Falling Snow and Falling Jumpers
Made it back from basketball practice in one piece, despite the most strenuous efforts of all those drivers whose brains lock when the first flake of snow hits the ground. My man James McMurtry (son of novelist Larry McMurtry and one of the best singer-songwriters around) had a line in his song “Holiday” about being damn near as deadly as Texans on ice. Steer clear of North Carolinians on snow as well whenever possible. What a derby out Reynolda to Oldtown.
The ground was winter brown when I walked into the Miller Center at 11, and solid white when I walked out, inducing one of those “Wow’’ moments when you’re both alarmed and amped about getting home safe and sound and into soft comfortable clothes to watch the weather roll in. My bride Tybee just made it in from school to start her Christmas vacation and Rebecca, on her first full day home from that state university somewhere in the general vicinity of the geographical center of the state that will go nameless, is just chilling on her laptop. So we’re all present and accounted for.
What struck me, again, while watching the Deacons go through their paces is the level of organization and even precision with which a college basketball practice is run—at least at Wake Forest. Time is not awaisting when Dino Gaudio and his staff are directing the show. Dave Odom was organized and ran a good practice, but Skip Prosser and Gaudio admittedly learned much of what they know about coaching from Dean Smith. And if you’ve got a copy of Smith’s Basketball—Multiple Offense and Defense around handy you can find an 11-page chapter titled Practice Planning and Organization that begins with the sentence: “The organization, the preparation, the execution, plus a coach’s entire philosophy is implemented in the all-important practice session.’‘
Nobody walks. Players trot from one station to the next. A good portion of the time is spent with the team broken into two groups—usually backcourt at one end and big men at the other—to facilitate the individual instruction. The managers are the grease that keeps the cogs running smoothly, whether it be running the clocks or the cameras or hustling around keeping water always at the ready. And no college team could get properly prepared without the walk-ons, the unsung grunts of the team who come out first to go over the offenses and defenses of the team Wake is getting ready to play. It takes a lot of love for the sport and the school to go through what these guys go through, and when the scholarship players are still on campus over the holidays, the walk-ons are here too.
They can take a pounding in practice, but they know why they’re doing it and so do the players they’re playing with and against.
Brooks Godwin, the sophomore from Mount Tabor, had a great session during post defense drills. At 6-5, he and Denmore McDermott (Denmore from Baltimore) are the two tallest walk-ons, which means they have the honor and pleasure of going against 7-0 Chas McFarland and 7-0 Ty Walker and 6-11 Tony Woods and 6-11 David Weaver. Godwin’s job during this drill was to battle himself free for a pass in the post while, first McFarland, and then Walker, and then Woods and then Weaver battled to keep him from catching the pass. It was physical and it was intense, and Godwin was giving incredible effort. And it was also completely without rancor or animosity. The harder Godwin battled McFarland, the better prepared McFarland is going to be to play Tracy Smith and Dennis Horner of N.C. State on Sunday. Godwin knew that and so did McFarland.
Watching the early shooting drills convinced me that this a better shooting team than the one a year ago. Big deal, you might say. That team finished dead last in the ACC with a 3-point percentage of .316. But L.D. Williams has clearly improved his shot, and the Deacons upgraded their perimeter firepower by recruiting C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart. Harris is a good shooter because he’s so fundamentally sound and always, always, squared up and on balance when he shoots. Stewart is less sound, but he has such great spring that he can get his shot off above the hands, and he also has a really nice touch.
But nobody on the team has the touch of Gary Clark, and I guess that’s why teammates call him G$. The ball floats off his fingertips, even when he’s shooting a leaner. And he has range without his stroke breaking down. Clark shot 28 percent from 3-point range last season, and he’s only taken two in his three games since returning from mono. But watching him closely today, I get the feeling he’s going to play a surprisingly big role on this team by the time all is said and done.