Spitting in the Ocean
The last full week of January was certainly one to remember around the Wake beat, a week when seemingly everyone with any emotional attachment whatsoever with the state and direction of the basketball program had their say.
Ron Wellman had his on multiple occasions, on the Duke post-game with Stan and Dinger, at the Raleigh Sports Club that night, with me in his office on Tuesday, with the fan base at large in Friday’s Fan Forum.
Jeff Bzdelik had his talking with Joedy McCreary of the Associated Press and me before Friday’s practice.
The fans had theirs’ throughout the week with comments to this blog, to the Message Boards and to Wellman in the Fan Forum.
And on Saturday, the Deacons had theirs’ with the loudest say of all, a therapeutic 76-71 victory over Virginia. Almost as gratifying as the win itself was the way it was won, with the Deacons hitting 14 of 14 free throws in the second half and scoring on 10 of their final 11 possessions.
Now, if you’ll indulge me, I’ll have mine.
It’s a fan’s prerogative to be concerned when their team is tanking, and no team in ACC basketball spent the first 2 1/2 months tanking as spectacularly as Wake. I can even see how some fans would consider it their duty. Nobody, not Wellman, not Bzdelik, not you, not me, should consider criticism under such circumstances to be untoward or in any way out of bounds.
But what I did find misguided were the calls from a small but exceedingly vocal minority for the firing of Bzdelik or Wellman, if not both. More than misguided, they were, at least in my mind, irrational.
The last question I asked Wellman was what he would say to those demanding Bzdelik be showed the door, if not ASAP, then certainly after the season. His answer—that it’s not going to happen—was the only would he was going to give. It was also the only one he could give. He hired the man in April and he’s not going to do anything to undercut him in January no matter how bad things get.
And as for Wellman’s standing, my suspicions are its going to take far more than two straight losing football seasons followed a losing basketball season to give President Hatch or the Board of Trustees any reason for pause. I don’t know all the politics involved, but if any forces are agitating for a change at the top of Wake’s athletics programs I haven’t gotten wind of them.
So the takeaway from the week was that both Bzdelik and Wellman are here to stay, at least for the for the foreseeable future. Wellman is not going to fire Bzdelik after one year.
And to demand that he does is as irrational as spitting in the ocean and expecting the sea level to rise.
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 01/31/2011 (3:09 pm)
Comments
I’m very anxious to see what type of recruits Wake can get
for next years team. Can they get any 4 or 5 star players?
Can they get players that intend to stay more than 1 or 2
years and not use Wake as a training ground for the pros?
It should be interesting to see what coach Bzdelik can
do to make Wake a major basketball program again.
jack on 02/06/2011 (2:15 pm)
Dan - there has been a point that it seems to me that no one has made. The success that Wake has had in the last few years has all been related to Coach Prosser and not Coach Gaudio. What I mean by that is that all of the players that have had significant production in the two years since Coach Prosser’s untimely death were Coach Prosser’s recruits. Even though Al-Farouq Aminu and Tony Woods arrived at Wake Forest after Coach Prosser had died, he was the one who was instrumental in getting them to come to Wake. Even Gary Clark, the nation’s current three-point percentage leader, was a recruit of Coach Prosser. Coach Gaudio brought in two good players (Ari Stewart and C.J. Harris), and he brought in this year’s highly rated recruiting class. But this team is still Coach Gaudio’s talent (except for Gary Clark and Ty Walker). I know that Coach Gaudio was on the staff with Coach Prosser when these players were brought in, but it was still Coach P’s influence that got most of the talent to come. It was also Coach Gaudio who left this team with a lone point guard, and a freshman at that, whose immediate injury has certainly slowed the progress that this team is capable of. And for those who complain that Coach B brought in this class by solidifying the status of the current Freshman class, I ask you, what else was he supposed to do? Do you think there were any good players left by that point who had not already made commitments elsewhere? Of course the best course of action was to try to keep the recruiting class intact! I still believe that there are some rough times ahead for this group, and I still think that they may finish with only one ACC victory. But I also believe that Coach Gadio would not be doing much (or any) better with this same group that he brought in. So for those bemoaning the firing of Coach Gaudio, remember that this is really his team and his talent.
