Comments

I am in general agreement with the comments above. Ron Wellmen will have to be proven wrong, and after we fall apart in the Tournament again he still won’t do anything. Last night on the Dino basketball show he was ask several times about the offense and about the late season slump and his only answer is “There is a lot of Basketball left to play, I fully expect us to play well this Sunday”. I hope you’re right Dino! He did say last night the reason Ari plays only 16 minutes a game is because he is very weak on the defensive side of the ball. But you would think that he could accept that being he is the only one that can consistantly shoot.
By the way, these guys aren’t freshman anymore. If any of you have DVR a wake game, go back and look at it, we are standing around on offense waiting for Ish to make something happen. We don’t fight to get open. It really is sad.
But like most, I will be in the stands Sunday appreciative of what the Seniors meant to our program and I will cheer as loud as I can and I will be at the tournament doing the same and hope the Deacs can return to their form of earlier in the year.
Hey I wonder of Dino would consider going to Roy Williams Basketball Camp. They really do teach them plays!!!

Tony C on 03/05/2010 (6:25 pm)

Lets take a step back from the current frustration and look big picture.  When Skip Prosser died I think most people agreed that Ron Wellman hiring Dino was the right thing to do, it made sense to most people at the time given the timing and the incoming recruiting class (which has not lived up to expectaions, but who knew then).  But, Wellman giving Dino a contract extention earlier this year was a head scratcher.  Though I understand the reasoning from a recruting standpoint, I thought when I heard about it that it was a mistake.  Barring a total turnaround this year or next, it will probably end up costing Wake a lot of buy-out money.  I am reminded of when UVA game Pete Gillen a big long term contract.  How did that turn out for them?  Same coaching family tree by the way. 

Despite all the current calls for Dino to be fired, he WILL be here next year regardless of what happens the rest of this season.  So everybody needs to take a deep breath and just see how things unfold.  All the ranting and venting in the world is not going to change this team or the coach.  Its all on them, and if they don’t get it done then Mr. Wellman is going to have to do his job and make changes.  But that is next year’s discussion blog.  This year, go Deacs, win a game!

Charles on 03/05/2010 (2:11 pm)

I am a reasonable fan, but this stretch has me quite frustrated and doubtful of Gaudio’s coaching ability.

Good coaching is putting your players in the best position to succeed. Another way to say that is playing to your strengths while figuring out a way to mask your weaknesses. The following does not support Gaudio in the do-what-you-do-well measure:

- per Andy’s astute point below, you take Aminu away from the basket where his jump-shooting and ball-handling weaknesses become more of a factor?

- you give a legit. scorer like Stewart only 16 min. of playing time resulting in only 8 shots? (Dan, you can weigh in on how many actual plays they ran for Ari; I can remember only one, which resulted in a swish finish)

- Ish, Aminu, LD and Chas, of all people, were 0-4 total from 3pt. range vs. FSU. Might higher percentage shots in those possessions made a difference in a 4-point game? Um, yeah. Understandably, there are extenuating circumstances sometimes (i.e., shot-clock situations), but our weak outside shooters have been hoisting it from long all season. That’s not smart; that’s a reflection of coaching.

Lee, B. on 03/05/2010 (12:23 pm)

Dan:
A lot of frustration no doubt…. a lot directed at Dino and rightly so…..he is the guy in charge. I try to remember that the Turtles were after Gary’s head last year and now he’s a hero. That’s sports fans but Gary has a lot more of a track record than Dino to bank on.

The end of the game question you raised is tough one for the Deacs given their poor shooting, lack of offensvie patience or coherent half court offense. We have had enough problems getting good shots with the full 35 seconds so if it’s my call you start working for “a good” two point shot when you get the ball, rely on your dffense (FSU wasn’t exactly lighing it up)and play for overtime. The rub of course with the Deacs is what “working for a good shot” means…..all too often it has meant dribbling into a crowd and throwing up a prayer. Putting five guys around the arc waiting for someone to launch a game winner with no one in rebounding position(which was what it looked like) only makes sense if one of those guys is Randoplh Childress (not even close).

I think the frustrating part is the fact that there really didn’t appear to be any strategy or if there was the players didn’t seem to understand what it was…...granted it was a freshman, but losing the ball that far from the basket trying to drive between two defenders is not much of a plan.

