Wake Forest Athletics
ACC Tournament Seeding on the Line
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
February 26, 1999
WAKE FOREST (15-12 / 6-9 in ACC)
vs NC STATE (17-11 / 6-9)
February 28, 1999 - 1:30
Lawrence Joel Coliseum
For the second year in a row, Wake Forest and NC State complete regular season play here in Joel Coliseum with seeding in next week's ACC Tournament very much on the line for both teams. Today's winner will be the #4 seed in the '99 Tournament -- and could hold that place in the final standings alone depending on the outcome of this afternoon's Georgia Tech game at Clemson.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
No. Name Pos.Ht. Class Key Statistics (*leads team) 4 Robert O'Kelley G 6'1 So. 17.2 ppg*, 2.2 rpg, 53 asts*, 77 3pters* 31 Ervin Murray G 6'5 Fr. 3.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 76.7 FT% 41 Rafael Vidaurreta C 6'8 So. 7.4 ppg, 6.6* rpg, 50.7 FG%*, 74.0 FT% 34 Antwan Scott F 6'8 Fr. 4.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg 11 Joseph Amonett F 6'5 Sr. 3.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg
TOP RESERVES
42 Craig Dawson F 6'5 Fr. 7.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 82.1 FT% (23-28) 25 Darius Songaila F/C 6'9 Fr. 11.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 50.7 FG%*, 78.2 FT%* 44 Josh Shoemaker F/C 6'9 So. 3.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 51.3 FG% (39-76) 3 Broderick Hicks G 6'1 Fr. 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 45 asts 10 Jim Fitzpatrick G 6'0 Jr. 1.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg
HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (10th year at Wake Forest) / Won 197, Lost 105
(13th year overall) / Won 235, Lost 147
THE LINEUP - Wake Forest has used its 13th different starting lineup of the season the past three outings as freshman ANTWAN SCOTT has made his first career starts in place of fellow-rookie DARIUS SONGAILA. Songaila had started 16 straight games before suffering a slight ankle sprain in practice on February 14th prior to the Georgia Tech game.
Another new lineup could be a possibility this afternoon as JOSEPH AMONETT, Wake Forest's lone 1999 senior, figures to start in his final game in Joel Coliseum. Amonett and Scott have not started in the same game this season.
The Demon Deacons have had at least three freshmen in their lineup for seven consecutive dates, ever since CRAIG DAWSON joined the starting five versus Maryland (Jan.31). Another rookie, guard ERVIN MURRAY, has started the last 14 consecutive games.
ROBERT O'KELLEY is the only Deacon who has started all 27 games. He and RAFAEL VIDAURRETA, who has started 15 straight contests, are the only two players to start every ACC date. Both now have more than 40 career starts while still in only their sophomore seasons.
THE HEAD COACH - Now in his 10th season at Wake Forest, DAVE ODOM 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 eight in a row by playing in last year's 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 68% of their games, averaging 21 wins per season over the last eight 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.
Wake Forest vs NC State
THE SERIES - Wake Forest has won seven of its last nine games with NC State despite losing this year's first meeting in Raleigh. The Demon Deacons swept both regular season contests with the Wolfpack in 1995, 1996 and 1998. Since Dave Odom became coach at WFU, the Deacs are 14-5 versus the 'Pack.
Overall, though, State holds a 120-83 advantage in a series that began in 1911. The two schools have met at least twice every year since then except in 1915 and 1944.
THIS YEAR'S FIRST MEETING - On January 28th in Raleigh, the Deacons led at halftime, 32-28, but shot only 33% from the floor (9-27) in the second half in a 70-59 loss. NC State made 8 of 15 shots from the field (53%) and was even more impressive at the free throw line (22-24 / 92%) in its second half rally.
Robert O'Kelley led the Deacon attack with 21 points but was only 5-of-17 from the floor. Kenny Inge, who connected on 13 of 14 free throws, led the Wolfpack with 20 while Justin Gainey added 18. (A boxscore from that game is included in this packet.)
IN JOEL COLISEUM - The Demon Deacons hold a 6-2 edge over NC State here on the Joel parquet. The Wolfpack won on their first visit to this building in 1990, then again in 1997 when a three-point shot by CC Harrison at the buzzer dealt Wake Forest a 60-59 overtime defeat.
Noting the Demon Deacons
ONE YEAR AGO - Wake Forest and NC State met here in Joel Coliseum at the conclusion of the 1998 season with the Demon Deacons looking at an ACC regular season finish of anywhere from 4th to 8th place (at least as far as seeding for the ACC Tournament was concerned). Wake won that game last season, 71-57, to gain the #4 seed in the Tournament and finish 7-9 in league play. However, after losing to Clemson in the first round of the Tournament the Deacs (at 15-13 overall) were denied an NCAA bid.
TOP HALF OF ACC - Wake Forest has finished in the top half of the ACC regular season standings (4th place or higher including ties) the last six years in a row. The Deacons need a victory this afternoon to extend that streak to seven consecutive seasons.
DEACS IN THE "O-DOME" - The Demon Deacon overall record in Joel Coliseum since the facility opened for the 1989-90 season is an excellent 119-29 (80.4% winning pct).
