Comments

Dan,
I will make two predictions and you can take it to the bank.

Coach Gaudio will possibly be ACC and or National Coach of the year within three years.

He will also be one of the most sought after coaching candidates and we will hear a loud moan as the local supporters ponder whether their coach departs for greener pastures.

The story of Coach Prosser, his tenure, and that of Coach Gaudio provides fertile material for a Hollywood movie, IMO.

T. Willis on 01/15/2010 (10:37 pm)

Except (most) journalists don’t get to drive the types of cars that coaches of big time college basketball teams can afford to drive…

DC on 01/15/2010 (7:25 pm)

Got to think, coaching in the era of the internet is tough.  Your every decision will be questioned…good or bad.

On top of that, your family, relatives and friends read about you daily.  You come home one day a hero and the next a bum. 
Tough profession…kinda like a journalist.

John on 01/15/2010 (5:50 pm)

you gotta quit making us think

Paul on 01/15/2010 (10:28 am)

No question DG is good in some areas. Recruiting and better defense are two areas.  WForesters hold this program to a pretty high standard.  We like to think we can compete year after year w/ Duke and UNC. Looking around the league several teams have very good/great talent.  The difference in W’s and L’s is coaching.  DG should pitch a fit when LD Williams shoots outside the imaginary charge circle; ditto Ish; double ditto AFA.  Did you see Gary Williams guys after a time out w/ the ball?  They ran great plays and got good shots.  Our after-time out play is Ish dribbling down the clock and throwing up a prayer.  We have a huge team with highly recruited big men.  None of them have developed a go to move in our so called half court offense. Chas McFarland shoots a fade away!  We have no inside option apart from an AFA stick back.  The first 10 minutes of almost every game is nothing short of frantic disguised as"up tempo”.  These are all areas where coaching makes a difference.

Jake on 01/15/2010 (9:44 am)

Dan,

I suppose you can count me among the joyless right now.  At the end of the game against Maryland, I felt nothing but relief to have squeaked out another win against an inferior opponent, much like the feeling I had after the Richmond and Xavier games. 

This is not to say that there are not positives to draw from those games and others.  The contributions from CJ Harris and Ari Stewart are certainly pleasant surprises.  Ish Smith has been awesome, especially down the stretch of games, and I find it remarkable that he manages to continually improve his play.

You will not count me among those who blindly criticize Coach Gaudio.  My criticisms will come in the form of questions.  I was puzzled by the switch to the 1-3-1 down the stretch.  But Coach Gaudio’s explanation seemed reasonable enough to me (not all “good” moves work).  But I also question why our offense sputtered out until Maryland took the lead late in the game.  And more importantly, I would like to know what will be done to ensure we don’t let that happen again.  The fact that other teams are asking themselves similar and perhaps more troubling questions couldn’t be less relevant. 

Every win is a good win.  I really do find comfort in the fact that we beat Maryland.  But joy?  I think my sights are set too high to feel joy.  And I hope that the teams are too.  Perhaps I don’t have the right perspective.  But I will feel joy when I see Wake Forest where I truly believe it belongs, the Final Four. 

There’s a reason Wake Forest unofficial motto is, “where your best hasn’t been good enough since 1834”.  So while some people find joy in our 12-3 record, I see the need to work harder.

DC on 01/15/2010 (9:29 am)

Dan, most Deacon faithful are giving Dino the benefit of the doubt. However, the numbers don’t tell the story. Last year’s team had 3 NBA first round picks (including Aminu) and got worse as the season progressed. You are crediting two season’ worth of early, soft schedule in the record. Dino’s got to prove it in March. We’ll give him time. This team is clearly improving and executing better.  But, it is a talented team with an experienced back court. The kind of team that should over-achieve.  I personally think Dino is one of the better x and o coaches the program has had, but he needs to prove it on the floor. So far this year the marks are good.

kent on 01/14/2010 (11:15 pm)

Wake’s fanbase is just frustrated with the complete lack of success our program has had in the postseason since Duncan left. Odom and Prosser’s failures are hardly Dino’s fault, but Dino blew a great shot at making some noise in either the ACC tournament or the NCAA’s last year.  We all realize that Aminu will probably go pro after this year and the team barring some major improvement will have once again failed to achieve anything of note.

However, Dino’s not on the hot seat yet. Once he wins an ACC tournament or makes a run to the Sweet Sixteen or better the criticisms he’s undergoing now will be a thing of the past.

Jonathan on 01/14/2010 (10:53 pm)

Good challenge to all of us who seem never to be satisfied.  Perhaps some of the criticism (actually most of it) is the residual shock of last season’s collapse and the haunting fear that we will never be as good as we thought we were last year.  That said, notwithstanding frustrations in the low post, this team may become one of my all-time favorites.  There is something contagious about the blend of the old and the new.  CJ and Ari are such pleasant additions and Ish is playing the best ball of his career and AFA is displaying remarkable talent around the basket.  All that plus the athleticism makes this team exciting to watch…at times.  Still, last season is very difficult to forget.

gary on 01/14/2010 (10:33 pm)

Great article!  Though please keep in mind that there was a reason for the off season Asst coaching shake up following the team’s lackluster performance the second half of the season followed by the huge flame in the tournaments- something wasn’t clicking.

