To Whom It Doesn’t Concern
Of all the wonderful Skipisms Skip Prosser came up with during his six seasons as Wake’s head coach, the one I probably heard most concerned rebounding.
“When a ball comes off the rim, it doesn’t have a name on it,’’ Prosser would say time and time agan. “It’s addressed to For Whom it May Concern.’‘
Prosser’s teams never played the kind of defense it takes to be great teams. Defense wasn’t Skip’s thing. But when it came to rebounding the basketball, Prosser was passionate. He stressed that rebounding is above all else hustle and desire. His 2003 Deacons, the year Josh Howard was a senior and Eric Williams, Justin Gray, Chris Ellis and Trent Strickland were freshmen, became the first ACC team to lead the nation in rebounding.
We’re talking about the whole nation, all of Division I.
Flash forward two coaches and five seasons what we’re watching now is a team that really hasn’t established an identity—or at least not one worth bragging about. It’s hard to see past the lack of numbers and overall talent level to see anything the Deacons do especially well.
But what they’ve really become known for over the first 11 games is their inability to pull a rebound off the backboard. I just checked, and of all the 338 teams playing Division I basketball, the Deacons are tied with Central Michigan for No. 306 with a rebounding margin of minus 5.1. BC, the 11th-ranked ACC team, is two spots ahead at minus 4.7.
Blame it on the fact that Travis McKie is probably the only natural rebounder on the team. Blame it on the Open Post Motion Offense the Deacons are running that often finds a big man on the perimeter when a shot goes up. You can blame it on what you want, but you’ve got to think that an ACC team can at least hold its own on the boards against the caliber of teams Wake has played so far.
In what surely has to be a school first, the Deacons played the first 10 games without out-rebounding an opponent. They did tie Richmond with 29 each, but came back the next game and were out-rebounded 35-29 at High Point.
It wasn’t until Ty Walker returned and Wake played a home game against Gardner-Webb Sunday that it finally won the battle of the boards 35-34. So that’s something to watch over this next stretch of games, if the presence of a 7-0 center with the wingspan of a condor can help turn a horrendous rebounding team into a merely mediocre one. I really can’t see the Deacons being good at rebounding, at least not until the likes of Arnaud Moto, Devin Thomas, Aaron Rountree, Tyler Cavanaugh and Andre Washington in the 2012 recruiting class.
Bzdelik said today his major points of emphasis during this particularly precious period between exams and Christmas, when there are no NCAA limitations on how many hours the teams can work, is to improve the team’s rebounding and defense. He’ll need to work fast. UNC Wilmington, the team due in town for tomorrow night’s game, just pulled 23 offensive rebounds to beat Campbell by two. The Seahawks are ranked No. 152 in rebounding margin with plus 1.5 a game. That’s not great, but it’s a far cry from No. 306.
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By Dan Collins on 12/20/2011 (4:55 pm)
Comments
You know even I was a little bit taken aback at the suggestion of trading McKie. Then I realized it was not just for Ari, it was also for JT. But the real difference maker is the “whole coaching staff” part of the trade - which means we’d be rid of Buzz! I’d hate to lose Battle or McKie, but if the plus is no more Buzzball?
The Deacon said, “Bzdeliks system looks like a complete piece of crap, and no, we won’t be rebounding worth a crap…better hope Wellman prepares a little better for the next coach” So true, and glad to see that you do recognize the need for “the next coach” but RW apparently does not and does not care. There is NO wise use of time that includes RW’s buddy Buzz.
gt on 01/02/2012 (2:52 pm)
WOW… what kind of Kool-Aid are you two drinking? Trade McKie for Ari Stewart? With decisions like that, you would do worse than Bzdelik did last year… Genius..lol…
While DeRosiers is a barely palatable copy of a Ricardo Peral (some range, lots of inconsistency and no strength to rebound), putting in the tall front line only gets us without anyone to play in the second half… Carson cant play consistently yet, and neither can Walker… There is no way, playing a big lineup will do anything but give the other team a blank check to run us out of the building in the first ten minutes, we just dont have the right bigs for that type of play over any real length of time…
While I am not a Buzz-Inner, I just dont think you can take a mediocre team with only two ACC-caliber players and expect them to do much with no real bench to speak of… I havent seen the “level of talent” you have, while screaming at Tony “Broderick Hicks” Chennault driving in with no where to go, Carson “I got jelly hands” unable to rebound, and Ty “I still got a chance at the NBA” Walker going out of position to swat at balls to get on the highlight reel…
I like Chase and Daniel and even Fields, but to play the minutes needed, they just dont have the level of ability to contribute consistently (much like Carson who really needed a year or two before playing significant minutes)... It will be 2 more years before we see some results after next years class gets here and gets a year under its belt…
While the “level of talent” was supposedly there with Ari and JT, the desire to play with the team wasnt… Look at McKie for your proof, nobody fights harder each game even all last season. The others can go play street ball with their “toughness” (lol) somewhere else… We won’t see them in the NBA regardless of where they play now…
Yes, Bzdeliks system looks like a complete piece of crap, and no, we won’t be rebounding worth a crap, but jeez they look more like a team than i ever expected this year - you know its going to be a couple more years of this, better hope Wellman prepares a little better for the next coach, and uses this time wisely…
The Deacon on 01/01/2012 (9:57 pm)
Now, now, you know those were bad apples that didn’t belong at Wake Forest in the first place with their ink and their street game. They were me first players that would never buy into the team concept. They had to go!!!!
