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There are some things that Coach Bzdelik says that make me prefer that he keep his emotions in check everywhere else but the locker room. 

For instance, I don’t think the public needs to know that tears have been shed in the locker room after these ridiculous losses.  I get that Coach Bzdelik is just trying to make the point that he and his players care about being competitive and are having a difficult time dealing with this season.  But this isn’t the way to make the point. 

But, since we all know that some of the players cry after losses, I am curious about what the heck these guys are crying about.  There are better ways to direct that frustration (you know, by practicing and playing better).  But crying?!  To paraphrase Jimmy Dugan, there’s no crying in ACC basketball! 

The time to man up is about twelve games overdue.  Yeah, you can view this recent game against UNC as a step in the right direction.  As Tony Chennault said, “...we competed”.  What do you want, Tony, a cookie?!  How is the fact that the team played with passion a sign that the team is maturing?  Is it just because the team stunk so much against NC State?  Ten-year-olds are capable of playing with intensity.  They’re also capable of crying after losing. 

The improvements can’t be measured in effort during the game.  The effort should just be there.  The improvements need to be measured in the quality of shorts taken and the defensive effort because those areas of the game are indicative of the effort undertaken in practice.

DC on 02/16/2011 (1:29 pm)

There have been comments in the Journalnow article after the State game criticizing Aminu,Johnson,Teague, & even Chris Paul, who has donated much money to the school, for leaving the school early, as though they should have stuck it out as Tim Duncan did for 4 years, as though they were somehow disloyal by leaving early. Yet they are depicted in the Wake media guide as Wake successes and probably cited as recruiting tools by the coaches. Aminu, $2.6,Johnson,$1.7,Teague, $1.5,Paul,$14.8, approx.—all have a right to earn a living.
We certainly would have had a great team had they stayed but would they have had the ability to earn what they are now receiving?
Secondly, the bashing of Chas McFarland and calling him a thug has continued. His foul quota went up when the ACC season began. The ACC refs knew him, knew his rep, and when in doubt, called it on Chas. That is not to say he did not play rough at times, but he played with passion, he had passion for his teammates when he sat on the bench, cheering them on. Chas simply could not keep his mouth shut at times and got t’d on the floor. But I never saw him swing or kick at a guy’s privates.Maybe he did,but I don’t remember seeing him taking a big swing at a guy’s face. He got drafted to play in Brazil and did well enough to make the same D-NBA team as our beloved L.D. Williams played on, the Springfield Armor. He played around 27 minutes a game, got about 3 fouls a game, about the same as L.D, actually less than James Johnson who got demoted from Chicago Bulls to the Iowa Energy who has had some 4-5 foul some games, but sadly both L.D & Chas got waived when they got injured as apparently the D-NBA players don’t have contracts. He played hard, but I don’t think he was a thug & it is not fair to call him that.
Finally, the coach’s bizarre comments after the State game: we got blown out;I expected him to be in there with our players, but instead he said he was recruiting guys who unless they were blind could see they had a good chance or opportunity to start next year on this team.I wondered how that comment made our players and their parents feel who also undoubtedly were promised come to Wake, we need you, you got a chance to start and play a lot. I would not have said that. Nor would I have had the A.D. run P.R. analysis of the game before the coach spoke. I don’t remember that happening before this year.
Review of a couple of past years’ media guides really revealed only 3 top high school players who chose Wake: Aminu, Paul, & Walker. Others were highly rated, we have consistently been top 10, this year top 8, per ESPN or Rival, in our high school draft picks. I can’t find the one with Teague and Johnson, but remember, that the schools mainly looking at Teague were Wake & Indiana and Johnson was somewhat an unknown from Wyoming. I do not know their ranking. Our current coach says ranking does not not matter, which is only partially true, as in the case of Paul and Aminu. But development does matter. Our other players did develop within the Wake system & coaching at least well enough to make us competitive, and for two of them to get NBA contracts, Teague and Johnson. I see no such development, no such progression this year, only regression within this system or culture, as it were. I do not know whose fault it is.

