Comments

The mistake a Logan said was hiring Bz in the first place. This being said, how long do you want to watch more and more empty seats in the once proud Joel. Who do you think Bz is going to recruit this off season given his past history? Answer is obvious so that keeping him will only add to the downward spiral. No folks, we don’t want instant gratification, but to have a projected record like 7-25? Not acceptable, now or ever. Losing to Stetson..not acceptable now or ever. Bz must go before the hole is too deep to dig out. Already, we’re going to be the laughing stock of the ACC and may not win a league game..chew on that for awhile and then tell us to be patient.

fpvjr on 12/27/2010 (1:49 pm)

Won’t win a national championship?! We might not win another game this season! By the way, there are plenty of seats available for the UR game Wednesday night and I mean plenty.

To me, the issue is what’s going to happen with the ‘09 & ‘10 recruits. Some other blogger pondered just how far into the season a player can go before he can opt out and not have to sit out a year? Buzz sure isn’t going to get any “blue chippers” after this season, so the spiral down continues. This could be a hole from out of which it will years of digging.

I would agree with you about being patient and giving Buzz a chance, but Wake’s not losing to schools in major conferences, they’re losing to the Big South and the Atlantic Sun. After watching UR & VCU play, I think that almost every team in the CAA could knock off the Deacs. By the way UNC-G just lost to UR by 10 and ODU beat beat Presbyterian by 10.

Richard on 12/25/2010 (2:12 pm)

I just got up on Christmas morning to see if Santa fulfilled my wish list.  I found a note and a Duke sweatshirt.  The note said:  “Dear Deacon Fan, I got your letter asking for a Deacon sweatshirt.  However, your basketball team is playing so poorly my Elves refused to make the sweatshirt.  The Asian sweatshops even refused.  So I have substituted a Duke sweatshirt.  I think you can pull off posing as a Duke fan.  Those Methodists are a lot like Baptists although they make change out of the collection plate.  Good luck in golf.  Love, Santa ”

wake forest trailer park 66-69 on 12/25/2010 (7:26 am)

I know that there are some in the Wake family that had problems with Skips style of play (approach to defense) but he was the last proven head Coach/leader we’ve had…..since then it is apparent we’ve been willing to “settle” for a lot less. I have to agree to some exptent with The Deacons commments re keeping Gaudio in the first place. In my opinion not looking for a proven commodity at that point might have been defensible in the short run (in terms of that recruiting class…which in hindsight was not nearly as good as predicted)....but ultimately led us to where we are today. 

As to the criticism of Wellman….in not at least creating the perception of getting input from others by announcing a “national search” and forming the traditional committee of stakeholders he owns it all by himself. He only made it worse by launching an over the top sales blitz after the fact. He broke a bunch of cardinal rules….. in managment, sales and politics.

At the end of the day we can complain to high heaven about what should have happened but that’s water over the damn. Now what? Obviously some would prefer to wait it out and see what happens….on the other hand as the old Chinese proverb suggests….“if you don’t change directions, you are are likely to wind up where you are headed.”

Making a change at this point however would be very unlike Wake…...looks like a very long season.

Deacon23 on 12/24/2010 (3:53 pm)

I never thought I would see the Wake basketball team as low as my 401K.  Things are so bad I have got to go back to work.  Maybe that’s what the AD should do.

class of '68 on 12/24/2010 (7:20 am)

Matt—

Best post I’ve seen on this site in a long time.  Wellman knew exactly what was coming after last year’s losing of Ish (experienced senior pg), Chas (strong post presence), Aminu (NBA), Williams (heart and soul of team, defensive, emotional leader).  Ari and CJ came in with strong minutes, but could lean on those older players for support.  Point is, these current players are BABIES.  Give it time and I guarantee things will change for the better.  Much like ‘03 UNC recruiting class that went from going 17-15 to national champs in 2005, I think time should be given to let the freshman figure things out and blossom on their own.  I saw flashes of what will come in the second half of the Iowa game.

