My Take on Wake - My Hour With Wellman

My Hour With Wellman

After Jeff Bzdelik met with the media following Wake’s 94-65 loss at Virginia Tech, he was walking down the tight corridors of venerable Cassell Coliseum with Ron Wellman by his side. I was walking behind the two, anxious to get to the Deacons’ locker room but not so anxious as to feel compelled to squeeze past them on my way there. I’m glad I didn’t, because the scene was worth the trip across Fancy Gap.

Bzdelik is clearly blue, his shoulders sagging and his head down. Wellman, talking with Bzdelik in low soothing tones, turns and gives his coach a literal pat on the back, bucking him up. It was a poignant moment of two men trying the best they can to get through the hardest of times. People can reasonably argue that the two men have made mistakes. People can argue Wellman didn’t hire the right man to replace Dino Gaudio. And they can argue that Bzdelik should have this team further along than it is.

That said, it’s at least clear to me that these two men are doing what they can to make the best of a really bad situation. Part of that effort has been the outreach to fans and media that Wellman has been conducting this week, the appearance with Stan and Dinger on the post-game ISP radio broadcast after the loss to Duke, the interview with me yesterday afternoon, the Fan Forum scheduled for noon Friday. He’s bucking Bzdelik and the program up, or at least attempting to. And personally, I always appreciate an opportunity to spend an hour with Ron Wellman and ask him some of the questions that you’ve been asking me.

The piece in this morning’s Journal, unfortunately, didn’t do justice to our conversation. Space is at such a premium that it forces me to condense and summarize to the extent that so much is lost. So that’s another way that the blog, which is not confined to the same space limitations, comes in so handy.

For the next couple of hours I’m going to be trotting out the interview verbatim, breaking it up into bite size pieces. I found it interesting. Hope you do as well.

Back to the main page.

By Dan Collins on 01/26/2011 (12:51 pm)

Comments

After reading the entire article I have found it full of politically correct answers and questions? He really raised more questions that he cleared up. After reading it, for me it confirms what I thought all along. This Coach was not hired for his basketball smarts but his social attributes.
I didn’t hear Welmen speak of Bzdelick’s graduation rate, or how many final fours he has been to. Just that he will usher in a new culture for him to be successful.

He takes the word of a pro coach when Rusty was 24 that Rusty will make a great coach some day. Based on what? His stints at Guilford or Greensboro College resulted in what? How many conference titles was won at FCD. How many players did he recruit from FCD to come to Wake. I know of two, one went to State the other to Duke. So Welmen hires him why? Because he likes Rusty and his family. I am sure he didn’t go out to dinner and would not be what you would consider a close friend, merely a distant associate. It was not because of his track record for what he was hired to do. Now comes this Coach, clearly he wasn’t hired due to all the positive credentials as a College Basketball Coach. He had no track record of going to a final four. Hell he never appeared to have the aspirations to do so. How many conference titles did he win? By the way, Ron goes out of his way to mention bzdelicks final four appearance in the NIT after his team lost 8 of their last 12 regular season games then recieved a NIT berth. Another words they faltered down the stretch, sound familiar? That means the highest rating that year for his team would be 65th best team in the country.

Let’s call this one as it is. Like Rusty, he may be a great guy, but the only evidence I can see for this hire is that he was, a friend, associate that he knew and liked and who wanted to be near his daughter in this school. His record at best was just good enough to be a mid-level team in the Big South or Big Sky Conference. And that is what to expect Wake to be in two to three years, based on his experience and track record.

As I have said, Sports Journalism is Dead in Winston Salem, and especially anyone talking to Ron Welmen. In a way I can’t blame you Dan, because you can’t ruin a good beat, but it still does not make it right. Come on Ron, tell us the real truth. And by the way Jim G, if Dino were here, I can assure you there would be no losses to division 2 schools. The kids would be diving on the floor and you would be able to plainly see effort instead of waiting on my turn to shoot.

Tony C on 01/27/2011 (8:09 pm)

I’ve been a Deacon fan since the early sixties so I’ve seen some pretty rough times, but I’ve always been proud to be a Wake Forest fan. To me the programs have always had a kind of “class” that seemed to care as much that we had players and coaches we could be proud of as about winning. Bzdelik seems to fit that mold. I think it’s time our fan base showed the same class I have always associated with Wake, treating our coaches and players as family rather than hired guns who had better perform. How many people would be howling for Dino’s head if he were still here with the same record (which I believe is likely)? I still think Ron Wellman is the best AD in America. Let’s hope we can hang on to him and Bzdelik.

Jim G on 01/27/2011 (9:05 am)

Interesting - “Bzdelik is clearly blue, his shoulders sagging and his head down. Wellman, talking with Bzdelik in low soothing tones, turns and gives his coach a literal pat on the back, bucking him up.” Contrast this with the reports of Wellman standing in Joel glaring at Gaudio after a close loss to UNC. Maybe Coach Gaudio should have been a little more “needy” or “clingy”.

gt on 01/26/2011 (11:10 pm)

Thanks Dan. You did a great job as usual. Us Wake fans are really lucky to have you.

Sal on 01/26/2011 (10:20 pm)

Dan, Ron Wellman has done a fine job in the past. The only “gripe” seems to be the Basketball situation. Maybe a little in regard to football,also. The problem is not too bad at this time, however if the Alums decide to lower or drop their contributions, that will be a problem. “Money Talks”. Let us loyal fans hope this does not happen. Changes are made quickly in a organization when income drops. Hopefully we can begin to win some games,if not ,it will be a very long season. Here’s hoping we can pull ourself out of this “mess”.

carl on 01/26/2011 (6:50 pm)

Good article Country with A.D. Wellman!

My question after reading the article: What happens when the MONEY $ runs out? Unlike Obama and the Federal Government, Wellman cannot print his own money and last time I heard; Uncle Sugar does not bail out private University Athletic Departments!

He mentions potential apathy from the fans in the basketball program…Mr. Wellman, the apathy is forthcoming, you can count on it.

Admit you made some grievous errors and start over. You know what it will cost the University to start over. What you do not know is how much will it cost YOU and the University if you do not…

Tom on 01/26/2011 (1:53 pm)