With that said, I’m thoroughly enjoying this season, we’re far from perfect but this group of kids plays with heart, which, to my eyes, had been missing for a while.

Chill on 01/14/2010 (7:20 pm)

By the way Dan, you had promised us an update on the Gtown transfer.

John on 01/14/2010 (7:02 pm)

Great post, Dan.  This is a must read for many of the Deacon Faithful.  Dino is doing a great job with the program.  Thanks for all of your effort.

Damien on 01/14/2010 (6:25 pm)

I believe the primary reason that Dino catches a lot of heat is the way he cake into being the b-ball coach at Wake.  The tragic death of Skip.  Many people feel the only reason Wellman hired Dino was to keep the incoming recruiting class in tact.  Although there may be some value in that thought process, I doubt very seriously that a recruiting class was the reason for Dino’s hire.  Actually to suggest that is in some ways a slap in the face of our AD, who I feel is one of the best AD’s in the country.

Had Dino been brought in after an extensive interviewing process, he would have enjoyed the honeymoon extended to all new coaches.  In stead, he was put in a position of the proverbial red-headed stepchild.

Let’s review what he has done so far:
1st year - Held the team together in the most difficult of circumstances and actually overachieved in the win-loss column
2nd year - 25-7 record, 2nd in the ACC regular season, beat both Goliaths (Carolina & Duke), lost 1st round NCAA tournament.
3rd year - currently 12-3, 2nd in ACC standings at 2-1, and has a top 5 nationally ranked recruiting class coming in next year.
The future - Dino is rebuilding the Deacs into his team.  He has taken what had been a weakness under Skip and has turned it into a strength…DEFENSE.  In his recruiting he is not just targeting the long tall athlete but kids with a b-ball IQ and the ability to both shoot and pass.

I for one feel the “FUTURE IS BRIGHT” under Dino’s leadership for Wake Forest basketball

John on 01/14/2010 (6:17 pm)

First rate post as usual Dan. I am in complete agreement regarding the prevailing opinion of Coach Gaudio and the reasons for it. His decision to go a relatively risky trap defense late in the game and not calling time out to properly set his defense before Maryland’s last gasp tap attempt reinforces the default setting that he’s a bit overmatched. He seems to be a genuinely nice man with many of the characteristics you want in the person who is the face of your program and someone who you’d like to see succeed, but nagging questions regarding his game management skill remain that will only be eradicated by sustained success. If he was a young coach we could hope for growth with experience but given the length of time he’s been doing this…

Allen on 01/14/2010 (6:17 pm)

Thank you for writing this Dan. I believe that if people really paid attention to the RPI, they would realize that our record isn’t that bad compared to the rest of the nation. I keep hearing about the W&M loss, never mind that they are 12-3 and we’re not the only power team that they have taken down. None of our losses are to a cupcake team.

As for Dino’s coaching abilities, he’s no John Wooden but there hasn’t been another coach who has even come close. I am forced to wonder what message boards (had they been around) would have said about the future of Dean Smith in 1965. Dino has yet to earn comparisons with either coach but he should be given a chance. He did a great job during an unimaginably emotional time his first year. We have improved as a team all three years and are respected defensively. How many people would have expected us to weather the loss of two underclassmen to the NBA as well as we have? Especially given what happened to Wake after we lost CP3. Dino has his supporters here, we’re just not as loud because we believe that what he does on the court during the entire season should do all the talking.

Patrick W. Crist '07 on 01/14/2010 (4:41 pm)

Great post, Dan.  I would have been ecstatic if you had offered me a 12-3 record at this point in the season with our non-conference road games.  Even still, at least for me—losing always seems to hurt more than wins feel good.  I’m sure it doesn’t help my blood pressure. . .

Chris on 01/14/2010 (4:27 pm)

Dan -

I haven’t commented on your blog before, though I am a faithful reader.  I want to comment now because your post “No Perspective, No Joy” contains wisdom and insight that demands commendation.  Thank you, sir.  I don’t ever want to see the Deacons lose - but the day I seem more emotionally invested in venting frustration than celebrating the successes and hard work of our representatives on the court/field, I hope my Deacon brothers and sisters will slap some perspective into me (then maybe hand me a beer to take away the sting).

Thanks again, Dan.

Jay on 01/14/2010 (4:01 pm)

Nice piece Dan. The RPI will make no difference at all if we win or lose. Win and we’re in the NCAA. Lose and we’re not! It’s very simple! It all depends on each 40 minutes Wake is on the court. Each game means just as much as any other!
Sure the Deacs have many flaws but if they can consistantly win with these flaws, they can attempt to redeem themselves come March!

BTW, was that a high school team posing as UNC last night?? I hate ‘em and was glad to see ‘em lose but I can’t remember in all my 53 years, a Carolina team playing the way they did last night! Made me very glad they have Ga Tech before us!

Ken Green on 01/14/2010 (3:42 pm)