wake Forest team going through all kinds of throes trying to scoring in a half-court game. Last time out the Deacons allowed FSU to score only four second-half field goals, out of 19 heaves, and still lost because they couldn’t score more than 22 points in the second half against the Seminoles’ set defenses. So I asked Purnell if he had any apprehensions about opening the court with pressure defense against a team that has been going though such rough sledding in the half court.

I knew his answer before he gave it.

He declined, in effect, to comment on any problems Wake might be having in the half-court offense, but did say that pressing a player as fast as Ish Smith could be problematic. He also said that, apprehension or no apprehension, Clemson is going to press on defense.

“There’s always apprehension,’’ Purnell said. “But that’s what you do.’‘

The press got to Wake enough to cause problems, and obviously contributed to the Deacons’ less-than-grand total of 18 turnovers. Ish was really shaky early with five first-half turnovers, before settling down to commit just one the rest of the way. And Al-Farouq Aminu, handling the ball at times like it was a wet bar of soap, also piled up six. So it’s not like the Tiger press was useless.

But what it did was open up the court and let the Deacons loose. Aminu dunked off the fast break about four minutes into the game and said later it was a basket he really needed. “It had been awhile since I scored,’’ he said. For pretty much every turnover, there was an easy basket—something that had been mighty hard to come these last couple of weeks. The Deacons scored 18 points off fast breaks and 19 on the offensive boards, at times because the first charge at the basket had opened up the rebounding lanes.

The Deacons look better when they run. Most teams do. And on this day they can thank Oliver Purnell for giving them a chance to.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Just a Hunch

Take it for what it’s worth, but I have a strong feeling Wake beats Clemson today. First off, the Deacons need it more, and second I fully expect Coach Oliver Purnell of Clemson to force tempo. Unless I miss my bet, I believe an open-court, free-flowing game is just what the doctor ordered for the Deacons.

Let Ish Smith push the ball and let Al-Farouq Aminu dunk once or twice off the break and the crowd will really get into it and Wake will be back up and running.

I have a personal stake in the outcome. If the Deacons win, they play at 2 p.m. in Thursday’s first-round of the ACC Tournament. If they lose, they play in a game scheduled for 9 p.m. but in all likelihood won’t tip off until 9:30. And if the 7 p.m. game goes overtime, as it did three years ago in Atlanta, it won’t start until 10.

I’m a night owl, but I’d rather not cover another 10 o’clock game.