Three Minus Two Leaves One
Call it Skip’s Dictum.
The college team with the most NBA players usually wins.
Those words, repeated ad naseum infinitum by former coach Skip Prosser of Wake Forest, came to mind this afternoon when I heard that Jeff Teague will remain in the NBA draft and not be returning to the Deacons. That makes two probable future pros, Teague and James Johnson, to depart since April after their sophomore seasons. That leaves, by my count, only one in rising sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu.
Coach Dino Gaudio wasn’t buying that notion, at least not wholesale.
“I still think we have NBA players on this team next year,’’ Gaudio said. “Let’s put it this way: I think there is NBA potential on this team next year.’‘
There may be others besides Aminu, but sitting here in mid-June of 2009 I would be hard-pressed to name them. My opinion may well change when I see incoming recruits C.J. Harris, Ari Stewart and Konner Tucker go through their paces. And hopefully a guy like L.D. Williams or Tony Woods or Ty Walker will prove me wrong. Walker certainly has the size and wing span, but like with Harris, Stewart and Tucker I haven’t seen enough of him to make a prediction.
Regardless, there are few teams in college basketball that can lose two sophomores to the NBA without experiencing a serious drain in talent. So it would be unreasonable to expect the Deacons to be as talented next year as last.
But as the Deacons proved in post-season, talent isn’t the only factor that determines a team’s success. There’s chemistry and leadership as well. The Deacons will have no excuse for lacking the latter, with four seniors—Williams, Ish Smith, Chas McFarland and David Weaver—on the roster.
“I’m in love with our basketball team next year,’’ Gaudio said. “We have four seniors who have played a lot of basketball. I think they’re going to be terrific leaders for us, and I think we can have a terrific season next season.’‘
Another of Prosser’s favorite sayings was that it all starts with the point guard. Gaudio said he likes his chances with an experienced senior in Smith running the show.
“Sometimes it’s all about how well kids play together,’’ Gaudio said. “And I think we will have a great chemistry team next year.’‘
I mentioned that it’s hard to lose an All-ACC player—one who received the sixth most votes in the league—without feeling the effects.
“It’s a loss,’’ Gaudio said. “But when you have a kid like Ish Smith to run your team for you. . . I think Jeff will be missed but we will be in good hands.’‘
The Deacons suffered mightily when Chris Paul surprised the staff by leaving after his sophomore season of 2004-05. Gaudio and his staff have recruited well enough that the Deacons should avert another nosedive into the ACC cellar. And there is something to be said for those players who have been around the block a few times, in that they know just what price a player has to pay to excel in the ACC. I don’t know how the Deacons will do next season, nor does anyone else.
But my suspicions are they won’t win their first 16 games, be ranked No. 1 in the country or finish runner-up in the conference to the eventual national championship.
Again, I wouldn’t mind being proven wrong.
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 06/15/2009 (9:33 pm)
Comments
I think folks are underestimating the deacs for next year. No they won’t be as talented as the team this past season but I think chemistry will be better and people forget some of the talent Wake has. I think our question mark next year will of course be who can rise up at the 2 guard spot. I don’t think Wake is gonna be as bad as some “experts” are saying. We shall see. We have more talent and experience than most people want to believe.
Cliff on 06/18/2009 (11:00 pm)
last year the adjectives (and adverbs) for Wake were tall, long, fast, very atheletic, very talented, but perhaps lacking in chemistry and leadership. So which one(s) are no longer applicable?—admittedly the adverbs “very” are, for next year, less of an accurate descriptor, but perhaps we lose the dreaded “but” and the other adjectives are very very nice to have said about your team.
Paul on 06/18/2009 (1:19 pm)
I think the two most critical aspects to our success next year is our center play and coaching. Can McFarland keep his cool and play intelligently? Is Woods ready to spell or replace him? Is Coach Gaudio capable of making a less talented team competitive? Gaudio needs to make better calls during game situations.
