Deacons Open Three-Game Homestand Saturday

Nov. 23, 1999

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest returns to Joel Coliseum this weekend to open a three-game homestand against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 90-55 victory at Navy on Monday night while the Hawks dropped their season-opener at Xavier (96-52) and currently stand at 0-1, pending a Tuesday night contest with Albany State.

THE LINEUP - The Demon Deacons used the lineup listed below in each of the first two games of the season. Three of the starters are carryovers from last season - juniors ROBERT O'KELLEY and RAFAEL VIDAURRETA and sophomore DARIUS SONGAILA - while sophomore NIKI ARINZE was a starter in 24 games in 1997-98 before missing most of last season with a shoulder injury. Freshman JOSH HOWARD is the lone newcomer to the starting lineup.

The Demon Deacons entered 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. Wake Forest used 15 different starting lineups during the 1998-99 season as twelve different players started at least one game.

PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP

						Career
No. Name	Pos.	Ht.	Class	PPG	RPG	Starts
4 Robert O'Kelley	G	6'1	Jr.	*14.5	0.5	52
5 Josh Howard	G	6'6	Fr.	7.5	5.0	2
41 Rafael Vidaurreta	C	6'9	Jr.	5.0	2.0	48
33 Niki Arinze	F	6'5	So.	9.5	5.0	30
25 Darius Songaila	F	6'9	So.	13.0	5.5	26

TOP RESERVES

42 Craig Dawson	G	6'5	So.	13.0	1.0	12
3 Broderick Hicks	G	6'1	So.	5.5	2.5	7
31 Ervin Murray	G	6'5	So.	2.5	2.5	14
44 Josh Shoemaker	F/C	6'9	Jr.	7.5	*8.0	34
34 Antwan Scott	F	6'8	So.	6.0	4.5	3
52 Tate Decker	F	6'11	Jr.	4.5	2.5	0

HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (11th year at Wake Forest) / Won 201, Lost 107
(14th year Overall) / Won 239, 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.

UP NEXT - The Demon Deacons continue their three-game homestand with a pair of nationally-televised contests, beginning on Tuesday against Wisconsin (7:00 / ESPN) and continuing next Saturday against Temple (12:00 / ESPN).

ODOM HITS 200 - Wake Forest's win over Campbell in the season opener was the 200th at the school for Demon Deacon head coach DAVE ODOM, who is now 11th on the ACC all-time victory list (201-107). 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 239-149 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.

WAKE FOREST VS. MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE - Wake Forest and Maryland-Eastern Shore are meeting for the third time this evening, with the Demon Deacons winning each of the previous two contests. The most recent game came during the 1986-87 season when Wake Forest claimed a 105-60 win while the Deacs also topped the Hawks 70-46 in the previous season. Both matchups were played in Winston-Salem.

In all, Wake Forest is 5-0 in games played against current members of the MEAC.

NOVEMBER A MONTH TO REMEMBER - Wake Forest now owns a 26-3 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 after that loss, however, and now own seven straight November wins.

A BALANCED ATTACK - The Demon Deacons are averaging 88.5 points through the first two games of the season, but no player is scoring more than 15 points per game. ROBERT O'KELLEY leads the Deacs with a 14.5 ppg average while CRAIG DAWSON and DARIUS SONGAILA are each scoring at 13.0 ppg. However, a closer examination of the statistics reveals that nine different players are scoring at least five points per game.

Wake Forest's leading scorer in 1998-99, O'Kelley accounted for 26% of the team's offense (17.5 of 66.6 ppg). Through two games this year, O'Kelley is responsible for just 16% of the team's offense (14.5 of 8.5 ppg).

TIME SHARING - Through the first two games of the season, the Demon Deacons have operated with a very deep bench. Nine different players are averaging better than 13 minutes per game while no single player is playing more than 25 minutes per contest. Junior ROBERT O'KELLEY, who averaged 35.0 mpg last season, leads the team with 24.0 mpg this year, with sophomore NIKI ARINZE and junior JOSH SHOEMAKER right behind at 23.5 and 23.0 mpg, respectively.

Eleven different Demon Deacons played more than 10 minutes in the season opener against Campbell, and no Deac has played more than 29 minutes in one single game.

DEFENSE TIGHTENS THE CLAMPS - After a rather lackluster defensive performance in the two preseason exhibition games (60.9 FG% allowed on 2-pt FG attempts), the Wake Forest defense has stiffened up in the first two games of the season. The Deacs are holding opponents to 32.4% from the floor and force an average of 24 turnovers per game with 12 steals per game.

Another aspect of the Deacon defense through two games is an increased shot blocking presence. In Monday's 90-55 win at Navy, the Deacs blocked 11 shots - the most in a single game since Tim Duncan's senior season (79 games) - and now have 15 blocks in two games. Sophomore ANTWAN SCOTT leads the team in that department with five rejections.

20 or More Turnovers by Demon Deacon Opponents

	Year	Opponent (Turnovers)
	1999-00	Campbell (26), Navy (22)
	1998-99	Ill.(26), UNCG(23), Mercer(21), Coastal(22), FSU(22)
	1997-98	Radford (22), Missouri (22)
	1996-97	none
	1995-96	none
	1994-95	none
	1993-94	Florida State (20)
	1992-93	Mt. St. Mary's (23), Winthrop (23)

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION - Wake Forest's 90-55 win at Navy on Monday night was the best team offensive performance since the 1996-97 season (Tim Duncan's senior season). The last time the Deacs topped the 90-point plateau was 86 games ago (Dec. 21, 1996 vs Campbell). Wake Forest shot 60.3% from the floor against the Midshipmen, the best shooting performance since hitting 60.9% from the field against Georgia Tech 82 games ago (Jan. 8, 1997).

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 122-29 (80.8% 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 68-5 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
1999-00	1-0	0-0	1-0
Totals	68-5	54-24	122-29
	(93.2%)	(69.2%)	(80.8%)

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 last 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 game against Maryland-Eastern Shore having made at least one three-point field goal in 232 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.

Wake Forest Athletics

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