After winning just one league game here in Joel in its inaugural campaign (1989-90), Wake Forest has won nearly 75% of its conference games (52-18) on its homecourt since 1990. North Carolina is the only ACC visitor to post a winning record in Joel Coliseum.
Deacs vs the ACC in Joel Coliseum
Clemson 9-1 Maryland 7-3 Duke 5-5 North Carolina 4-6 Florida State 6-2 N.C.State 7-2 Georgia Tech 7-3 Virginia 8-2
BIGGEST SUCCESSFUL COMEBACK IN JOEL - Wake Forest's last appearance in Joel Coliseum eight days ago was a memorable one as the Demon Deacons rallied from a 19-point second half deficit against Florida State (57-38 with 8:05 remaining) for a 67-65 victory. That contest represented the biggest winning comeback for a Demon Deacon squad under Dave Odom -- and the biggest in Joel Coliseum history. (The Deacs also trailed the Seminoles by 18 (61-43) with 6:13 left in that contest.)
Wake fell behind Maryland by 19 points (27-8) in the first half of a 1997 game in Joel before fighting back to take a brief lead in the second half. The Terps eventually won that contest, 54-51, on a last-second three-point shot by Laron Profit
The biggest successful comeback for a Dave Odom-coached Wake Forest team prior to Saturday had come in the 1995 ACC Tournament when the Deacs fell behind Duke by 18 points (31-13), rallied to actually take a one-point halftime lead (46-45), then won the game by 17 (87-70).
(No precise record exists for the biggest comeback ever by a Wake Forest team.)
COMEBACK WINS - Although last Saturday's comeback against Florida State was certainly noteworthy, coming from behind has not been something new for the 1998-99 Deacons, who have trailed in the second half of nine of their 15 wins this season.
Five Deacon victories (Mercer, William & Mary, Davidson, at Clemson & vs Florida State), have come after Wake Forest was behind at halftime.
Coach Dave Odom's youthful squad initially displayed its comeback ability in the very first game this season when Wake trailed Illinois by five points (61-56) with 2:18 remaining in the game, and by six (70-64) with 2:32 left in overtime, before rallying for the win.
The Deacs also overcame a double-figure deficit (27-14) in downing Davidson on November 27th.
AT THE HALF - Wake Forest is 10-4 when leading at the half. Two of those losses have come to North Carolina, including this past Tuesday when the Deacs led the Tar Heels, 31-22, after 20 minutes. Of course, Wake was also ahead of NC State at halftime of their first meeting in Raleigh (32-28).
On the other hand, as noted above, the Deacons have been able to erase halftime deficits, too. In fact, they have won almost as many games as they have lost when trailing at intermission. Wake is 5-7 when behind at the half.
CLOSE WINS - Tuesday night's overtime loss at North Carolina marked the first time this season that Wake Forest has lost a game decided by five points or fewer -- and was only the second single-digit defeat in eight such outcomes this season.
The Demon Deacons have split two other single-digit outcomes, defeating Georgia Tech (67-58) in Joel Coliseum, but sustaining a six-point loss at Florida State (74-68).
STARTING YOUNG - Last year Wake Forest became the first team in ACC history to start five freshmen when the Demon Deacons went with an all-rookie lineup in two early February encounters at NC State and Clemson. Four freshmen started consistently for Wake throughout last year's ACC schedule.
In 1999, Wake Forest is again the youngest team in a quite youthful ACC, which features six teams that are dominated by freshman/sophomore starters.
Wake Forest has had freshmen start 54 times this season (North Carolina is 2nd in that category with 52 freshman starts while playing two more games). However, when the freshman and sophomore classes are combined, Wake has had considerably more underclass starters than any other school. (Figures compiled by the ACC Office.)
Games Started by Class
(entering this weekend's games)
Starters WAKE UVA NCST GT UNC DUKE FSU MD CLEM
Frosh/Soph 125 96 88 85 86 83 33 31 7
Junior/Senior 10 44 47 50 54 57 97 104 128
FRESHMAN FACTOR - Last year's Wake Forest freshman class accounted for 51% of the team's total points (1,009). Through 27 games this season, the Deacon freshmen have scored 877 points, which constitutes 49% of the 1998-99 team's total output.
In last Saturday's win over Florida State, Wake freshmen scored 45 of the team's 67 points.
FOUR FRESHMEN TOP SINGLE GAME SCORING LIST - When he scored 19 points in Wake Forest's win over Clemson on February 10th, CRAIG DAWSON became the fourth freshman to lead the Demon Deacons in scoring this season. DARIUS SONGAILA has been the most prominent rookie in that category, topping the WFU scoring chart eight times, including this past Saturday when he netted 19 points in the win over Florida State. BRODERICK HICKS and ANTWAN SCOTT have each led the Deacs in points once.
Elder statesman (he's a sophomore after all) ROBERT O'KELLEY has led the team in scoring more often than anyone else -- 16 times.
