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It seems that the turnaround point for Chas should have been when he was removed from the starting line-up for our NCAA tourney game last season.  If that horrible night wasn’t a wake up call for him, I wonder what is?

SloMo on 12/30/2009 (3:33 pm)

To say that Chas McFarland needs to re-establish himself as a viable low post threat implies that he was a viable low post threat in the past.  I mean no disrespect to Chas, but I don’t think he has ever been a viable low post threat against big time teams.  To that end, I think that sitting him down for a game or two makes a lot of sense if there was an issue with his effort, intensity or ability to follow the coaches’ instructions.  But if the goal is to somehow get more scoring from the center position, I think that significantly more needs to be done. 

In other words, I think that the lack of production from our centers is as much a systemic problem as it is a personnel problem.  Ty Walker is probably the only guy with the touch and agility to be the type of center who you can feed in the post and expect him to put up at least a decent shot.  And we understand that he is not quite ready for the big leagues (but I think he will be eventually).  The other three guys provide great effort rebounding and playing defense, but they are not refined low-post scorers.  We can hope that Woods develops his skills over the next two and a half years, but that doesn’t help us much in the short-term. 

So if Coach Gaudio wants more scoring from the center position, there simply has to be more movement on offense to put the players we have in positions to succeed.  And we haven’t had a lot of movement in our half-court offense since Chris Paul and Justin Gray comprised our back court.

Regarding Walker and Woods, I still have quite a bit of patience for both of them.  If I was seven feet tall by the time I was eighteen (sadly not even close), I imagine that it might take a little bit of time for me to figure out how to run without falling down, let alone play basketball at a high level. 

However, I am curious about the details of what they do during the offseason and during practices to improve.  For instance, we have a good deal of information about how Ish Smith worked tirelessly before last year to improve his free throw shooting.  And we saw evidence of that in his performance, which is key.  In fact, based on the information we have, he seems to work pretty tirelessly on his game.  Good for him (and us!).  What about the rest of the team?  I presume that they do more than just play a lot of pickup.  Do the coaches give them drills to work on specific skills?

DC on 12/30/2009 (12:51 pm)

I too am becoming more fearful, as more time elapses with little evident progress, that Tony Woods in no way resembles the player his recruiting hype suggested other than a high level of athleticism. I keep waiting for any semblance of an offensive game to emerge. Ty Walker on the other hand appears to have the requisite skill set to be an impact player on both ends but is definitely lacking in terms of strength. In the meantime, given our ongoing shooting struggles and propensity to turn the ball over, Chas needs to re-establish himself as a viable low post threat or it’s hard to see us being a real factor in the ACC this year.

Allen on 12/30/2009 (7:53 am)

Johng, Ty Walker is one of the most intriguing players to enter Wake because of what he may someday become. But based on what I see in practices, I don’t think he’s there yet. One of Wake’s assets is strength and physicality. That’s what most coaches talk about after playing the Deacons. Ty is not strong and he’s not physical. I wrote a blog about him on Nov. 16 that if you scroll back a few pages you can read. My thoughts haven’t changed significantly since then.

Dan on 12/29/2009 (8:40 pm)

I took my third grader to the game last night as a Christmas present.  We live in Greensboro, and the Spartans had a good deal for tickets.  Watching such a small crowd with little student support brought back some unsettling memories from my time at WFU.  Remember when the Deacs had to go to Greensboro for most of their home games?  That was brutal.  It makes me grateful for the amazing student and community support that the Deacs now have. I hope that seeing the little support some teams have reminds the players of the same thing. 

I hope that McFarland turns it around.  It was a good object lesson for my son:  play hard with the minutes you are given and good things will happen.  David Weaver deserved to start.  I agree with the other posters, however:  the big guys need to step it up offensively.

I also thought Aminu looked pretty good last night.  It is good to see him coming out of his slump before the ACC schedule hits.

Thanks for your insight, Dan!

Colleen P on 12/29/2009 (8:23 pm)

Sounds about right Dan. Chas has got to produce or things could get ugly come February. To me, he has looked slightly less aggressive than in the past. Hopefully things will change.

On a side note, when do you call Woods and Walker the dreaded ‘B’ word? (Busts). Woods doesn’t look coordinated enough to be any offensive threat and is too spastic to play solid defense. (Watch out for Duke bombing threes and getting backdoor dunks when he’s in. Boy can’t figure out how to defend a screen.)

I don’t know what Walker looks like because I don’t think I’ve seen him play.
It is hard for me to see Walker sticking around, truth be told. I think he might be better suited at a smaller school, perhaps one closer to home in a smaller conference….
If those guys don’t step it up at some point before next season then the Deacs could be in real trouble down low.

Keep it up.

T

Thomas on 12/29/2009 (7:43 pm)

Dan, i know you occasionally attend practices.  What has been your impression of Ty Walker.  Myself along with others would like to see him have more minutes, especially with the current lack of production we are getting from the post position.

Johng on 12/29/2009 (7:03 pm)

Thanks DC, We had a fabulous Christmas, especially partying with my friends and family in Raleigh on Saturday. I’m just getting over that. Hope your holidays were every bit as enjoyable.
Wake had a really rough time hitting any shot outside of five feet, especially in the first half, and UNCG was smart enough to play zone. I was also impressed with how hard the Spartans played. But Gaudio, as you might imagine, was not happy to see his team give up 19 offensive rebounds. It should be noted that a number of those offensive rebounds came after the first shot was blocked, often from a player coming from the help-side, which opened more avenues to the glass for UNCG. But the game also pointed out what Gaudio was talking about afterward, the need for more production from the centers.
I try not to attach too much significance to a game played in December, but it has become clear that this team is hardly a finished product.

Dan on 12/29/2009 (6:11 pm)

Dan,

Welcome back from a short Christmas break.  Hopefully it was relaxing and enjoyable. 

I forget the game, but Coach Gaudio praised Chas for handling a previous benching in such a mature manner earlier this year. 

In that instance, I seem to recall that the stated rationale for the decision was not directly tied to Mcfarland’s performance.  Nevertheless, I think that Chas has matured a lot and will hopefully handle this the right way - by earning back the starting spot.  He certainly seems to be off to the right start by saying all the right thing when asked about the situation. 

I also appreciated that you mentioned the efforts of David Weaver to earn the start.  The kid has done nothing but give one hundred percent whenever he has had the opportunity to play.  He might not be our most talented player, but every team needs guys like Weaver. 

No TV coverage for last night’s game.  Judging by the recaps and stats, it looks like it was another ugly affair.  Aside from winning and getting a lot of blocks against a ridiculously over-matched team, are there any positives to take away from the game?  Statistically speaking, it looks like Aminu had the type of all-around performance that we expect him to have.  It also seems like CJ Harris did a good job of attacking judging by his free throw attempts.  And Ari Stewart continues to shoot well from three-point range (looking forward to seeing him attack the basket at some point!). 

Thanks.

DC on 12/29/2009 (5:35 pm)