Comments

Dan:  Any rumors concerning Wake recruiting a PG for next year?  Assuming Chenault fully recovers, we’re still stuck with a red-shirt freshman PG and a combo guard in CJ to play the point.  We’re an injury away from a repeat performance of this year. Tell me there is light at the end of this tunnel!!

Mike on 12/18/2010 (3:12 pm)

Granted Woods may have been an inside presence but losing him is for the best.  The Deacs didn’t need anymore problems than they already have.  Besides Louisville may be the best place to turn his life around.

DT on 12/17/2010 (11:14 pm)

I have a little different perspective as to what our biggest weakness is so far this year. To me it is the lack of any real “strength” inside. While we have two 7 foot players players, neither is playing with enough forcefulness to make an impact on the game at either end of the court. Ty can block shots, but he is consistantly out of position on rebounds and on defense when he is not in a postion to block a shot—he never guards the weak side. I think there is a chance that this issue can get better over the rest of the games. Nikta is not very big—but he works hard. Our freshmen inside players will get better over the course of the year. Regardless of their imporvement—it is going to be a long season. The reason these weaker opponents are beating us is because most all “power conference” teams have a stronger presence under the boards than the smaller conference teams. Right now—we do not.
We need to give BZZ a chance.

steveh on 12/17/2010 (1:38 pm)

There is young talent in the program—Mckie, Terrell, Derosiers, Chenault, CJ,
and Stewart ( I haven’t seen enough of Tabb to evaluate him). But a team can’t play without a point guard!! Dino screwed up when he failed to have two point guards on the team in case one was injured.
CJ was recruited as a combo guard, but he ain’t a point guard. Moreover, we lost our only physical insude player when Woods left the team. Woods would have made a huge difference for us inside for two more years and he had experience to boot. So coacn B needs to bring in a talented big man in addition to the shot blocker Green from Texas. BTW, the “horrible” recruit Chase fischer from WV has put up 58 and 54 in his last two games. With a PG and a couple of more big men, we will be pretty good next year. This year is going to be hard to watch, but the future doesn’t look that bleak to me.

wfu22fan on 12/17/2010 (12:35 pm)

Dan, this post may have summed it up the best in terms of the state of Wake Forest basketball. There is no fire in this team, the coaches seem to have no energy on the sidelines and that may be Coach Bzdelik’s style, but it’s not working with a young team. I fear that there is dissention between he and his assistants since he was forced to keep them all. Wellman has tied his wagon to Bzdelik and of course Grobe, so they are all his guys. I have little problem with Grobe, I expect football to be better, but the drop off in hoops recruiting, moving forward is readily apparent and two wins in the ACC this year might be as good as it gets. So sad to see the Joel almost empty on national TV Wednesday night.

Jeremy on 12/17/2010 (11:29 am)

Dan - please allow me to join in with the others who are expressing their appreciation for your comments and coverage of Wake Forest athletics.  Your excellence is the lone thing that NEVER wavers for us Demon Deacon fans.  Regardless of how the teams play, you are always honest and lucid.  Thank you.

Matt on 12/17/2010 (9:44 am)

Dan unleashed!!!. I like that. No more Mr Nice guy. Wish you also kept it real with Grobe.It’s easy to call buzz out since he’s not been around for long.

That aside, the team is fundamentally flawed. here’s a nugget. I don’t think it’s the players.Each one of them individually is talented. When they come together as a team, there’s when the problem becomes obvious. They don’t seem to play like a team. The offense we’ve been praising is suspect. They’ve played a cupcake schedule so far. Defense is inexistent. Say what you like about Dino, he at least emphasized defense.

Let me also add, I noticed the lack of chemistry between the head coach and assistants. Me thinks Wellman really screwed this one up. He should have allowed Gaudio one more season. Gaudio would have failed miserably this season, giving wellman every reason to fire him. I’m beggining to believe buzz isn’t as advertised

mindact on 12/17/2010 (2:12 am)

Thanks, Dan, for not sugarcoating the situation.  I come to the games and cheer as hard as I can, but it is not much fun to watch this team, especially knowing that I’ve driven 150 miles roundtrip for the opportunity.  Last night was especially painful.  I can’t believe how far our football and basketball programs have fallen.

