Comments

Just sharing.. but the thought that occurred to me while watching the UK game was “baby seals”.  As in “clubbed like..”.

Greg on 03/24/2010 (2:24 pm)

ZackBlack,

How about one shooter half as good as Randolph Childress?

I’m just as demanding as most of the posters on this blog, but one number really put things in perspective for me the other day: Northern Iowa has roughly THREE TIMES the enrollment of Wake Forest.  It really is amazing what our teams accomplish on such a regular basis.  Hopefully our alumni aged 25-45 (a group of which I am a member) will be as financially successful as those aged 45+.  Without increased enrollment, it will be hard to keep up with the diploma factories.

John on 03/24/2010 (10:31 am)

I think you are right, Dan, on who it is that needs convincing. Ron Wellman won’t listen to a bunch of bloggers complaining. The Deacon Club is the only place Wellmnan will listen because the Athletic Department will only listen to the money. If you want Dino gone, get the Deacon Club talking. I bet you, Wellman will listen to them, because a cut in Decon Club donations means a pay cut for Wellman. He’ll open his ears so that doesn’t happen.

Price on 03/23/2010 (9:49 pm)

This team had ZERO shooters.  MInus CJ, a freshman that looks very promising.  Defenses just play zone against us and we can’t make them pay.  Take a look at some of the players/teams in the tournament…....they advance because they can shoot first and second have some sort of inside presence.  That’s the only way you can beat a zone imo.  Ish was awesome this year and we do have some decent bigs but when a zone collapses on both when they are in the paint….guess what you do???  you pass out to a wide open player.  Our wide open players this year could not hit 40%of their 3’s I bet.  These teams that advance can shoot. period. 

I’m not exactly a DINO lover either but if we can’t make open shots to free up the paint, we can forget about advancing in March. 

We need 2-3 three-point shooters to be as good as we want to be.

ZackBlack on 03/23/2010 (5:17 pm)

There is not a broad enough body of work to make a momentus and costly decision in regard to Dino, as yet.  I believe Wellman will give him two years to develop the team with the recruits coming in next year unless next year is a disaster.  Dino has done some good things.  Most of us realize that his biggest fault is the team’s failure to improve down the stretch.  It is important to keep things in perspective.  GT fans are clammoring for Hewitt’s head because he has mediocre seasons and somehow “bails” himself out with a run in the ACC or NCAA.  I think Dino has a much more fixable situation than Hewitt.

Blitzball on 03/23/2010 (11:41 am)

I believe that wins and losses are crucial, tourney wins are vital, but to me the thing that leads to both and Dino lacks is discipline. When Chas runs amuck, the team launches 30 ill-advised 3’s, your 6’9” foward tries to dribble end to end (when you have one of the best point guards in the country) and turns the ball over, or EVERYONE stands around in a half court set, it reflects directly on the coaching staff.  I assume one of two things; 1. They do not know any better which means you have failed to coach them or 2. They simply do not care what the coaches taught them and there are no repercussions when they ignore you. I have yet to see a Wake squad under Dino “buy in” like a Northern Iowa or Cornell squad does.  Those young men play with heart and as a unit. Under different leadership the ‘09-‘10 Deacons may have ended the season with a loss like the majority of the teams out there, but it would have been so much more fun watching them play while they were on the court. All of the talent in the world will loose without direction and discipline.

MBS on 03/23/2010 (9:01 am)

I personally don’t think Dino is the guy to help grow the WFU basketball program.  That being said, I’m not going to keep beating a dead horse…just do me a favor and quit increasing the cost of season tickets for Deacon Club members and then GIVING THEM AWAY to everyone else in trying to get sell-outs against also-ran opponants!!!  I’f you’re going to hit me with 600$+ a seat then at least schedule someone besides mid-major tournament qualifiers and bottom-feeding quasi-D2 teams and then tell me that they help our RPI.  I’d rather compete against major conference teams in a home and home and loose and get experience than beat up on Loyola or SC Upstate…please guys…come on!

Ronnie on 03/22/2010 (10:59 pm)

Dan,

We know that eventual success in March was the goal when Ron Wellman offered Dino Gaudio a contract extension last year.

I am curious about the details of the exchange that took place prior to Wellman extending that offer.  In particular, I am curious about Coach Gaudio’s assessment of where the 2008-2009 team fell short, and what he proposed to do to ensure the program move in a positive direction.  I would hope that Ron Wellman requested a plan that includes details pertaining to recruiting, in-game coaching, and player development philosophy (in other words, I hope that Coach Gaudio said something more than “we’re trying to bring in more shooters”).  By offering the contract extension, Ron Wellman essentially approved this plan. 