Finally, the second finally, someone makes an excellent point: with Wellman’s former acquaintance with Coach B. he risked a world of hurt and the appearance of impropriety by making himself a committee of one to select the new coach, regardless who may have also approved the selection. He said he was the search committee. Realizing his former relationship with Coach B, he should have seen that & he should have recused himself and allowed a committee to select a new coach and distanced himself from it. Now he is hopelessly interwoven into it,tangled as though in a spider web. When he hired Gaudio, he was under pressure. Skip had just died. It was summer. It looked like it came down to Gaudio, Skip’s longtime friend, or maybe Coach Battle. The season would soon begin. He had to do something. It would have been difficult to bring an entirely new coach with a new system so close to the beginning of the season.So he picked Gaudio.

memphisslim on 02/16/2011 (3:22 am)

I like Rusty.  However, I think that if he ever wants to aspire to the head coaching position at WF, an ACC school, he needs to coach at a lower division, or in a less prestigious conference and build a resume.  Look at the grief Bzdelick is getting for his record.  Wake should expect and should demand a coach who has established winning programs somewhere else.  That’s what Grobe did and that’s what Prosser did.  I don’t think we should expect any less in a head coach.  When we settle for less, we usually get less.  Look at Dino.  He had a losing record as a head coach.  We promoted him and then criticized him for lack of an offense, for getting out coached, for losing the big ones, etc.  If we want to be looked at and be a top flight program, why have our last two hires as bb coach been less than top flight?  Why does Wellman settle for less?  I will never believe there are not young, hungry, winning coaches out there in either non BCS conferences or smaller schools that could make an impact here.  For instance, why did Wellman not approach Steve Alford at New Mexico?  I can’t help but wonder if Alford would have jumped to come out here.

Jim on 02/15/2011 (4:15 pm)

I have been around this program since the early days of Carl Tacy, and never, ever have I seen a team that was so torn apart, undisiplined and simply bad. The State game was terrible. Those of you who are going with the experts like Pat Riley and Van Gundy, then answer this, why is he still not there with them? Do you think these Coaches would say any different in a private conversation rather than a microphone shoved in their face. Of course they would say he is a good Coach. If he was a great a Coach as you say, where are his numbers? What is his winning percentage? What are his percent of graduating his players? He has never stayed at a college more than three years. You can take any Division 2 Coach and put them in the same situation at Colorado, Air Force and now WF and your record will improve. If he could build programs long term, then you would think both Colorado and AF would still be sound programs, right? Take a look at their records. Both are barely holding their head above water.
Bob Stack, Dave Odom Skip Prosser and Dino Gaudio like them or not demanded respect and got it, all of them demanded their players buy into their systems and with few exceptions they did. They all had freshmen to deal with, alumni to deal with but their players played as hard as they were capable. This just does not add up, this is why there are so many of us that are upset. Like it or not, athletics are about winning, that’s it. If you hire someone you look at their record and the history of that Coach. Hiring Bzdelick was Welmens choice, but I still have yet to hear why. The only reason that I have heard is that he felt he was the best candidate to change the culture at Wake Forest. OK, if that is the reason, just explain it to the fans and alumni and to those who support their University with the funds it needs to survive. But rather than do that he avoids the questions and Dan Collins and others allow him to do so. That is why I have said real sports journalism is dead at the WS Journal.
Something just isn’t right with this situation. There are way to many questions and very few answers surrounding this firing of Dino and hiring of Bzdelick. You know how you feel sometimes when something just feels wrong, everytime I walk into the Joel, something just seems off. You can feel it and scense it from the crowd. The same motor cycle the same introductions the same dancing around by the players prior to introductions, but when they introduce the coaches, it just does not seem right, he will never be accepted by many of the fans until Welmen comes clean. Bottom line.

Tony C on 02/15/2011 (1:12 pm)

What is Bz’s longest stint as a head coach at any place, NCAA or NBA?  Now, name one other great coach who is in their 60s that never coached at a single place for more than three years.

Hugh on 02/15/2011 (1:11 pm)

Coach Bzdelik keeps bringing up his days at the Air Force Academy so I’m going to respond with a theory of mine -

I have a theory as to why Coach Bzdelik was so good at the Air Force Academy and why he has not worked out at Wake Forest.

