As Tim Would Say, You Play On
Besides being the best player I’ve ever seen play basketball at Wake Forest, Tim Duncan was also the most unflappable. His mantra, regardless of whether he was soaring to another victory or picking himself up from a defeat, was Play On. You get knocked to the floor and no foul is called, you Play On. You get lionized as the best player on the planet and you Play On.
I thought of Duncan’s approach to the game (and life) during the media conference following Wake Forest’s 78-68 victory over Clemson Saturday. I had just asked Coach Dino Gaudio about the timeout with 4:54 remaining, the one right before Trevor Booker walked to the line to hit two free throws that closed what had been a 14-point Wake Forest lead to one. The Deacons, suddenly struggling against the frantic Tiger press, hadn’t hit a field goal in more than 4 1/2 minutes and had turned the ball over on four of their previous 10 possessions. And only those who were there can know just how loud Littlejohn Coliseum was.
The Deacons had to be thinking about last year’s trip to Littlejohn, where they had wilted under the pressure and blown an eight-point lead to lose in overtime. But Gaudio chose to look ahead, and not behind.
“I told them that we knew coming in they were going to make runs,’’ Gaudio said. “I told them on the bench `We’re going to play through it. We’re just absolutely not going to panic. We’re going to find a way to get it done.’
“And we did.’‘
The Deacons responded by scoring nine of their final 10 possessions and outscoring the Tigers 17-8 the rest of the way.
James Johnson, after playing a remarkably complete game, gave a wonderfully complete answer when asked about the difference between his freshman and sophomore seasons.
“We’re a better team and we act like a better team,’’ Johnson said. “When it’s time to keep our poise, we’ll do it.’‘
But as Duncan understood, there’s a need to play on in times both bad and good. With their third ACC victory in three venues over seven days, the Deacons should be a lock for No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll that will be released Monday. The national media has discovered what many of us have known all along, that Wake Forest has a team worth watching. The word is getting out, and because of that the players will receive the kind of attention and acclaim they’ve never known before. To this point they have seemed genuinely unaffected by the spotlight’s glare. But Chas McFarland said after the game that the goal of the season is not to win the ACC regular season or tournament but to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1962. To make it that far, they’ll have to play on regardless of the size or nature of the impediments.
Upon arriving home at around a quarter to one Sunday morning, I got my first good look at the bizarre incident in the stands where McFarland fell into a fan and the fan appeared to rise up and push McFarland over on his back and hold him down. I was sitting not more than 30 feet from the spot beyond the baseline, but regretfully my eyes followed the ball back upcourt as the Tigers attacked the basket. The first I noticed anything weird was when I saw McFarland re-emerging from the stands. He was grinning, so I didn’t think too much of it.
By now, of course, video of the affair is all over the internet. I’ve watched it time and again, trying to understand why the fan would act that way. He was escorted out of the arena, but apparently didn’t go quietly. I’ve put in some calls to people at Wake Forest to see if they expect—or even want—there to be any repercussions, but because no one got hurt and because McFarland was able to make light of the incident later I imagine that neither Gaudio or AD Ron Wellman would want to make a federal case out of it. I’ll let you know if I find differently.
Until I do, I’ll just assume they’ll take Tim Duncan’s advise and Play On.