Matt on 02/01/2011 (2:38 pm)
Dan, Please lead us into a new focus and topic… We’ve got the best AD in the country and if someone fires him then they’ve completely lost their mind. I got my signing day postcard from the Deacon Club in yesterday’s mail… so what’s the scoop? Thanks, Lee
Lee Jackson on 02/01/2011 (2:03 pm)
I appreciate your perspective, Dan. I don’t think most fans believe Bzdelik is going to be fired this year. I do think the hire and his performance to date are justifiably subject to lots of criticism. I am very glad for the team that they got a win against UVA. I hope things will improve as the season progresses.
Steve on 02/01/2011 (1:11 pm)
Memphis - I thought fundraising was the responsibility of the university development and advancement offices? Maybe Wellman would be good there… But isn’t a big part of the AD’s job supposed to be building athletic programs?
There have been 135 ACC Championships handed out to the various sports in the last 5 and a half years. Wake Forest only won 5 during that timeframe and that includes this year’s soccer team which only won 4 of 8 conference games but won the tournament. (To the Soccer Team - Way to finish guys!) And when you look at the current standing of the rest of our teams that are currently playing, the vast majority are in the bottom third of the league.
The point here is that our AD is apparently judging his coaches by their late season performance. Shouldn’t he be judged by that as well? Is Wellman’s idea of the required “culture” part of the problem? Maybe some of the good that comes out of this basketball mess is that our AD gets judged by something other than his press releases.
gt on 02/01/2011 (12:42 pm)
Dan, didn’t see the story posted yet, but the Wake women upset BC Eagles tonight soundly at Joel. I think Coach Pete is at Win 101 now. We went through Garcia our 6’3” center from FL, she hit 21; 4 others were in double figures. I think we’re last in ACC fg%. Not tonight. We shot over 50%.Garcia hit 2 out 3 3pters. it was on T V. I have watched them play about 5 times this year; this was their best game. I think BC was like 15-6; we’re now 10-11, don’t think we can get an NIT bid this year(we did the last two) but congratulations to that other tough, rough & tonight sharp-shooting Deacon team that doesn’t get much press.
memphisslim on 02/01/2011 (3:49 am)
Wellman is a great fundraiser,we’ve had none like him, he gets buildings built throughout the campus, now a new tennis court, Deacon Tower pressbox, Spry Soccer stadium, the field hockey stadium is one of the nation’s finest.Our olympic teams have gain national prominence,winning 4 national championships in the 2000s. He stated in Pt.4 of Dan’s interview that Dino built a culture that was successful for Dino, but we had 61-31 in that culture. I did not like the way Dino was dismissed. But we have to support this coach & definitely stand behind these players;someone stated from a financial standpoint, dismissal won’t happen. I agree.The coach will be here this year & probably next year at least.We can’t keep buying out coach’s contracts then trying to find another coach.If the team was doing as badly or even nearly as badly & Dino was still coach this year,there would be no controversy in his release. No debate about whether we should have Dino or a new coach.But the decision was made to release a coach with a winning record, 2 NCAA appearances & we didn’t know who or what we were going to get.And the ruckus has been raised. But the team seems to be improving, playing more physical, gritty, hustling,playing team ball,teamwork. That’s a start.They need to keep going, keep focused.It’s a big boy’s league.
memphisslim on 02/01/2011 (3:32 am)
While the rantings of a very few self-absorbed malcontents are terribly unsightly, we are comforted by the fact that these people are not in a position to make a difference in Wake athletics one way or another. Dan, you are correct:it is like spitting in the ocean.
I would be concerned if persons with any authority and responsibility for Wake Forest were spewing this venom around for public consumption. Wake basketball will be fine under this coaching staff, and the player-development approach Wake has adopted will pay dividends, but it will require patience.