After I graduated from Wake Forest I spent 30+ years in the Army.  I have known hundreds of academy graduates.  To a man/woman I saw traits in academy graduates that I did not necessarily see in other officers.  Academy graduates almost always had -

* respect for authority
* an eagerness to please

They were -

* Highly disciplined
* Team oriented
* Self-starters
* able to follow instructions

I don’t see those traits in your “average college student” and I seriously doubt that you will find those traits in today’s young basketball recruits.  I’m not knocking average college students or average basketball recruits.  (I was a very average college student.  As an average college student I never would have made it at one of the service academies.)  I’m just saying that your average college student and your average basketball recruit might respond to coaching differently than a member of a service academy. 

Perhaps Coach Bzdelik’s coaching style was a perfect fit for a military academy . . . . and perhaps a perfect fit for a military academy might not be a perfect fit for Wake Forest.

GFS on 02/15/2011 (10:33 am)

I agree with John.  I have to assume Bzdelick can coach, based on what experts in his field say.  I also feel there must be a disconnect between him and the team this year.  I see some improvement, fundamentally, over what we have done the last couple of years.  However, the lapses this team has are frustrating.  It may be coaching style, personality, resentment among some of the players, etc.  Whatever it is, I doubt we’ll see any change this year.  My hope is that next year, this team will really become his team.  Until then, I just don’t think we have enough to go on as far as whether or not he is the right person for the job.

Jim on 02/15/2011 (9:31 am)

Everyone is trying to find someone to blame for this mess of a season.  May I suggest that perhaps the blame falls both upon the coach and the players and not just one or the other.  I really think this is something of a “perfect storm” where the ingredients are a new coach with a new system for this program, a group of assistant coaches leftover from the old regime (presumably for some continuity, some recruiting contacts, and with the intent of grooming Rusty Larue to be the head coach in the future) that were thrust upon the incoming head coach, a whole team of inexperienced players, multiple freshman (first time away from home, first time not being better than everyone else on the court, first time seeing how fast the college game is, et cetera) getting significant playing time, no true point guard for a time then a slowed freshman point guard being fit into a gerrymandered system that had to be tweaked to run without a real point guard, a paucity of powerful big men, a power struggle between coaches and players, and very high expectations.  Any one or two of those ingredients could spoil a season.  Add them all together and – you’ve got a pretty disgusting main course!  What does this team have going for it?  Not a lot - perhaps some theoretical talent as assessed by the scouts and some ability to shoot at times.  That may be it.  The thing that concerns me the most is that there is so much to fix.  Just firing the coach is not going to change a lot of those problems.  Just getting a good recruiting class next year is not going to fix all the trouble with this program.  Having kept Coach Gaudio was not going to make this an NCAA Tournament (or even an NIT) caliber team.  So where does this program go from here?  I really don’t know.  Perhaps the biggest question mark for me about Coach Bzdelik is his age.  Even if he builds a program in the next three years, the guy will be in his early sixties by then.  What kind of longevity will he be able to offer this school?  Not much.  If this team was going to suffer for a few years to build an environment for winning (as A.D. Wellman said he wanted to give Coach B the opportunity to do), why not do it with a coach in his thirties or forties who could potentially be around for a decade or two?  I am presuming once again that they are grooming Rusty Larue to be the next head coach, but having him as an assistant of a struggling program is not going to foster a lot of confidence in Wake Forest athletics if and when he is promoted to head coach when Coach B decides to step down or retire.  Fellow Demon Deacon fans, it’s time to pray for not just one miracle but a bunch!

Matt on 02/15/2011 (12:40 am)

I personally believe that those who say Bzdelik can’t coach are short-sighted and wrong.  They say he can’t coach.  Pat Riley and Stan Van Gundy say he can.  I’m going to go with the the experts on this one.  I’m giving Bzdelik more time to coach this team.

John Sanders on 02/14/2011 (11:39 pm)

Unfortunately, we’ll never know the real reason and the “behind the scenes” of the hiring of our coach.  Wellman will never be able to explain it enough for any of us.  It’s really getting to be a sad situation with this team and this staff.  There’s just not much there.  People on this blog talk about the Staak years and how bad we were then.  Did we have the supposed caliber of players back then as we do now?  It’s hard to realize that we could be so bad and that we could feel so down that nowadays. I don’t ask my boys or my dad for instance, “Hey, when do we play next?”  The question now goes something like this…“Hey, when do we lose next?”

