Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Opens 1999-2000 Season With Campbell
11/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 1999
November 20, 1999
8:00 pm
Lawrence Joel Coliseum
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest opens its 1999-2000 season at home this weekend, taking on Campbell at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Demon Deacons welcome back four starters and 11 lettermen from last year's team that went 17-14 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. The game with the Camels is part of a busy November for the Deacs as Wake Forest will play four games in the next 10 days, including three on its own homecourt.
THE LINEUP - The Demon Deacons enter the 1999-2000 season with seven players who have started more than 10 games in their careers and 10 players that have cracked the starting lineup at least once. Tonight's starting lineup includes three returning starters from last season - juniors ROBERT O'KELLEY and RAFAEL VIDAURRETA and sophomore DARIUS SONGAILA - in addition to sophomore NIKI ARINZE, who started 24 games in 1997-98 before missing nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury. Rookie JOSH HOWARD, who started the final exhibition game of the season last weekend, rounds out the lineup.
Wake Forest used 15 different starting lineups during the 1998-99 season. Twelve different players started at least once, including every scholarship player on the roster. Freshmen accounted for 60 starts last season, the most for any first-year class in the ACC.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
| Career | |||||||
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG | Starts |
| 4 | Robert O'Kelley | G | 6'1 | Jr. | 17.5 | 2.3 | 50 |
| 5 | Josh Howard | G | 6'6 | Fr. | newcomer | 0 | |
| 41 | Rafael Vidaurreta | C | 6'9 | Jr. | 7.8 | 7.3 | 46 |
| 33 | Niki Arinze | F | 6'5 | So. | 3.2 | 1.7 | 28 |
| 25 | Darius Songaila | F | 6'9 | So. | 12.1 | 5.3 | 24 |
| TOP RESERVES | |||||||
| 42 | Craig Dawson | G | 6'5 | So. | 8.1 | 2.4 | 12 |
| 3 | Broderick Hicks | G | 6'1 | So. | 4.8 | 1.9 | 7 |
| 31 | Ervin Murray | G | 6'5 | So. | 3.1 | 2.3 | 14 |
| 44 | Josh Shoemaker | F/C | 6'9 | Jr. | 3.9 | 4.5 | 34 |
| 34 | Antwan Scott | F | 6'8 | So. | 4.2 | 1.8 | 3 |
| 52 | Tate Decker | F | 6'11 | Jr. | newcomer | 0 | |
HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (11th year at Wake Forest) / Won 199, Lost 107 (14th year Overall) / Won 237, Lost 149
THE HEAD COACH - The 1999-2000 season is the 11th at Wake Forest for coach DAVE ODOM, who has built the Demon Deacon program into one of the nation's best. The Deacs made seven consecutive NCAA appearances from 1991 through 1997, then extended their string of postseason tourneys to nine in a row by playing in the 1998 and 1999 NIT.
Odom is a three-time ACC Coach of the Year (1991, 1994, 1995). From 1993 through 1998, his Wake Forest teams won 20-or-more games each season. Since a losing record in his first year with the Deacs, his teams have won 67% of their games, averaging 21 wins per season over the last nine years. Wake Forest won back-to-back ACC titles in 1995 and 1996, establishing a school record for wins (26-6) each year, and in 1997 spent 10 weeks as the nation's #2-ranked team.
UPCOMING - The Demon Deacons visit Navy on Monday (7:30 / HTS, FOXSS) before returning to Joel Coliseum next Saturday to face Maryland-Eastern Shore (7:30 / no TV).
LOOKING FOR 200 - Wake Forest's first win this season will be the 200th at the school for Demon Deacon head coach DAVE ODOM, who is now 11th on the ACC all-time victory list (199-107). He is on pace to surpass both Jim Valvano (209 wins at NC State) and Vic Bubas (213 at Duke) during the 1999-2000 campaign. Odom's overall record as a head coach is now 237-149 including a three-year stint at East Carolina from 1980 through 1982.
On the Wake Forest career coaching list, Odom ranks 3rd behind Carl Tacy (222-149 record from 1973-1985) and the school's all-time victory leader, Murray Greason (288-243 from 1934-1957). Odom's 86 ACC victories (he's 86-70), however, are the most for any Demon Deacon coach.
JUST FOR OPENERS - Wake Forest has won its last five season openers, four of which have been played on its home floor in Joel Coliseum. The lone exception was the Deacs' 75-73 overtime win over Illinois in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic in Madison Square Garden last year. The last time that the Demon Deacons dropped their debut contest was a 70-68 loss to Alaska-Anchorage in the 1993-94 Great Alaska Shootout.
Under Dave Odom, the Deacs are 9-1 in opening games, with eight of those wins coming at home.