Now that this season is over, I imagine that Ron Wellman’s evaluation will be from the perspective of whether Coach Gaudio has adhered to the plan that he set out for himself, and whether Mr. Wellman believes that the team can progress towards the ultimate goal, which must be to reach the Final Four.  He also has to consider other factors, such as whether there is a better replacement available, and how much it will cost to sign him and buy out Gaudio. 

Since we are not privy to these details, we really can’t do much more than speculate about what will happen.  Any chance you can fill in the gaps?  Thanks.

DC on 03/22/2010 (9:20 pm)

I know Chennault is categorized in the recruiting rankings as a point guard, but he has played this entire season for Neumann-Goretti (Philly) at the 2 spot, averaging about 2.5 assists per game. Neumann’s actual point guard Tyreek Duren accepted a scholarship to hometown LaSalle.

Maybe, he’s playing out of position this year to accomodate his teammate Duren, but I would be tempered on my expectations of his stepping right into Wake’s PG role.

Dave O on 03/22/2010 (9:05 pm)

Dan sometimes I’m torn on wether I want Dino gone or not.  I think there’s no doubt he’s done some good things at Wake Forest.  He has a tough job and one that I would not want.  He and his team and staff are under a microscope and every loss is heavily scrutinized.  I really have enjoyed the improvement on defense Gaudio has brought to the program recently because people used to laugh when Wake and defense were mentioned in the same sentence.  Now the challenge that must be met is improving the half court offense and improving or maintaining the play of the team down the stretch and especially in the ACC tourney.  I’m not asking to win the darn thing I’m just asking to win a game or two and make a good showing.  For those that don’t know,  Wake has a pretty good class of players coming in next year.  I think it will definitely be a challenge next year but I really feel like all that I’ve read about the incoming guys is that Wake’s 3 pt shooting should really improve especially with CJ and Ari already on the team. As much as some folks want Dino gone,  I say give him 2 more years.  Next year obviously will be a rebuilding year and then the year after that will really tell some things.  I like Dino and his staff but right now he is on that list of not so good coaches in the ACC and that’s not just coming from the fans.  As far as the season goes I suppose it went about as good as expected.  I mean folks do you really think Wake was that talented?  Let’s keep our expectations in check.  Wake was an offensively challenged team this year after losing 2 very good offensive guys to the NBA,  Wake is not like UNC/Duke where they can just reload and that’s no slight to Ari or CJ as I think they are gonna be very good players.  The loss to Kentucky hurt and was very embarrassing as a fan.  I didn’t expect Wake to beat them and even with Farouq in there,  Kentucky would have still won with the way they were playing.  The thing I’m upset about is the way Wake played down the stretch of the season against terrible teams.  If they played like they were capable of,  Wake would have been a higher seed and would have not had to play Kentucky in the second round.  It is what is though and I’m proud of the seniors with all they’ve been through. All I’m asking for next year is for the team to improve late in the season and not fold up like a cheap suitcase.  No matter what I’ll be at the games next year will be excited for bball season once the time comes again.  This time though please don’t end the season once Feb. and March come around.  Go Deacs!

Cliff Daniel on 03/22/2010 (5:45 pm)

Dan,

Yep!

Bobby

bobby h griffin on 03/22/2010 (4:02 pm)

First time responder but wish to thank you so very much for the perspective which you provide in My Take on Wake. Don’t know if it has been reported to your readers yet but have discovered that WFU’s incoming point guard recruit (Tony Chennault) has been named the Gatorade Player of The Year for the state of Pennsylvania.  Encouraging news indeed as our last point guard with that distinction (Chris Paul) proved to be quite a player for the Deacs.