Dano on 02/14/2011 (11:21 pm)

Craig,

I’m sure that Dan can probably answer your questions better than me, as he keeps better records.  But I’ll take a stab at it based on my understanding of what’s been said so far by Ron Wellman:

First, there was no “committee”.  Ron Wellman made the decision to hire Jeff Bzdelik.  This does not mean that Wellman didn’t consult with people, check references, etc., but he made the decision to hire Bzdelik. 

Second, what did Ron Wellman consider when he determined that Jeff Bzdelik was the guy?  I don’t think that Ron Wellman has given a comprehensive answer to this question, and I don’t think he ever will.  But despite the fact that Jeff Bzdelik did not have a stellar record in terms of wins of losses, I think that his resume appealed to Ron Wellman.  Bzdelik’s NBA experience is impressive and unique.  Second, I think that Bzdelik looked at the college teams that Bzdelik coached.  He certainly over-achieved with his two teams at Air Force.  And his teams at Colorado got progressively better each of Bzdelik’s three years there.  And just as importantly, Bzdelik’s Colorado teams finished each year stronger than they began (this must have been particularly meaningful after watching several consecutive Wake basketball teams fall flat in March).  On top of the resume and Xs and Os acumen, Ron Wellman has mentioned several times that he thinks that Bzdelik will do a good job of developing the young men that he coaches as people.  I know this is supposedly a criteria for every NCAA coach, but we actually mean it at Wake Forest. 

Third, you mentioned that Ron Wellman and Jeff Bzdelik were “good friends”.  Both men have categorically denied that was the case.  Their resumes intersect at Northwestern a couple decades ago.  They have said that they knew each others’ names, and that was the extent of their interaction at that school.  I don’t know how many times they need to clear this up.  I suppose some people just think that Bzdelik and Wellman are lying?  I, for one, trust that Wellman hired Bzdelik because he thought that the decision best served the interests of Wake Forest University. 

Did he make the right decision?  I don’t know.  I’m willing to wait a little longer to see how it plays out.  Clearly you have already concluded that Jeff Bzdelik is the wrong guy to lead our basketball program.  I can’t say that I blame you.  This season has been brutal.  Reasonable minds can disagree (and I’m not even disagreeing - I’m just not ready to make up my mind). 

While I think that the integrity of the hiring process was certainly intact, I do have one question of my own, which is mainly for Dan and perhaps the rest of the people who post on this blog (because I know that Ron Wellman will never answer them).  Who were the other candidates for the job?  I am not looking for a list of hot coaching candidates like Brad Stevens either.  I really want to know (a) who else was out there when Bzdelik was hired, and (b) who could we have gotten to accept the job offer?  I think that Wake Forest basketball coach is certainly a great job to have.  But when UNC fired Matt Doherty, they were able to steal Roy Williams from Kansas, which is one of the most storied programs in the country.  That’s not an option for us.

DC on 02/14/2011 (10:57 pm)

Good point, Craig.  Gets right to the point.  I think that’s an honest question that every Wake fan deserves an answer for, and has yet to receive.  If Wellman was a friend (or a mere “acquaintance” as he says”), regardless, he should have pulled himself from the interview based on either relationship status.
Bzdelik seems like an upstanding guy with great experience, but I agree, he just isn’t ACC material.

Clark on 02/14/2011 (8:24 pm)

Another 20+ point loss again. This time it’s to a sub par NC State team. This question has to be asked. How was Coach Bzdelik selected as head coach? Was there a committee or was there just one person (Ron Wellman). Let me say this loud and clear. Coach Bzdelik and Ron Wellman are nice persons and I’m sure they are good family men, but the question(s) have to be asked: Why was Jeff Bzdelik, who had a sub par winning record in college basketball, selected as head coach of WFU? Why? Please tell me. Just because you are good friends with the AD and your daughter is enrolled at Wake does not mean that you should coach the men’s basketball team. I just cannot imagine any other ACC team selecting a head coach with such a poor record. If anything Ron Wellman should have excused himself from the selection process for a head coach when it came to considering Jeff Bzdelik. Please understand we are the laughing stock of the ACC and the nation! Gee am I supposed to get excited when Coach Bzdelik gets upset or passionate? This guy cannot coach! Let me say this again: This guy cannot coach. He is lost. When there were so many bright and young coaches who had successful records who could have been chosen, instead we chose a coach who had a sub 500 record. Why? Please tell me Ron? Why? The fans deserve an answer.