Steve on 12/16/2010 (11:25 pm)

Country,
Good comments from all. The problem as I see it, we know what talent we have now…

What I am concerned with is what type of talent will be coming the next two years. I believe it is a given that Bz is not a strong recruiter…Hopefully, Rusty and Jeff will be able to pick up the slack.

I am definitely concerned in this area!

Tom on 12/16/2010 (9:30 pm)

Dan :
Your commentary concerning the basketball program is insightful and appreciated. Coach Buzz was effusive in his praise for the team following a two point win at home against an 0-9 Southern Conference team. As I listened to his comments I couldn’t help but think how low our expectations have fallen since the Skip Prosser era .It’s not just the quality of the team, it’s that the whole atmosphere in the Joel has deteriorated to the point where all the momentum and excitement that Skip built has dissipated .Other teams no longer fear coming to Joel and the crowds ( if they can be termed as such ) are bored and frustrated.The cost of Deacon Club memberships , seat rights and ticket prices for Wake football and basketball have been steadily rising for several years now .Coming on the heels of a miserable football season , Ron Wellman has to be concerned about how this will affect the financial support for the athletic program.

Steve P on 12/16/2010 (6:35 pm)

I agree with Joe in this case. I am very glad that you are reporting what the facts are with the basketball team, rather than spinning it to make everything look good (as was done a lot in football).

Last night was not pretty, but it was a win nonetheless. The conference schedule is not going to be pretty (neither will Xavier, Gonzaga, or Richmond), so we need to cherish these last few wins.

Riley on 12/16/2010 (5:29 pm)

With the caveat that I know nothing about the in’s and out’s of real basketball, and with the full realization that our record and scores don’t look good this year, I do have one observation to make:  I actually like watching us play because we can run set plays for outside shots and hit the shots.  I at least feel confident that when one of our guys shoots from outside 2 feet, it has a chance of going in.  The past few years, I didn’t feel that way.  So, in that respect, part of me actually enjoys watching them this year more than I enjoyed it in the past few years.  But I suppose something was better in those years than in this one (defense?), given what’s happening.

MIchael on 12/16/2010 (5:09 pm)

Dan:  I’m just going to go ahead and say it.  Your reporting on the Basketball Team this year has been outstanding.  You are keeping it real.  No fluff pieces.  Just the facts.  As a fan - that’s what I want to read.  During football season I felt like you did everything possible to stay positive in your columns and on the blog (in some cases - the positive nature of your writing was not credible during football season).  Your writing about the basketball program isn’t negative, sarcastic, or venomous - it’s real and authentic.  As a longtime WFU fan - I appreciate the honesty.  I know there are some fans who aren’t happy about information reported in your column and blog.  Too bad.  Don’t shoot the messenger.  The dysfunction surrounding the basketball program is a product of decisions made by the Athletic Director.  If the fans are upset about a situation within the athletic program - results/changes will come from the Athletic administration - not a WSJ sports writer who is reporting the facts about the state of the basketball program.  Dan - please keep up the good work.  Haters gonna hate - but please don’t change your reporting style about the basketball team.  Keep the facts coming - good or bad.  Go Deacs.

Joe on 12/16/2010 (4:43 pm)

The biggest problem that the fans have now is that the talent on this team is so limited that we are going to have to endure losing for several seasons, not just this one.

The biggest problem Coach BzzZ has is that hes got one senior on this team so he’s stuck with the rest of these guys for multiple years.

Maybe we need to start daily drug testing to see if we can rid ourselves of the players we have and start rebuilding with talented players.

A team with only 2 decent ACC talents should be able to beat the teams we’ve lost to with a supporting cast off the bench from a high school team.

I still love my Deacons but its hard to drive 2 hours to see a joke of a team and be forced to drive 2 hours home in utter disgust.

Lee Jackson on 12/16/2010 (4:15 pm)

Dan, I get the feeling you are getting as frustrated as the rest of us.  I try to put a positive spin on things ie. lack of point guard, one returning starter, etc., etc.  However, you are exactly right.  An ACC team with the profile of Wake, with athletes that are good enough that they were recruited by other D1 teams, should not be losing to the likes of Stetson, etc.  This team was picked last in the ACC and rightly so.  However, that was based on what they would do against other ACC teams.  We should have put together at least a VT-type season by now (beat up on the little guys and lose to the big guys).

Jim on 12/16/2010 (4:06 pm)