Are the Deacons Holding Up to the Grind?
There seems to be a concern growing among the Peanut Gallery over the amount of minutes Ish Smith is playing and if the freshmen. C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart are wearing down. Coach Gaudio even made mention of the latter in yesterday’s post-game media conference. You can see his comments on the previous post.
My response is ask me again a week from Wednesday and I should have a much answer. In fact, we all should.
The Deacons have just completed a white-water rapids section of their schedule of three games in seven days, with two of them on the road. Dino admits he didn’t like it, but he also admitted that pretty much all teams go through those stretches. But the reward is that Wake now has only two games in the next week and a half. The Deacons have four days to prepare for Thursday night’s game at Georgia Tech, after which they will have four days to get ready for a visit from Miami on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2. (Are we that deep into January already? My mind reels,but the calendar says yes..) If there are still signs of fatigue in these next two games, then I think Dino has a problem.
Ish is tied with Jon Scheyer of Duke for most minutes played in the ACC, with 35.8 a game. I do think Duke has suffered in post-seasons past from having worn out players. That’s why it’s interesting to see that Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith rank third and fourth, with a little more than 34 minutes each. But Ish, like Duke’s big three, is a tough guy to keep on the bench.
As for C.J. and Ari, I suspect they’ll be much fresher Thursday in Atlanta. Perhaps a bigger issue for a freshman is the mental toll the grind of ACC basketball can take on the uninitiated. They’ve never had to give so much game in and game out and the ability to do so can only be learned through experience. All players sag at some point in the season, and freshmen are famous for hitting the wall. But I’ve also seen freshmen hit the wall, then get back up and play well in March.
It is something to keep an eye on. But how big a concern it is, again, let’s talk about it in a week and a half.
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By Dan Collins on 01/24/2010 (1:05 pm)
Comments
Thanks Dan,
I think that you said it just right with respect to keeping an eye on how fresh our guys seem over the next couple of weeks.
Especially with Ish, he hasn’t displayed any sign of wearing down, and I am sure that he knows how to prepare for an ACC season by now. But he just plays so many minutes. Plus, by virtue of how well he has played this year and the fact that we don’t have any other guard capable of handling the ball for long stretches of the game, I think he is expending himself more.
This is a particularly relevant topic in light of the fact that we failed to execute down the stretch of the UVA game, thus forcing coach Gaudio to keep Ish in for 38 minutes. Had we been a little more careful with the ball, perhaps he could have gotten a bit more rest. As the season progresses, I think we just have to recognize that when we are playing inferior teams, we can’t play down to their level.
In the mean time, I wonder if the structure of practices will change a little bit to make sure that the players’ legs remain fresh for the entire season. That will be difficult to accomplish for a team that relies so heavily on its physical play and defense.
DC on 01/24/2010 (10:05 pm)
Hey Dan,
They about let ‘em back into it Saturday, didn’t they? I would be interested to know how Dino handles that this week at practice. Like you said, they have four days before Tech.
If it was ME?
I’d run them silly.
Deep 3’s and lazy passes with 20 point leads make you look d-u-m-b. They are a better team than that.
As for your post, I’m not concerned with the Frosh hitting the wall, personally. I think injury is the only thing that could slow this team down right now. It’s the most excited I’ve been about Wake bball since they beat Duke at home James and Jeff’s freshman season. (Guess that means I’m ripe for a disappointment.)
Thursday’s game is very very important. IF the Deacs can come out of that one with a win, it would put them on the fast track to a top tier league finish.
Thanks for your work.
Thomas on 01/24/2010 (4:57 pm)
Ga. Tech game worries me a little more now that the Jackets lost today in Tallahassee. They’ll need to get this one on Thursday. Ish doesn’t seem to ever get tired, but I would like to see CJ get some more minutes at the point, under the assumption that he’ll (at least) be a key player in that role next season—as much as I get awfully nervous when Ish takes a blow. . .
Chris on 01/24/2010 (4:50 pm)
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