DEACS NOW 10-0 IN HOME OPENERS WITH ODOM - With its 82-45 victory over UNC Greensboro last year, Wake Forest was victorious for the 10th straight year in its home opener. That's every year that Coach Dave Odom has been directing the Demon Deacon program, and also every year that this facility has been in use.
NOVEMBER A MONTH TO REMEMBER - Wake Forest now owns a 24-3 record in games played during the month of November in 10 years under head coach Dave Odom. In fact, the Demon Deacons had a 15-game winning streak during the month of November snapped last season in the loss to Temple in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Deacs bounced back, however, with five straight November wins after that loss last year.
EXHIBITION RECAP - Although tonight's contest with Campbell marks the first "official" game of the 1999-2000 season, it won't be the first time Wake Forest has taken the Joel floor for competition. The Demon Deacons are coming off two exhibition victories in the last two weeks.
The Deacs defeated the Five-Star Hawks, 96-86, on Nov. 6 behind 22 points from ROBERT O'KELLEY and 20 points from DARIUS SONGAILA. One week later, Wake Forest downed Alytus Alita (Lithuania), 86-55. The Deacons were led that day by 15 points and 10 rebounds from Songaila while NIKI ARINZE (13 pts) and O'Kelley (14 pts) each scored in double figures.
In two games, O'Kelley led the team with 18.0 ppg while Songaila chipped in 17.5 ppg. The Deacs struggled as a team from three-point range, hitting just 21.9% (9-41) of their shots, but hit an impressive 58.0% (58-100) of their shots in two-point territory. Also of note, the Deacs had 35 offensive rebounds to just six for their opponents in two games, and outrebounded their opponents by 14 boards per game.
ARINZE REDSHIRTED IN 1998-99 - Sophomore forward NIKI ARINZE, who started 24 games as a freshman in the 1997-98 season, was lost for the 98-99 season due to a shoulder injury. Arinze dislocated his left shoulder on October 26th during preseason practice. After missing two games, he returned to action and was a starter in four of the five contests in which he played.
The 6'5 Nashville product re-injured the shoulder on November 30th in Wake Forest's win at VMI. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder on December 15th. Having played in only five regular season contests, Arinze qualified for a medical hardship ruling and did not lose a year of eligibility.
Arinze also underwent a preventive procedure on his right shoulder on February 19th. That step was taken by WFU medical officials in order to tighten the joint and reduce the chances of injury to that shoulder later in his career. He has returned to action this fall with no problems whatsoever.
DAWSON HEALS, TOO - Sophomore guard CRAIG DAWSON, who played throughout his rookie season with a stress fracture in his leg, underwent surgery on May 11th to stabilize and help insure healing in the tibia of his lower left leg. Team medical officials, who were fully aware of Dawson's condition during the season and had continued to monitor his progress during rehabilitation, advised that he undergo the procedure to fully facilitate his recovery for this season.
DEACS IN THE "O-DOME" - The Demon Deacon overall record in Lawrence Joel Coliseum since the facility opened for the 1989-90 season is an excellent 121-29 (80.7% winning pct).
After winning just one league game in Joel in its inaugural campaign (1989-90), Wake Forest has won nearly 75% of its conference games (53-18) on its homecourt since 1990. North Carolina is the only ACC visitor to post a winning record in Joel Coliseum.
Wake's record in Joel includes an outstanding 67-5 mark against non-ACC foes. Non-conference losses suffered by the Deacons in Joel Coliseum have come to Colorado in January of 1991, California in December of 1993, Utah and Vanderbilt (in the NIT) during the 97-98 season, and Arkansas last year.
Deacon Homecourt Advantage - Record in Joel Coliseum
| Non-ACC | ACC | Overall Record | |
| 1989-90 | 7-0 | 1-6 | 8-6 |
| 1990-91 | 7-1 | 6-1 | 13-2 |
| 1991-92 | 8-0 | 5-3 | 13-3 |
| 1992-93 | 7-0 | 5-3 | 12-3 |
| 1993-94 | 7-1 | 6-2 | 13-3 |
| 1994-95 | 5-0 | 7-1 | 12-1 |
| 1995-96 | 6-0 | 8-0 | 14-0 |
| 1996-97 | 6-0 | 5-3 | 11-3 |
| 1997-98 | 7-2 | 5-3 | 12-5 |
| 1998-99 | 7-1 | 6-2 | 13-3 |
| Totals | 67-5 | 54-24 | 121-29 |
| (93.1%) | (69.2%) | (80.7%) |
TOP HALF OF ACC - With a victory over NC State in its final regular season contest, Wake Forest claimed undisputed possession of 4th place in the final league standings for the 1999 campaign. The Demon Deacons have now finished in the top half of the ACC regular season standings (4th place or higher including ties) seven consecutive years.