RB on 03/05/2010 (11:15 am)

It’s amazing how when the Deacs are hitting the jumpshots then Dino is a good coach, shoot poorly and he is terrible.  I for one feel pretty good about this season, never ever thought we would have a chance to have a winning record in the conference coming into the year.

Everyone keeps referring to the talent, and I’m sorry, I ‘m not seeing it.  What I do see is a team that plays excellent defense (which by the way requires hustle and desire) and with defensive intensity are competitive.

A little reality check…we have a super athlete in Aminu who rebounds and plays defense with the best of them.  His offense though is limited to break points or garbage baskets in the paint.  We have a PG who is extremely quick, has a good handle but no J.  Our bigs have limited post moves and have big trouble either passing or receiving the ball.  LD gives big effort on the defensive end but can’t hit the outside shot with any consistency.  We have 2 and only 2 players that can dribble the ball in traffic without turning it over.  Which brings us to our 2 freshmen, CJ & Ari.  Both are shinning lights for our future, the only 2 players (sometimes Clark) who are legitimate outside threats.  However they are freshmen with a lot to learn.  We have at best (and I am being generous here) the 6th or 7th best talent in the league. 

There are 4 teams with tremendous talent in the ACC this year…Duke, GT, UNC, and Maryland and 2 of those teams are having worst years than the Deacs.

Everyone keeps saying we need to feed the post or move more on the offensive side of the ball.  I would agree that motion on offense is normally good, however that is assuming the defense will move with you, not happening.  There is no reason for the teams we play to leave the paint in reaction to our ball movement.  When 4 out of the 5 defensive players are positioned on painted surfaces you can neither feed the post of drive the lane.  Someone has to make a shot

We shoot well then all’s well.  Team is good, coaches are good, fans are happy.

jcg on 03/05/2010 (11:07 am)

What’s the old saying, “play to win on the road and to tie at home”? Well, it certainly didn’t appear that we were after a three. Maybe we were with Ari but…well, we all know what happened. Me, I try to get the tying two, play defense and force OT at the very least.

Was surprised we were even in the game with a chance to win without Farouq but CJ reappeared and Ari hit some key shots.

Really think we’ll see a winner on Sunday.

Ken Green on 03/05/2010 (10:54 am)

Two comments for you, DC.
1. Again with the shifting starting line-ups. And this time, it’s adding less shooters?!? I understand the need for size, but if there’s anything we’ve learned this year it’s that Farouq is not a wing. He’s a rebounding machine who’s effective down low. He doesn’t really create his own baskets and is much more of an opportunity scorer. Why on earth would you take that away? Terrible decision and the results speak for themselves.
2. I can’t underscore how much I hated the decision to hold the ball at the end of the game. “Ish drive and make a decision” is not a play. It’s open gym swill and, again, the results speak for themselves. Given our offensive woes, you have to give yourself as many chances as possible. Plus, FSU hasn’t demonstrated an ability to score. What are you scared of them doing?
I know it’s super easy to question things from behind a computer, but these were abysmal coaching decisions. Our confidence is completely shot and I think it’s a direct result of Dino’s choices. Huge problems moving forward.

andy on 03/05/2010 (10:12 am)

DC, there is much to discuss.  Will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts.  In addition, can you provide some background on why Ty hasn’t played since 1/20 UNC game?

MD on 03/05/2010 (9:53 am)

I too thought that was odd..Dino later said that on the road,he’d take the chance to go to overtime?? with Aminu out, the offense non existent, why would you be content on going to overtime—holding for the last shot? i too think you would try and extend the game—get a good shot as quick as possible, if you miss, then foul..Fla state (like Wake) is a poor foul shooting team. I don’t understand that philosophy, but again I don’t understand a lot of things that the coaching staff does? Hoping for a better effort this Sunday..Go deacs!

beachdeac on 03/05/2010 (9:34 am)

Hey, take a pill, chill out.  It is a game.  We won some that we were not suppose to win, we lost some we should not have lost.  We knew the weaknesses of the team before the season began and we realized then that eight wins would be about all we could expect.  Been nice to have more.  But I have always thought (just for you Dan) that WFU was special and I still do.  I’ll be there Sunday, pull for the team and fret about what if, and best of all, I’ll be there next year because as any long time Wake fan knows, it will be better next year.  Peace.

EJ on 03/05/2010 (7:31 am)