Champ on 12/23/2010 (7:01 pm)

Yes, we have lost some emabarrassing games this year. but the cupboard isn’t bare—we have some good freshmaen and sophomores. give them time to mature, give the coach some time to institute his system, and add a PG and two big men. we’ll be good next year. and we will win a few acc games. heck, ncsu alost lost to del st and youngstown st, ga tech has a few bad losses, uva lost to seattle at home last night, BC isn’t very good….we’ll step up the level of play and win some league games.  chill out everybody

wfu22fan on 12/23/2010 (5:42 pm)

Personally, Wellman should have brought in a new coach when Skip Prosser died, instead of honoring all the fan wishes that Gaudio become coach to keep our top 5 recruiting class… Wow they panned out good didnt they (sarcasm detected)...

Gaudio should never been head coach, but the real question no one has asked is, would everyone becalling for Skip Prosser’s head this year, because this would have probably been the same situation since the same assistant coaches have been here all along. 

When did our fanbase become so UNC/Duke-ish with their complaints?  I was at Wake during the last of Staak, and first of Odom years, and those teams were bad too.  These schools we have lost to this year, are getting the types of players that Bob Stack and Dave Odom filled their rosters with… Without the trio of Rodney Rogers, Randolph Childress and Tim Duncan, Odom’s career would have been much shorter… Unfortunately, this year is a write-off, its over, but until the coach gets a fair shake, then our fans need to support him, not trash him… As I have said before, 2 good freshmen, a couple of decent sophmores with no inside presence and no point guard is not a winning team.  Talent doesnt win games, just ask Bob Stack, his teams were loaded with talent… You need a team with good leadership and a good starting five with at least 3 good backups… we dont have any of that, just backups and freshmen… 5-Star Ty Walker is a waste of a five year scholarship, Gary Clark is finally a star cause this team is just bad, and Harris and Stewart are backups… poor freshmen have no clue how to play defense, cause no one plays defense in high school… So please quit putting Bzdelik on the chopping block all alone, or Wellman for that matter, cause you can’t make gold out of mud… This is the worst fan support for Wake I have seen in the 30 years i have been going to Wake Forest sporting events… Enough is enough, go jump back on whatever bandwagon you were on before Grobe and Prosser brought us our brief success…

The Deacon on 12/23/2010 (4:35 pm)

I’ve loved Wake since the 70s when I was a student. Since them, every time we have a good season, ticket prices went up the next year because our programs were better and more competitive. I never complained. I don’t know what happened to the “program” but after this football and basketball season, don’t you think we should get discounted tickets next year Mr Wellman?

mdrbark on 12/23/2010 (4:29 pm)

Don’t panic. Winning the players over is more important at this point than winning games. Wake might have to wait for coach to get his players into the mix before noticeable progress is made. Any new coach deserves 3 to 4 years. It is not the time to panic…Yet.

radio_smuggles on 12/23/2010 (4:17 pm)

“However, I actually watched this team come out of a time out and execute an in-bounds play that worked.  That never happened with Dino”.

In all fairness and for accuracy’s sake, Wake beat Duke (when I believe Duke was number one) on a near-buzzer beater out-of-bounds play (after a timeout) to James Johnson for a layup a couple of years ago.

Stonewall on 12/23/2010 (3:07 pm)

I agree Matt.  Everytime I watch the Deacs this year, I think about how much worse it would be with Dino.  We know that there are many things wrong this year.  However, I actually watched this team come out of a time out and execute an in-bounds play that worked.  That never happened with Dino, no matter how great the talent was.  He was not a “coach” but more of a player manager ... moving pieces in and out.

The measure of this team and Coach B will be how they finish.  There is nothing wrong with proding them along to acheive better, but final judgement shold be reserved until the end of the season in my opinion.

chris on 12/23/2010 (1:31 pm)

Amen Matt.  Well said my friend and completely and totally correct.  If some of these posters had actually coached young men at the game of basketball they would not be saying the things they are saying.  We are Deac fans through good times and bad!

Tuck on 12/23/2010 (12:01 pm)

There is not a single upperclassman on this team that has had significant playing time.  The best hope this team had for such a player was Tony Woods, who was snapped up by Probation Officer Pitino with a devilish grin on his face after Woods took his frustrations out on the mother of his child and was summarily suspended by the school.  So now, the cupboard is bare.  (Gary Clark is a senior and appears to have a great shooting touch, but he has never been one to play many minutes.)  This team has no point guard, and we all saw what happened the year after Chris Paul left the team high and dry for the greener pa$ture$ of the NBA.  C.J. Harris is the second coming of Justin “fish out of water” Gray at the point.  Just for fun lets add in a cup of entirely-new system and some inflated egos and simmer for about twelve games.  And what do you get?  Hot Deacon fan soufflé!