Jim on 06/17/2009 (4:33 pm)
Hey Charles,
I know J.P. but not well. I do know that I agree with Mike Krzyzewski on one point. After Duke won the ACC Championship in 2005, he was asked if it was any more satisfying in that his Blue Devils had been picked uncommonly low (3rd of 4th if I recall) in preseason. K said not really because he didn’t put much stock in preseason rankings, in that the people making the predictions (ACC writers) didn’t have good information to go on. And those predictions were made in October, not June. That’s a conclusion I had reached a long time ago. How do we know what a team is going to do until we see the team play? I don’t blame J.P. He needs something to write in the off-season, just as people need something to read. But ask me around mid-November and I’ll have a better take.
Dan on 06/16/2009 (10:19 pm)
Dan,
J.P. Giglio over on the News Observer earlier had picked Wake to finish 11th in the ACC next year when he thought Aminu would be gone along with Jeff and James. Now he still picked Wake to finish 11th knowing Amninu is back. His beef is Wake’s coaching and lack of a cohesive offense. I’m sure you are friends with JP, your thoughts?
Charles Turnage on 06/16/2009 (9:20 pm)
It seemed to me as if Jeff was never happy playing basketball for Wake Forest. He never smiled when the team did well, only when he made a great play, which was often early last season. He never had the infectious “gleam in the eye” like Chris Paul and L.D. Williams seemed to have had over the years. The last player I saw that looked this unhappy was Loren Woods, who transfered to Arizona to find happiness. I truly hope Jeff finds happiness in the pros.
Dick on 06/16/2009 (4:20 pm)
John,
My problem is trying to figure out anything before I’ve had any coffee at all. My mind needs a jumpstart every morning. I think it’s entirely possible that next year’s team will exceed expectations. That would have been hard for last year’s team after its 16-0 start.
Dan on 06/16/2009 (11:02 am)
Maybe I’ve had too much coffee this morning but I actually feel the Deacs will be better this year. Here’s my thoughts:
1. Ish is a senior and although he will not score at the rate of Teague he should be able to have an excellent assist to turnover ratio. He is definitely one of the fastest guards in the ACC and this is very important, his teammates like him.
2. I believe this year we will see the emergence of both Walker and Woods. I believe Walker can dominate the paint defensively and although something of a finesse player can contribute offensively. Woods has the body to bang with the best of them inside and be a beast on the boards.
3. Ari Stewart will be last years Aminu. The kid has talent and reminds me of Josh Howard.
4. Dino is no fool. He knows his team suffered in the half court last year and will better prepare his team when the opposition tries to slow the game down. Our outside shooting will be improved with Stewart, Tucker and Aminu is a better shooter of the ball than he showed last year.
What do you think Dan, too much coffee?
john on 06/16/2009 (9:52 am)
Look at it this way -> the Deacs did not win an ACC or a NCAA tournament game with Jeff and James last year, right? So from a post season perspective there’s nowhere to go but up. From an observer’s point of view, neither of those guys were leaders. Next year’s team will have more heart and less talent, which may equal more late season success as they gel. Now we’ll see what Gaudio is made of, can he do more with less !
Charles Turnage on 06/16/2009 (7:29 am)
I expected JJ to leave and I understand why JT is leaving. I doubt that one more year would have been much help to the former, but I suspect it would have been a big help to the latter. They will go from being stars and local celebrities to apprentices on a pro team. Each may choose to go back to school for a degree later in life, but they can never go back to college.
I wish both of them the best and hope they beat the odds to become stars. Losing experienced talent will take a toll on the team’s fortunes this season but that is not an unusual occurence for any ACC team in this era. Coping with early losses to the pro’s is a part of coaching today.
LS on 06/15/2009 (11:25 pm)
I am disappointed in JT. With another year, Wake would have been better and JT’s NBA stock probably would have risen. JJ, I understand. He’s 23. Team chemistry should be better though. I was of the opinion that JT was a large part of the late season lack of chemistry. However, his talent will be missed. I expect the Deacs to fall into the lower half of the conference, at least for next year. But hell, we’re a football school now!
Ken Green on 06/15/2009 (10:59 pm)
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