Craig Carter on 02/14/2011 (7:47 pm)

“...it’s not about what your high-school ranking is coming out of high school.” 

That’s exactly right.  He’s teaching these kids some accountability for their actions (or relative inaction).  My own mental attitude is not the responsibility of my boss or any other leader in my life.  It is mine.  It is a choice.  The coaches’ responsibility is to develop a plan and a culture that will grow the team concept.  The players’ responsibility is to honor their scholarship and put forth a high level of effort in following the coaching plan.  People seem to think that just because we had a highly rated recruiting class we should be better than this.  Why?  Physically, I’ll bet they ARE better than the record shows.  But, if they don’t want to do the work that Division 1 ball requires and want to be handed success, how can we expect anything but a negative result?  Maybe this team and coach don’t relate very well together, but let’s make sure to recognize who is responsible for what.  This isn’t one one man’s shoulders.

JohnPaul on 02/14/2011 (6:03 pm)

How you develop depends directly on the opportunities the coach gives you in minutes during the game. If a coach is going to bench a guy for rolling his eyes at him, he shouldn’t say he’s not playing because he’s not good enough. . . and the coach shouldn’t claim that the coach is interested in winning.

He’s trying to justify his failure with the highly rated recruits he currently has by trashing them collectively. You can say you will do better with worse talent. . . but Bz hasn’t this year. Our talent is good enough to win, our coach might not be.

Size and strategy matters. If you get beat inside, you don’t get better by putting perimeter players in. If you take everyone out for making a mistake, when do we get to take the coach out for making a mistake?

This isn’t the NBA where you can just trade away the guys you don’t like personally and get new ones.  And it isn’t the military where discipline is a lifestyle.  Does the coach take any of the blame on himself for this season?  Or is it all the players’ fault? (18 year old amateurs who make BZ a lot of money with THEIR hard work).

Brian Thacker on 02/14/2011 (4:43 pm)

I swear, if he mentions that one season at Air Force where he had some success in the WAC regular season again, to validate himself as a coach,  I am going to jump.

RonnieFranchise on 02/14/2011 (4:40 pm)

Dan, A very good Blog. I’m sure Coach has some passion. He has a very difficult time ahead of him. People I talk to, including my thoughts on the situation, see little progressin the next two years. Maybe some three years from now. However there is a chance some success will come sooner. Oh well, it has been a trying year. Hopefully every thing will improve. We need a great recruiting year, with kids with a fresh outlook. Attitude has to be a major problem at this time, “Go Deacs”

Cal on 02/14/2011 (4:05 pm)

Dan,

As long as the team gets to see more of this side of Coach Bzdelik’s personality, I’ll be happy. 

Doug, considering that player was only on the basketball court because some hurricane damaged the swimming pool, I sure hope we aren’t banking on Bzdelik inheriting Dave Odom’s luck.  I don’t think we’ll be seeing anything like Tim Duncan’s story again.

DC on 02/14/2011 (3:31 pm)

The philosophy sounds good for alumnae and sportswriters but,apparently, the kids aren’t buying. Reading posts about yesterday’s game makes it clear that the frustating thing is not losin. It is a lack of effort.l

JRHunter on 02/14/2011 (3:13 pm)

It would be nice we could see a different side of Bzzz, because so far, all I have seen is a statue. And while I’m at it,,, is anyone else sick and tired of Bzzz using his players as his excuse??? His players are too young…. His players are too small….. He’s ashamed of his players…. or this morning’s comment from the W-S Journal, that his players just didn’t ‘show up’ for Thursday/Friday practices or yesterday’s game… He doesn’t know why, go ask THEM!!!
Does this bother anyone but me??? He’s the adult! He’s the coach! He’s the leader! So HE sets the emotional tone for the team! If his players are disengaging from the game or from practices, then he need look no further than the mirror for the problem, because he gives all the appearance of being the most disengaged, passionless coach I have ever seen. The COACH is responsible for the mental attitude of his players. If they don’t display the right attitude, then its his job to correct it in a way that GETS THEIR ATTENTION, and that does NOT mean in the press.
Give this guy a lesson in management, or Public Relations…. PLEASE!

Kathy S on 02/14/2011 (3:10 pm)