Does anyone actually think that this would be a better team if Coach Gaudio were still around?  Does anyone think that any coach (save Coach K the miracle worker) would have these young men playing significantly better basketball than what they are playing right now?  There are so many things working against this team that I think everyone just needs to calm down and realize that this team has a lot of potential that just needs to be properly managed.  People were criticizing Coach B for being too easy on his players in his post-game press conferences, and now they are jumping on him for “throwing his team under the bus” after the Presbyterian game.  What I hear is a man who is trying to motivate his player in whatever way he can to get them to play better, to concentrate more, and to win games.  Coach Gaudio did not leave much for Coach B to work with.  And for everyone who says that Coach B is a lousy recruiter, let’s just see what next year’s team (the first that he’ll have a chance to bring in his own recruits) looks like.  There is SO much wrong here that is out of Coach B’s hands.  Let’s give him time to sort out the mess and to build a team we can all be proud of again.  As for this year - it would have been in the toilet no matter who the head coach was.

Matt on 12/23/2010 (1:10 am)

Just curious, Dan.  When is the last chance for players to transfer before they’d have to sit another semester?  Maybe the season COULD be worse.

Mullet on 12/23/2010 (12:12 am)

I have never been so disappointed in a basketball season as this one. I alternate between grief and depression. I beg to differ with one of the other commentors. I do not see a well-coached team at all. Wake may not have a true point guard or a real low post player, but this team is NOT without talent. We certainly put more talent on the floor than the likes of Stetson and Presbyterian! But the way this season is going, no one will want to commit to WFU and this indeed may be the most talented team we have for many years to come. Come on Ron! Do what needs to be done and give us a chance to redem the second half of the season!

Kathy on 12/23/2010 (12:04 am)

As a student at Wake, i suffered through the worst 4 years in the history of WFU basketball, 1985-89.  Bob Staak had to be the worst coach ever in the ACC.  If you review those years, there were plenty of losses or narrow wins against the same teams - Siena, UNC-W, ETSU, Baptist, Rollins, Stetson.  At least Bzdelik isn’t hanging out at Village Tavern every night in his warm-up suit.  Give BZD a chance to right the ship.  This team has tremendous talent, but they are young and just need to continue to learn playing as a team.

Chris on 12/22/2010 (11:17 pm)

Don’t count on our defense getting better. Coach Bzdelik’s Colorado team was dead last in the Big 12 last year defensively.  While the powers that be praised his offense, the just as quickly dismissed the defensive woes.  Now we’re getting them first hand and our team is looking an aweful lot like Colorado.  While I expected a down year, I certainly am not ready to get excited over 2 pt wins over winless teams like UNCG.  After the firing of Dino, we expected and should have gotten more out of a coaching hire.  If the season continues like it looks like, Bzdelik won’t be the only head Boosters start looking to chop… Keep that in mind Ron!

Storm on 12/22/2010 (11:15 pm)

Agree with Carl. Buzz depresses me in the post game. He sounds like he needs some counseling. If I were a player or a recruit, I wouldn’t want a whiner for a coach. The fans are speaking with their wallets. You couldn’t pay me to go as long as Buzz is coach. The revolt is on Ron, we aren’t going to show up until you get a real coach who can attract a real team. Wake me up from this nightmare.

Wakemeup on 12/22/2010 (10:28 pm)

Wellman are you really watching the Deacs?  How can you continue to be impressed with the direction Bzdelik is taking the basketball program?

Bzdelik: “I’ve tried several different starting lineups,” “Our pregame approach, there’s been several—- from film clips to emotional pleas to Knute Rockne speeches to lovey-dovey.  We’ve tried it all.”

Doesn’t Wellman and Bzdelik realize after 12 games that he has lost the team.  Then again I’m not sure he ever had the team.

Wellman won’t fire Bzdelik: (1) that would be an admission that he made a hiring mistake and (2) Wake would be paying 3 salaries ... Bzdelik for 4 more years, Gaudio for 3? more years and then Bzdelik’s replacement.

Maybe Wellman should consider another option.  Remove Bzdelik now and bring back Coach Dave Odom on a temporary contract to finish the season until Wellman can find a well qualified coach.  At least Coach Odom can motivate and bring the best out of players.

DT on 12/22/2010 (8:24 pm)