Complacent, Comfortable and Satisfied
Jeff Bzdelik told me so. Of much greater importance, he told his players so.
I listened, which didn’t matter one hill of beans in this crazy world.. His players, the ones that came out sluggish against Richmond today and got slugged 70-62, might or might not have listened, Regardless Bzdelik’s words of warning did not take.
At the end of Friday’s practice, Bzdelik walked over and said he wasn’t happy with how it had gone.
“We were sloppy,’’ Bzdelik said. “And I tell the players, who you practice is how you play.’‘
The prophecy came true in front of 7,813 at Joel Coliseum when the Deacons came out flat, scored only six points in the first seven minutes, clawed back into contention and then completely unraveled while getting outscored 21-7 in the first eight and a half minutes of the second half. Once they found themselves down at home by 23 to a team with four new starters, the Deacons actually begain to play good enough basketball to pull as close as eight with three minutes remaining, six with 1:08 left and finally five with 41 secondds remaining.
But the rally either started too late or ended too early as the Spiders nailed five of six free throws the rest of the way to put away their second straight victory over Wake.
“For whatever reason we weren’t ready to go,’’ Bzdelik said. “The players will tell you that half of my pregame talk was about what you can control. Well you can control your enthusiasm, your energy, your emotion, your togetherness, your grit. That’s what you can control. And that’s a great thing. And that’s half this game or any game. Anything in life is your passion. That’s what separates people from good to great. And we can control that.
“I could see it. But I didn’t see it last night in practice. But I’ve seen it from these guys. We need that (passion), or like any other team in the country, we have no chance.’‘
C.J. Harris, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, chalked the Deacons’ unspired play over the first 28 minutes to complacency, comfort and satisfaction. Many of you reading this, I’m sure, are wondering how in the world could a team that has gone through what Wake has gone through these past couple of seasons ever be complacent, comfortable and satisfied. Believe me, that’s a question I asked everyone I could find to ask after today’s game.
“That’s on us,’’ Harris said. “Coaches can’t give us that energy. We have to be the one to want to go out there and play and win.’‘
Travis McKie, who led Wake with 25 points and seven rebounds, said the Deacons allowed their offensive inefficiency to affect their defensive intensity.
“Coach told me a quote last year that I never forgot,’’ McKie said. “He was like `In 40 minutes, you spend five minutes with the ball and the other 35 minutes you’re not going to have the ball. So how are you going to affect the game without the ball in your hands.’ That’s something we haven’t learned or grasped yet. That’s something that over time we will learn it’‘
So what, I pressed, can you do to make sure you don’t get complacent, comfortable and satisfied.
“I hope that was a good enough lesson right there,’’ Harris said of the eight-point home loss to Richmond. “You don’t want to have to keep experiencing it before you learn it. But if that doesn’t get us going, and understanding we need to play for 40 minutes, then I don’t know what to tell you.’‘
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 12/03/2011 (6:34 pm)
Comments
What’s up at Wake? Out of state and not able to follow as close as I’d like. Does Bz have what it takes? From my view the kids don’t play with passion and pride and Bz is in over his head. Good thing the schedule has a very soft spot before the ACC schedule is in full swing. I do hate it for the season ticket holders having nothing but low level games the next month or so.
Mark on 12/11/2011 (10:31 am)
Unfortunately conferences do kick out schools for poor performance. Just look at Temple who was with the Big East at one time. I just don’t get it. We should demand accountability from the person(s) who hire poor performing coaches. Coach Bzz will never take us anywhere. Instead he will probably have three or four seasons of poor performing teams and then he will be fired. I still don’t understand why we can’t strive to be like the Duke Basketball Program. There are so many circumstances that are similar with Wake and Duke, except for the winning. We should not be resigned to empty stands at home games and seasons of one or less wins in the ACC. Wake is a strong academic school, there is no reason that it cannot be competitive in basketball.
Craig Carter on 12/05/2011 (11:07 am)
This so-called complacency is unfathomable. Are we recruiting in the right places? Who feels “complacent” after these performances?
KA on 12/05/2011 (10:23 am)
Lets be #1 in revenue AND let’s win. I think they kind of go together. If we are losing money we surely will never get to the mountaintop.
DannyB on 12/05/2011 (10:16 am)
My, my, my, the boo birds are out. DC put it in good perpective….perspective a word not used much around here. C’mon people, that was a lousy game, I was there and suffered through it to. However, it was one game. Let’s see how this very young team learns from that. We’re at least a year away from having the athletes to win games like that. Give Bz a chance. Maybe we can discuss everything during halftime at the Music City Bowl! Go Deacs!!
Jim on 12/05/2011 (9:53 am)
Craig- that is Ronnie Wellman’s chant- Let’s be #1 in revenue even though our B-ball and Football teams under-perform! That was my point- thanks for getting it!
Bobby on 12/04/2011 (10:57 pm)
Now now Craig, the ACC is not about to kick us out. The football team is good enough to keep us in. Our women’s programs, with the exception of basketball, are top flite. They are nonrevenue sports for the university, but their results bring in big dollars for the conference.
But the way Bzz coaches basketball we may not be far from deriving more from our women’s soccer program than men’s basketball. And it’s about time to add women’s softball to the Wake Forest program.
It’s painfully obvious that the coach is lost and the team is following him into the wilderness.
Of course I guess we can look on the bright side… Everybody in the ACC stinkks this year.I haven’t seen a quality team play a full game all season.
