Fighting a Battle Long Since Lost
All season Coach Dino Gaudio has endeavored mightily to set the record straight about last year’s regular-season performance.
Time and again Gaudio has been asked about the Deacons’ collapse down the stretch last season and time and again Gaudio has patiently explained how Wake actually won six of its final seven regular season games—with the only loss of the stretch coming at Duke. And he has repeatedly made the point that he felt that in most aspects the Deacons played pretty well against Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament. He based that on the fact Wake committed only nine turnovers, held the Terps to 43.6 percent from the floor and battled Maryland fairly evenly on the boards, losing 44 to 40.
I would be hard-pressed to count the times he has said the reason the Deacons lost that game was they missed 52 shots from the floor. They took 74 field-goal attempts and made 22, which, eerily enough, was the exact same totals from Saturday’s home loss to North Carolina.
But when a team comes out in the ACC Tournament and shoots 26 percent in the first half and is never closer than eight points over the final 16 1/2 minutes, then that’s a bad game no matter how you slice it. And when a team then turns around and falls behind 29-12 in the first half of an NCAA Tournament game against a No. 13 seed from the Horizon League, and is never closer than 11 over the final nine minutes of an 84-69 season-ending setback, then that’s a terrible loss, one of the worst in school history.
To the fan who has suffered through such a loss, Gaudio’s insistence on pointing out the six wins over the final seven regular-season games can come off as a case of denial of just how bad the season really ended.
As recently as two hours ago, last season came up again. In the weekly ACC Coaches Teleconference, J.P. Giglio of the Raleigh News and Observer asked Gaudio if the team was trying to avoid finishing the season the way the Deacons’ last two teams finished theirs.
“Let’s look at last year,’’ Gaudio said. “Our team last year finished the regular season—if I’m understanding you correctly. . .
“But nobody cares about the regular season, you know that,’’ Giglio interjected.
“Well I do,’’ Gaudio maintained. “I think the other coaches do, or else we won’t get on the plane and fly to Tallahassee. Let’s just forget about it. We’ll forfeit it. I’ll call Oliver (Purnell of Clemson) and tell him `You don’t need to come up on Sunday.’
“Yeah, the regular season means a lot to us. And like I said we finished last year winning six of our last seven games in the regular season.’‘
My take is that the regular season does matter, but only until it’s over. A team such as Wake Forest hopes to win enough hands in the regular season to get a seat at the table for the game that ultimately will decide the success or failure of a season.
I’m conflicted by Gaudio’s season-long campaign. Part of me understands that a misconception left to stand can become the record. (I can remember times when the argument was advanced that other newspapers gave better coverage to Wake Forest than did the Winston-Salem Journal. I knew it to be hogwash, and could prove it in any way it needed to be proven. But the more that people said it, the more widespread the notion became and the more my relationship with the school and my readership was compromised.) But another part of me feels that Dino is just fighting a battle he’ll never win, or else is just not worth winning.
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By Dan Collins on 03/01/2010 (4:53 pm)
Comments
The regular season does matter but its main purpose is to hopefully position a team for post season play. If we lose the last two remaining games and go to the ACC with a 5 game losing streak, we have not positioned ourselves well with the NCAA tournament committee. If we win these two and a couple in the ACC, the committee will look very highly on us! However, whether the team says so or not, last season’s collapse must be weighing heavily on their minds. It’s a tough monkey to shake but if the team wants to succeed, they better start ridding themselves of that monkey now!
Ken Green on 03/01/2010 (8:36 pm)
Dino we hear you loud and clear. We know the regular season matters because you have to play good during that stretch to get to postseason play. I think most Wake fans are with me in that we are tired as fans of seeing the Deacs beat very good teams during the regular season only to see them lay an egg when it really mattered. Yes Dino the regular season matters but what matters more and is remembered more is what you do in March and Wake Forest and March do not seem to go together for whatever reason. I hope it changes this year. I’m not expecting alot from here on out but I know the Deacs can win some games in March if they put their minds to it. Please take care of business this year Deacs.
Cliff Daniel on 03/01/2010 (7:43 pm)
Wake has overachieved this season for sure. Let’s look at it realistically..we have a pg that can’t shoot a lick, a sf who can’t shoot a lick…a fr. shooting guard that is a terrible slump, and a center who is as up and down as a roller coaster at Busch Gardens.
I have no doubt kids like Ish and LD have given all they have for WFU…but the bottom line is this senior class is not overly skilled. The only 2 good shooters on this team are freshmen and one of them has hit the wall. Freshmen can’t carry the load from the outside.
Dino needs to be given time to recruit HIS type of players. The only 2 players on the team that are his recruits are Harris and Stewart.
JT on 03/01/2010 (6:24 pm)
I would agree that we’re not a great team in terms of talent. But to the broader point—March is what matters. I don’t like it and its not fair—but it is what it is. The only regular season I remember out of the last 10-12 was the year that we won the regular-season crown. All of the other years, my rememberance is based solely on our performance at the ACC Tournament and in the NCAAs. If you endeavor to be a top-flight NCAA program, you have to win in March. That’s simply how those teams are defined.
And you’ve owned the market on the Deacs press coverage for many years, Dan.
Chris on 03/01/2010 (5:57 pm)
I would agree with Dino’s assessment on this. If the regular season did not matter, we would just have a tournament based upon preseason seedings and be done with it. Yes, the goal is to win the National Championship. We do have to work our way there every year because it’s not just given to a team based upon the name on their jersey. Our fan base tends to love number crunching for “justifiable” stats. How about these: when we reached the Final Four in 1962, there were only 22 teams, meaning that we made it 2 to 3 rounds deep (not entirely sure on how the rounds were set up). Based upon this, the majority of times in which we have reached the Tournament, we have gone the exact same distance. Of the 344 NCAA Division 1 basketball teams, only 35 have won the National Championship. Yes, we should do everything that we can to get there, but we need to quit acting like we’re the only ones left out.
I am in agreement with you that it’s a battle that he’ll never win, but I can guarantee you that if you polled Wake fans at the beginning of the last two seasons using what our record would turn out to be and the majority of us would be exhilarated. This team has more heart than any team since Mike Drum stepped off the court. I was thoroughly disgusted with our fans who filed out of the Joel when the game was still in reach. If a “fan” who reads this was among those who did, I think that it countermands any complaint that you make about the team, coaching staff, atmosphere etc. It’s easy to complain and criticize when we hide behind avatars and screen names based upon adjectives and verbs.
Patrick W. Crist '07 on 03/01/2010 (5:55 pm)
“But nobody cares about the regular season, you know that,‘’ Giglio interjected. That is a totally asinine statement. It belittles the players, coaches and fans. If Giglio feels that way, why is he writing articles during the season. Using his logic, that no one cares, then it would be logical to assume no one is reading either.
The Deacs are not a great team and in my opinion have somewhat overachieved at times this season. I thought going in to this year 8-8 would be a good record and I believe most of the media were picking Wake to finish near the bottom of the conference. I like this team, they play the game with heart, and that is all I ask. I also believe Dino to be a good coach.
jcg on 03/01/2010 (5:49 pm)