ACC SUCCESS - Since dropping their first 11 league contests and finishing with a 3-11 mark in the league in 1990, the Demon Deacons under head coach Dave Odom have achieved winning records against seven of their eight ACC foes, with only North Carolina holding an advantage over the Deacs the past nine years.
Wake Forest vs the ACC
| School | Last 6 yrs | Last 9 yrs | |
| Clemson | 10-4 | 15-5 | |
| Duke | 8-5 | 11-8 | |
| Florida State | 9-4 | 9-8 | |
| Georgia Tech | 8-6 | 11-9 | |
| Maryland | 7-5 | 11-7 | |
| North Carolina | 5-10 | 6-16 | |
| NC State | 9-4 | 14-5 | |
| Virginia | 10-4 | 14-8 | |
| Totals | 66-42 | 91-66 | |
| [61%] | [58%] |
ACC Regular Season Records in the 1990's
| School | W-L | Pct. | |
| Duke | 109-47 | 69.9 | |
| North Carolina | 108-48 | 69.2 | |
| Wake Forest | 86-70 | 55.1 | |
| Maryland | 80-76 | 51.3 | |
| Georgia Tech | 73-83 | 46.8 | |
| Florida State | 56-72 | 43.8 | |
| Virginia | 69-87 | 44.2 | |
| Clemson | 60-96 | 38.5 | |
| NC State | 49-107 | 31.4 |
NINE STRAIGHT POSTSEASON TRIPS - The Demon Deacons made a ninth straight postseason appearance with their participation in the 1999 NIT. That streak of nine straight postseason trips ranks second among ACC schools, seven of which took part in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT this year.
Consecutive Postseason Appearances by ACC Schools
| North Carolina | 33 |
| WAKE FOREST | 9 |
| Clemson | 7 |
| Maryland | 6 |
| Duke | 4 |
| NC State | 3 |
| Georgia Tech | 2 |
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest enters the 1999-2000 season having made at least one three-point field goal in 230 consecutive games. The last time that the Demon Deacons did not make a three-pointer was in a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
O'KELLEY ENTERS ELITE COMPANY - With a driving layup early in the second half of Wake Forest's NIT win over Alabama last year, ROBERT O'KELLEY became only the third sophomore in Wake Forest history to score 1,000 points. After a career-high 36 points in the NIT loss at Xavier, the Demon Deacon guard completed his second year at WFU with 1,041 points (497 as a freshman, 544 this season), which places him 3rd among all Wake Forest players for points as a sophomore.
The only other two players in Wake Forest history who have scored 1,000 points in their freshman and sophomore seasons are Dickie Hemric (1,161 pts in 1952 & 1953) and Rodney Rogers (1,084 in 1991 & 1992). (Of course, from the mid-50s until the 1972-73 season freshmen did not play on the varsity level.)
Deacon Sophomore Scoring Leaders
(800+ Points at End of Sophomore Year)
| Dickie Hemric | 1,161 |
| Rodney Rogers | 1,084 |
| ROBERT O'KELLEY | 1,041 |
| Randolph Childress | 997 |
| Skip Brown | 933 |
| Sam Ivy | 903 |
| Tim Duncan | 860 |
| Chris King | 856 |
| Rod Griffin | 830 |
| Frank Johnson | 818 |
SONGAILA CAREER OFF TO PROMISING START - DARIUS SONGAILA became only the 11th freshman (since formation of the ACC in 1953) to average in double figures for the Demon Deacons last year -- but he's the second in the last two years. ROBERT O'KELLEY's 16.6 ppg average in 1997-98 is the best by a Wake Forest rookie since '53. Only Dickie Hemric's school record for scoring as a freshman (22.4 ppg in 1952) is higher.
Top Wake Forest Freshman Scorers
(double figures since 1953)
| ROBERT O'KELLEY* (1998) | 16.6 |
| Rodney Rogers* (1991) | 16.3 |
| Chris King* (1989) | 14.4 |
| Randolph Childress (1991) | 14.0 |
| Rod Griffin (1975) | 13.9 |
| Rod Watson* (1986) | 13.5 |
| Alvis Rogers (1979) | 13.5 |
| Sam Ivy (1987) | 13.2 |
| Skip Brown (1974) | 13.2 |
| DARIUS SONGAILA (1999) | 12.1 |
| Frank Johnson (1977) | 11.6 |
"MARCH MADNESS" RETURNS TO JOEL - The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball championship returns to Winston-Salem and Joel Coliseum this spring. After hosting first and second round action of the event in both 1993 and 1997, Wake Forest and Joel Coliseum were selected as a host site for this year's event as well.
Winston-Salem and Buffalo, N.Y., will be the two sites for the first and second rounds of the East Region this spring, with gamedates set for March 17 and 19, 2000.
