It’s Time for Leaders to Lead
The great fear that’s spooked the Wake Forest fan base over the past week is that the Deacons hit the high-water mark of their season with 12 1/2 minutes remaining in last Tuesday’s game at Virginia Tech.
The Deacons, as I’m sure you recall, led the Hokies by 11 at that point and appeared rolling toward their fifth straight victory. That was until Virginia Tech scored 37 points over its final 26 possessions to win going away. Instead of learning from the experience, the Deacons stumbled into Raleigh, committed 15 first-half turnovers against an N.C. State team that applies little defensive pressure and ended up getting waxed by 14 by the last-place team in the ACC.
Given Wake Forest’s recent proclivity for turning the promise of January into the pain of March, it’s inevitable that the Deacons’ two-game slide has raised the specter of another late collapse. And maybe that’s what is indeed in store for the remaining three games of the regular season leading into tournament play.
But Coach Dino Gaudio mentioned something a week or so ago that might provide a bit of hope for those among the faithful ever prepared to again assume the fetal position. He was talking about the makeup of teams, and how a coach-driven team can sustain its momentum for only so long. It’s the player-driven teams, he said, that usually advance deep into March.
All season Gaudio has raved about the leadership on this team, provided mostly by seniors Ish Smith and L.D. Williams. Time and again he has described moments when the players themselves took the floor during team meetings and how much more of an impact that can have. But the leadership has not been confined to Smith and Williams. He recalled sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu recently pulling freshman Ari Stewart aside after a scouting report had been given to the team and warning Stewart what to expect from a certain opponent that Aminu played against last season.
Many of you have observed that this team is probably not as talented as last year’s team, but that it appears to have better chemistry. I agree, even after the debacle in Raleigh. Jeff Teague and James Johnson were obviously skillful athletes, or else they wouldn’t have been drafted among the top 19 players in last summer’s NBA draft. But Teague is introverted by nature and Johnson has a flippant personality that is hard to read. Neither were the natural leaders that Smith and Williams appear to be.
Not to absolve Gaudio of any responsibility, but it’s mostly up to Smith and Williams and the rest of the veterans to assert their leadership and ownership of the team over this next week and have everybody ready to play North Carolina in Joel Coliseum Saturday.
Otherwise, the makeup of the team might be different but the final results could be the same.
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By Dan Collins on 02/22/2010 (4:39 pm)
Comments
Ken,
From what I can tell, Wake is still recruiting Olander. But I didn’t get that from Dino or any of the coaches.
Dan on 02/23/2010 (1:40 pm)
I also agree with you Dan. However, do you notice how conspicuously absent Chas is from everyone’s comments in regard to leadership? I think how Chas handles the rest of these games will play a huge part in what success we may have. Until our Freshmen’s shots began to fall again, our inside presence becomes very important. Will Chas work hard for the team or will he be trash talking, causing bad fouls or technicals that hurt the team? I’m very thankfull to see the improvement in Woods over the last few games. I would love to see the same with Chas, because we need him to step up.
Jim on 02/23/2010 (10:51 am)
Hey Dan - I really think that Wake played their hearts out in Blacksburg and could have come away with a victory had it not been for several suspect calls by the officials (as you also acknowledged in an early blog entry). But, you know what, the team just had a bad game on Saturday. Doesn’t every team have those now and again? (The last I checked there weren’t any undefeated teams in the country.) I know that this was last-place N.C. State, but the Wolfpack also took it to Duke when they came to town a few weeks back. N.C. State was on top of their game, especially down the stretch, and Wake just simply had a bad game. I don’t think that is indicative of what this team can do, and I think that this loss will not only help the team to learn what they need to shore up but will also get them motivated to finish strong. This is a very mentally tough team, and that toughness has brought them victories in overtime and in tight games all year. I don’t think that they plan on just letting go of the season now.
Matt on 02/23/2010 (9:53 am)
The balance between coach-driven and player-driver leadership will be the key to determining whether this team finishes the year strong. Of course LD, Ish and Aminu need to step up down the home stretch of the season. And I am supremely confident that I will proud of the effort they put forth over the next three or four (or five?!) weeks.
But it is up to Coach Gaudio to set the parameters of what it means to “step up”. I suppose that a lot of that will simply involve reminding the players that they are capable of doing great things and reinforcing the fundamentals that he has been preaching since the team got together for preseason practice: defense, rebounding, possession, etc.
A couple of weeks ago, everyone lauded this team for how well they played together compared to the collection of individual talents last year. So after a tough couple of games, I know that I am tempted to single out certain players as guys who need to step up. But each individual on this team already knows that he needs to step up. Of course they know. But how they channel that extra effort will be the key.
I, for one, am excited and optimistic that this team can do something special this year. And if they get back to playing their game, I think they will.
DC on 02/23/2010 (12:21 am)
It definitely is time for this team and its leaders to step up! Ish and LD have been there all year but now is the time for them to really take control! And if Farouq only has a few more games left with us, then he needs to step up and push the team! I know it’s not his style, but if I were Farouq and I’m leaving, I’d do everything I could to finish my college career on a good and happy note!
As always, Dan, your post is right on target.
I know they can’t talk about him but do you know if Dino is still recruiting Ty Olander? Thanks!
Ken Green on 02/22/2010 (10:33 pm)
Absolutely, you are dead on Dan. Great blog. I especially agree with the part about player driven versus coach driven. The players have to want it…and I think this years Deacons do.
jcg on 02/22/2010 (9:19 pm)
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