Byron Moore on 03/22/2010 (3:10 pm)

Wake met my expectations this year. Although I would ave liked to have seen a better performance in Greensboro. At the beginning, I knew we had AFA coming back but everyone else was more or less role players.  Ish took his game to a new level. The freshman did a pretty good job .  Outside of AFA, our talent level was average. I have no idea what next year will look like.  2 years form now, I am expecting a very good showing. They just extended Dino less than 12 months ago so no doubt in my mind that he will be back.

wes on 03/22/2010 (12:29 pm)

I agree with the other posters.  We weren’t going to win the Kentucky game.
  The problem is, with the poor play down the stretch, Wake’s seed dropped dramatically.
  Win two of the six games they lost and the Deacs wouldn’t have to play a Kentucky in the 2nd round.
  I also agree, Gaudio will get at least one more season.  The Texas game might have saved them.  Had they laid a real egg in that one, he might have been gone.
  As it was, they competed hard…which they did not against Miami.  I think one problem is the Gaudio/Prosser style of pushing the ball up the court isn’t conducive to winning tournament basketball.
  Look at Michigan State, a grinder team, plays well in the half court, doesn’t turn the ball over…Izzo seems to get his team in the Sweet 16 every year with that style.
  Wake was a much better tournament team when Odom was there and they played that style….having Tim Duncan and Randolph Childress, of course, didn’t hurt either.

Andy on 03/22/2010 (10:41 am)

Gosh, I never thought of the possibility of a guy named Collins in charge of our sports program! Sounds interesting! Would keep the guy from skipping off to New Orleans.

I’ve written before that Dino will have two more seasons to “get it done in March”. Next year will be rebuilding and then in 2012 the test.

I don’t buy into the issues of losing Aminu to fouls cost us a 30 point loss. When he was on the bench, there were three seniors and two others who HAVE to score more and HAVE to play defense.

I don’t believe that this year the team suffered because of “losing Skip”. When will you have a point guard like Ish and a first round draftee and a 7’ and 6’11” guys all on the floor like this year? They underachieved, that’s all.

Flyer Gramps on 03/22/2010 (10:39 am)

Look people, it was poor coaching that got us run out of the gym against kentucky. We didn’t need Aminu back in the game so quickly to pick up his third foul. And why in the world wouldn’t Stewart, an offensive threat, played the entire rest of the way…or at least once we got down 8, 10, 12..in the first half. Once we got down 12-14 he should have just put Aminu back in the game…you gotta go for broke in those instances instead of letting UK drill a hole in us that we can’t get out of. Same bad decision happened against UNC…left Chas in the game to pick up his third foul, in 3 minutes. What kind of YMCA would leave starters in to pick up third foul in first half, especially against Kentucky when we’re holding our own. Give him several more minutes on the bench, then put him in the game to give our guys a mental lift instead of leaving him in which leads to a mental breakdown.  My season tickets and DC $ will be spent on a boat next year if there’s no change.

Roger on 03/22/2010 (10:35 am)

I thought Lenox’s column this morning was a wee bit harsh.  What can be construed as lobbying could easily be putting an epitah on and praising his senior class for the final time.  Having seen Kentucky play on Thursday night—my impression was that they were the best college team I have seen since the UNLV juggernauts of the early-90s.  I don’t see any shame in getting our doors blown off by them.  Now, that doesn’t answer the question of whether or not Dino is the right guy long-term and I think he clearly needs more talent and more offensive weapons to be an effective half-court offensive team, but my personal opinion was that the Texas win (or at least being competitive with Texas) probably eliminated any chance of a change this year—and probably rightfully so, in my opinion.

Chris on 03/22/2010 (4:57 am)

The Kentucky game left a foul taste in my mouth because of the margin, but I do not consider that loss to be in the same universe as Cleveland State or the ACC tourney, where we never showed up.

Wake came out ready to play, ran up a quick lead, and lost out best player after 6 minutes. Kentucky is the most talented team I’ve ever seen, and they were just a much better team. We weren’t winning that game unless Chas got Cousins to flip out and murder three people, and Aminu morphed into Melo. We played hard, and lost. Those games I will take, and value.

Jon on 03/22/2010 (1:55 am)

I believe Dino deserves a minimum of two more years before any decisions are even considered concerning his future with Wake.  At that time, his entire body of work should be reviewed as it probably is every year by Wellman.  Factors that should be evaluated: 1. Graduation rate, 2. Won-Loss record, 3. Post season play, 4. Recruiting, 5. Conduct becoming a WFU employee. 

Next year is going to be a crap shoot as we will be relying on a minimum of 2 freshmen starters and one of them will have to play PG.  I would not be surprised to see 4 freshmen on the court at times next year.

The good news (possibly) is the class coming in has some talent shooting the basketball as says the recruiting blogs.  We could see a very different style of basketball next year.  I am hoping the DUNK is not our only offensive weapon.

jcg on 03/21/2010 (11:08 pm)

he gets at least another year. No question

Aaron on 03/21/2010 (9:57 pm)