Ray Clifton
Ray on 02/01/2011 (12:49 am)
I never called for Dino’s firing. Although I did not cry when it happened. I saw Wake play at the U of Miami two years ago when we were suppose to be in the top 5. No motivation. Selfish play. I would have rather seen the ‘89 Bob staak team from my frosh year. They cared.
If I lived anywhere near Winston I would be at every game. Wake fans are spoiled. Those who quit on this team should be embarassed. Every school goes through bad years. These players will get better and have success in future years. For now, support the team and stop whining!
Frank on 02/01/2011 (12:30 am)
First, congrats to the team on the win. I hope this is the first on many during the back half of the ACC season. That being said, let’s no start dancing to soon. This was a close home win against another bottom feeder ACC team. I have never called for the immediate firing of coach Bz as I believe everyone desires a chance, but if things do not improve greatly by the end of the year, it will be hard to justify him staying. That means more than getting 1 or even 3 ACC wins, but going at least .500 the remainder of the season. The would show the progress that Ron and Bz has been claiming all season long and give the team and fans something to build on.
Frank on 02/01/2011 (12:23 am)
Dano, I didn’t say the criticism was misplaced. I said the opposite. I said the calling for the head of Wellman or Bzdelik was irrational, which I think was as obvious Saturday when I got up as when I went to bed that night.
Dan on 01/31/2011 (11:13 pm)
Dan, before this piece, you haven’t really led on to your personal feelings about hirings/firings/decisions by Ron Wellman, Coach Bz, etc. But it seems quite ironic that you write this story about how so many of us are misplaced in our criticisms, after Wake finally pulls out a win against a mediocre ACC team.
dano on 01/31/2011 (10:58 pm)
49 years a Wake fan. I’ve met Jeff Bzdelick and after listening to him and speaking with him I am convinced that he will bring Wake back. It’s totally unfair to treat him the way the peanut gallery has without giving him the chance to build his team. I just wish more people had the opportunity to meet Jeff and get to know him. Have faith!
Gary on 01/31/2011 (10:51 pm)
Dan, thanks again for an article summarizing what so many of us are thinking. I have been a Wake fan for 45 years and have never been so depressed. Not from the performance of the team or the coach but from the insane ramblings of “the lunatic fringe” who voice their miss-guided opinions so often on your blog. The sun shall rise tomorrow and Wake Forest will continue to be the great University that it is.
Tucker on 01/31/2011 (8:46 pm)
Dan, I agree with Bobby. But you need to realize that sarcasm does not come across very well in print. :-)
gt on 01/31/2011 (8:33 pm)
Agree with the above. The “Asylum for Lunch Bunch” needs to go away for a while.
Dave on 01/31/2011 (7:52 pm)
Dan,
You humor, today, made my day. So, thanks.
Bobby
Bobby H. Griffin on 01/31/2011 (5:15 pm)
Boy, am I glad to see you write about this. I’ve maintained from the beginning that it was irrational to be calling for his firing and I looked at it from a business sense. Wake is not in a position to pay off Dino, pay off Bzdelick and put enough money out there to bring in a coach who would be willing to take a program in which the A.D. had fired the coach for performance after only a few months on the job. It’s time to put that stuff to rest. Bzdelick is going to be given time to establish his program with his people. Let’s let that happen. If the results after a couple of years do not bear out, then it’s time to find another coach. Criticism of his coaching and motivation of the players may be, and I believe is warranted at times, especially after those early games. However, it looks like they are showing progress. I’m realistic enough to anticipate us getting beat at FSU and at Md., but last year’s team lost at FSU and needed OT to beat Md. at home with 3 NBA players.
Jim on 01/31/2011 (4:30 pm)
Finally a voice of reason.
Thanks for the Blog Dan. I love reading your “Take” but have not enjoyed all the negative, irrational comments from the peanut gallery.
CindyT on 01/31/2011 (4:15 pm)
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