JoeyD on 12/04/2011 (8:31 pm)
Yep, it was a terribly disappointing loss to be sure. The players clearly experienced letdown after the Nebraska game and came out flat as a result. It’s an important lesson to learn. But it’s not like this is the first Wake Forest team to fail to properly handle success. Hopefully this group learns the lesson about the dangers of complacency.
Regardless, even if this team learns its lesson and plays (and practices) with more of an edge, it’s also important for us to put the season in to proper context. Bzdelik’s mission is to build the foundation of a balanced and unselfish basketball team. That’s the only way to build a true contender. And that mission can certainly be accomplished if the players take the right lessons from the Richmond game. It was a step back, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have benefits. Go Deacs!
DC on 12/04/2011 (7:15 pm)
Well Bobby. It sounds like we all need to change is our outlook as fans. So here is a new chant: Go Wake be number one in revenue. Being serious I would say that if the point is just to raise money we don’t need an AD we need a fundraiser. The other point I would make is that if we keep playing Bzzz Ball in the ACC there could be the day that the ACC will “suggest” that Wake leave the ACC and go to another league (i.e. Southen Conf.). You don’t think it could happen? Well did you ever think we would have a Miami, Fla.State, Syracuse, and Pittsburg in the ACC? More than ever there is a need to be as competitive as possible, not as dull and unresponsive as possible.
Craig Carter on 12/04/2011 (6:28 pm)
Isn’t it the coach’s job to make sure is team isn’t comfortable and complacent???
It was obvious that this team was woefully unprepared to handle what Richmond threw at them defensively. Yes, we are undermanned (particularly on the interior) and don’t have the talent level across the board of most ACC teams right now, but there is no excuse for being unprepared and no excuse for losing to this year’s Richmond team at home (especially essentially getting blown out by them for 30 minutes)...
Andy Y on 12/04/2011 (6:21 pm)
Ronnie Wellman can sit back and be content because the Athletic dept. is in the black. The football home season set an attendance record this year, and he does not care who (opponents fans) buys the tickets, as long as every seat is sold! Remember the State game!WF made alot of money with ticket sales (especially gouging for the Notre Dame game). And as long as the Deacon Club continues to increase its contributions year in and year out, winning and losing in both Football and B-ball will not matter. Wellman’s performance must be based on financial prosperity, not league standings!
Bobby on 12/04/2011 (5:17 pm)
It’s tough to be a Wake fan! When will the trustees and president realize that some serios changes need to be made NOW in the football and basketball coaching. It won’t get any better with the continual excuses. How can Wellman just sit back and be content? Maybe that’s the reason for such poor performance.
jack mac donald on 12/04/2011 (2:44 pm)
We have been discussing this since WF began athletics. We have no history of a commitment to winning. Therefore, games like those against Richmond and Vanderbilt will continue to occur. Accept it Wake fans, it ain’t ever going to change!
Dan S. on 12/04/2011 (1:54 pm)
As committee of one Ron Wellman decided to bring in this coach. There is no doubt in my mind that this is Coach Bzz last season as a head coach for WFU. The real question is whether or not Ron Wellman will survive as AD at Wake. It’s obvious to all that there is a good chance we will not win one game in the ACC. We could have replaced Dino with a Coach that had some coaching ability, however instead we will once again suffer through this season.
Craig Carter on 12/04/2011 (1:30 pm)
Complacent, Comfortable, and Satisfied: Seems like a common theme among both basketball and football lately and I’m sick of hearing it. If a team loses because they got beat by a better team I can accept that but if they lsoe because everyone is “satisfied” with the status quo then why play the game to begin with? The excuses are getting old. I totally agree with others that “The Joel” is a dead atmosphere now and the excitement that Skip brought is long gone.
Richmond’s coach Chris Mooney is an exceptional coach and he’s the guy I was hoping Wake would try to hire when Dino left.
AV8R on 12/04/2011 (8:27 am)
All that this post is telling me is that outside of a player or two this is not a mentally tough team. Last year “bad seeds” were blamed for this, what’s the excuse now?
WakeFan on 12/04/2011 (1:32 am)
C.J. Harris’s comment about uninspired play can be chalked up to complacency, comfort, and satisfaction sounds just like the WF Football team this year- why would either team after finishing last in the ACC in both sports last season ever be comfortable and complacent?!! Maybe Grobe and Buzz should hire a motivational psychologist for their respective teams!
Bobby on 12/04/2011 (1:13 am)
I hate to sound like a broken record from last year, but here’s the deal folks…A team, any team, is a reflection of their coach. You can’t expect the team to consistently display any more passion than the coach does. When I watch Coach B during a game, it;s difficult to tell whether he’s watching paint dry or a basketball game. Is it really any wonder that the team falls asleep at times.
It just 2 short years ago that the LJVM felt like a completely different place. There was an electricity and excitement when you walked thru the door. The fans were pumped, the students were crazy and the team was excited, but all that disappeared last year. Now the LJVM is scary quiet, and there;s more empty seats than occupied ones. Hmmmm…. I wonder what else changed last year?
Kathy S on 12/03/2011 (11:50 pm)
After watching today’s game, it just goes to show you what defensive intensity and hustle can do for you. Richmond, though “new” from last year’s graduates, builds their foundation on hustle on defense and offense. I hope that this Wake doesn’t think that they’re good enough to show up and beat teams just because they play for an ACC team.
wfdeaconnclemmons on 12/03/2011 (9:31 pm)
I’m sorry, but losing to Richmond at home is simply unacceptable. I don’t really care what Coach Buz or any of the players have to say anymore. Get ready for another last place finish in the ACC.
dano on 12/03/2011 (9:22 pm)
