Comments

The regular season does matter but its main purpose is to hopefully position a team for post season play. If we lose the last two remaining games and go to the ACC with a 5 game losing streak, we have not positioned ourselves well with the NCAA tournament committee. If we win these two and a couple in the ACC, the committee will look very highly on us! However, whether the team says so or not, last season’s collapse must be weighing heavily on their minds. It’s a tough monkey to shake but if the team wants to succeed, they better start ridding themselves of that monkey now!

Ken Green on 03/01/2010 (8:36 pm)

Dino we hear you loud and clear.  We know the regular season matters because you have to play good during that stretch to get to postseason play.  I think most Wake fans are with me in that we are tired as fans of seeing the Deacs beat very good teams during the regular season only to see them lay an egg when it really mattered.  Yes Dino the regular season matters but what matters more and is remembered more is what you do in March and Wake Forest and March do not seem to go together for whatever reason.  I hope it changes this year.  I’m not expecting alot from here on out but I know the Deacs can win some games in March if they put their minds to it. Please take care of business this year Deacs.

Cliff Daniel on 03/01/2010 (7:43 pm)

Wake has overachieved this season for sure. Let’s look at it realistically..we have a pg that can’t shoot a lick, a sf who can’t shoot a lick…a fr. shooting guard that is a terrible slump, and a center who is as up and down as a roller coaster at Busch Gardens. 

I have no doubt kids like Ish and LD have given all they have for WFU…but the bottom line is this senior class is not overly skilled. The only 2 good shooters on this team are freshmen and one of them has hit the wall.  Freshmen can’t carry the load from the outside.

Dino needs to be given time to recruit HIS type of players.  The only 2 players on the team that are his recruits are Harris and Stewart.

JT on 03/01/2010 (6:24 pm)

I would agree that we’re not a great team in terms of talent.  But to the broader point—March is what matters.  I don’t like it and its not fair—but it is what it is.  The only regular season I remember out of the last 10-12 was the year that we won the regular-season crown.  All of the other years, my rememberance is based solely on our performance at the ACC Tournament and in the NCAAs.  If you endeavor to be a top-flight NCAA program, you have to win in March.  That’s simply how those teams are defined.

And you’ve owned the market on the Deacs press coverage for many years, Dan.

Chris on 03/01/2010 (5:57 pm)

I would agree with Dino’s assessment on this. If the regular season did not matter, we would just have a tournament based upon preseason seedings and be done with it. Yes, the goal is to win the National Championship. We do have to work our way there every year because it’s not just given to a team based upon the name on their jersey. Our fan base tends to love number crunching for “justifiable” stats. How about these: when we reached the Final Four in 1962, there were only 22 teams, meaning that we made it 2 to 3 rounds deep (not entirely sure on how the rounds were set up). Based upon this, the majority of times in which we have reached the Tournament, we have gone the exact same distance. Of the 344 NCAA Division 1 basketball teams, only 35 have won the National Championship. Yes, we should do everything that we can to get there, but we need to quit acting like we’re the only ones left out.

I am in agreement with you that it’s a battle that he’ll never win, but I can guarantee you that if you polled Wake fans at the beginning of the last two seasons using what our record would turn out to be and the majority of us would be exhilarated. This team has more heart than any team since Mike Drum stepped off the court. I was thoroughly disgusted with our fans who filed out of the Joel when the game was still in reach. If a “fan” who reads this was among those who did, I think that it countermands any complaint that you make about the team, coaching staff, atmosphere etc. It’s easy to complain and criticize when we hide behind avatars and screen names based upon adjectives and verbs.

Patrick W. Crist '07 on 03/01/2010 (5:55 pm)

“But nobody cares about the regular season, you know that,‘’ Giglio interjected.  That is a totally asinine statement.  It belittles the players, coaches and fans.  If Giglio feels that way, why is he writing articles during the season.  Using his logic, that no one cares, then it would be logical to assume no one is reading either.

The Deacs are not a great team and in my opinion have somewhat overachieved at times this season.  I thought going in to this year 8-8 would be a good record and I believe most of the media were picking Wake to finish near the bottom of the conference.  I like this team, they play the game with heart, and that is all I ask.  I also believe Dino to be a good coach.

jcg on 03/01/2010 (5:49 pm)