I swear I’d trade Bzdelik, the whole coaching staff and ANY two players on the roster to have Ari and JT back.
Ok ok maybe I’d think about it if I had to give up McKie, but given Ari’s abilities at 3, that would probably be an acceptable loss.
The reality is you have some street smarts and toughness to succeed at this level. Ari and JT had that, Jeff Bzdelik does not
JoeyD on 01/01/2012 (9:00 pm)
Too bad Bz couldn’t provide the kind of leadership that Ari, JT, and/or Melvin needed. With them on board, we would have had the makings of a real team - if we had a real coach…
gt on 01/01/2012 (5:12 pm)
I like the talent and the mix of talent on this team. I could go 8-8 in the ACC this year with this team.
I would be using an 8 man rotation. My starting lineup would look nothing like Bzdelik’s. I would be starting Harris, Fischer, McKie, Desrosiers and Walker. Meschirakov and Chennault would be my top reserves with about 20-25 min each. I would use Greene for foul trouble and as a backup C.
Offensively I’d use a lot of high screens for CJ Harris. Let him penetrate and get to the foul line. I would use a lot of 3-4 inversion taking advantage of Carson’s range at 4 and McKie’s inside power at 3.
We have 3 legitimate big time scorers (McKie, Harris, Fischer). We have a 7ft 7ft 6-8 frontline. There’s absolutely no reason we can’t compete with anyone in the country EXCEPT we’re convinced we can’t.
Anybody that can’t coach this team can’t coach basketball PERIOD
JoeyD on 01/01/2012 (3:03 pm)
JoeyD - I agree that the coach is the problem. But it’s a bigger problem than just player positioning. Buzz’s offensive scheme is a joke. Yale out-rebounded us by 11 and got 13 more shots at the basket than we did. Not a good sign going into ACC play. Buzz has no idea of how to adjust his tactics to maximize the talent he’s got. He’s a one trick pony and his “trick” isn’t very good. GIVE THE TEAM TO BATTLE NOW!
gt on 12/30/2011 (11:08 pm)
Steve,
I’ve been begging for that answer and screaming for that solution for two years.
Carson Desrosiers is a major program European 4, and a pretty effective one. He’s not a C at the major college level and never will be.
Travis McKie is one of the best 3s in college basketball. He’s undersized at 4 and gets manhandled by any major college 4.
Ty Walker is more than capable of defending the 5 position. Daniel Greene is certainly an adequate backup at 4 or 5 and Meschirakov is capable of keeping our size at 3 and as a back up 4.
The only time we need either Fischer playing 3 or McKie playing 4 is when we’re trying to apply pressure, change tempo and make things happen.
We have passable PG play. Our SG with CJ and Chase is as good as any in the country.
Despite what we hear over and over, talent is not our problem!! We can be good and we will be good if our coach will put the right people in the right places.
JoeyD on 12/30/2011 (12:00 pm)
This team has no identity because the coach has no identity. Thank goodness this second season of Bzboring is almost over.
Bzdork on 12/29/2011 (10:54 pm)
Dan, your comments are very accurate. It raises the question of why Coach does not try Walker and Derosiers, and Mckie on the court at the same time—-have you asked that question?
It seems an obvious solution.
steveh on 12/29/2011 (9:47 am)
Dan,
Would you agree that the team’s rebounding this year will be a great gauge of Coach Bzdelik’s ability to develop players? Of all of the characteristics that make up a great basketball player, isn’t the ability to rebound the simplest to learn? Someone who is not considered a “natural rebounder” certainly has a better chance of improving into an “excellent rebounder” than someone who isn’t a “natural shooter” developing into a consistent long-range threat, no?
I think we can look beyond the numbers a little bit here too. For instance, we will need to pay attention to how the players are positioning themselves for the rebounds. Is there a noticeable effort to put a body on every player to clear the defensive board? This should all translate into more rebounds in general, but I think it’s helpful to watch that stuff just to ensure that progress is being made.
DC on 12/28/2011 (2:45 pm)
“if the presence of a 7-0 center with the wingspan of a condor can help turn a horrendous rebounding team into a merely mediocre one.”
Get used to that word - “mediocre”. It’s going to be the best we can expect from Wake basketball as long as RW’s ego is running the show.
gt on 12/28/2011 (2:13 pm)
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