LAST YEAR'S TOP ROOKIE APPROACHES ELITE COMPANY - Wake Forest standout ROBERT O'KELLEY, the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year, is drawing close to the 1,000-point mark for his career as only a sophomore. The Demon Deacon backcourt star has currently scored 961 points (497 last year as a freshman, 464 this season). That total places him 4th among all Wake Forest players in history for points as a sophomore. The only Deacon guard ever to score more points than O'Kelley as a sophomore is Randolph Childress (997).
Only two players in Wake Forest history have scored 1,000 points in their freshman and sophomore seasons -- 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
Randolph Childress 997
ROBERT O'KELLEY (current) 961
Skip Brown 933
Sam Ivy 903
Tim Duncan 860
Chris King 856
Rod Griffin 830
Frank Johnson 818
O'KELLEY WITH 20+ POINTS - Sophomore ROBERT O'KELLEY scored 20-or-more points for the 11th time this season when he netted 28 in Wake Forest's game at North Carolina earlier this week. His three-point basket with 0:02.9 remaining in regulation play, tied that contest at 59-59 and forced the overtime period. Another O'Kelley "3" gave the Deacs a 64-63 lead with under two minutes remaining, but he then was called for his fifth personal foul at the 1:09 mark.
For his career, O'Kelley has reached the 20-point mark 19 times.
AMONG THE ACC LEADERS - Entering this weekend's action, ROBERT O'KELLEY is 6th in the ACC scoring race (17.2 ppg). In ACC games only, the Memphis soph ranks 5th (17.1 ppg) in the league. He also is among the ACC's most productive three-point shooters, currently ranking 2nd in that category with 77 "3s" (2.9 per game; behind only Trajan Langdon). O'Kelley leads the ACC in three-point production in league play, averaging 3.2 three-pointers per contest (he has 48 compared to Langdon's 46).
DARIUS SONGAILA is 9th in the ACC in free throw shooting with his 78.2% accuracy (he had a string of 23 in a row snapped vs Florida State). The Deacon freshman is connecting on an outstanding 82.2% of his charity tosses in league games (5th-best in the ACC).
RAFAEL VIDAURRETA has recently moved up to 9th in rebounding in the ACC 96.6 rpg)), In ACC games only, he is 5th-best in the conference (7.5 rpg).
RAFAEL THE REBOUNDER - In the last 15 games, sophomore RAFAEL VIDAURRETA has led the Demon Deacons in rebounding 12 times, a stretch which includes 14 ACC contests and a game at Utah. The Zaragoza, Spain native has collected 8-or-more rebounds 11 times during those 15 dates, and in the last nine games (all versus ACC foes), he's averaging an impressive 8.9 rebounds per game.
OFF THE GLASS - As a team, however, Wake Forest has out-rebounded only three of its last 13 opponents (the Deacs have won all three games). On the year, Wake Forest is 10-1 when it wins the battle of the boards.
SHOT TALK - Wake Forest's 33.8% shooting performance from the field at North Carolina earlier this week marked the eighth time this season that the Demon Deacons have shot under 40% from the floor. Not surprisingly, the Deacs have lost six of those contests.
Wake has shot 50% or better from the field only four times on the year, and only once (51.0% versus Clemson on Feb.10) in the last nine games.
CONVERTING AT THE LINE - Through the first 12 games this season, Wake Forest was shooting 66.7% from the free throw line. In the last 15 outings, the Demon Deacons have improved considerably, connecting on 76.2% (237-311) of their foul shot attempts.
Despite hitting only 11 of 16 free throws (68.8%) Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, Wake has now made 129 of 161 free throws (80.1%) in its last seven games. That game at North Carolina marked the first time in those seven dates that the Deacs have been below 70% at the charity stripe.
For the season, Wake Forest is shooting 71.9% at the line (2nd in the ACC). In conference play only, however, the Deacs are the best in the league at 74.6%.
FTS IMPORTANT - Wake Forest is 14-1 when it attempts more free throws than its opponents.
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest has now made at least one three-point field goal in 226 consecutive games. The last time that the Demon Deacons did not make a three-pointer was in a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
DOUBLE DIGIT DEACONS - Nine Deacons have scored in double figures at least once this season. Only two Deacs (ROBERT O'KELLEY & DARIUS SONGAILA), though, are averaging more than eight points per contest. O'KELLEY has reached double digits in 23 games (and 17 of the last 19).
Double Digit Deacons
Scoring Rebounding
Joseph AMONETT once (E.Tenn)
Craig DAWSON 8 times; none in last three
Broderick HICKS 6 times
Ervin MURRAY twice (Va, Clem)
Robert O'KELLEY 23 times (8 in a row; 12 of 13; 17 of 19)
Antwan SCOTT 5 times; once (at Va) since Dec.
Josh SHOEMAKER once (VMI)
Darius SONGAILA 17 times (9 of 11; 14 of 18) 4 times (all in Dec.)
Rafael VIDAURRETA 8 times (4 of 5; 5 of 8) 6 times (2 of 3; 3 of 6)
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEACONS - RAFAEL VIDAURRETA registered his second "double-double" of the season (and second in three games) on Tuesday night at North Carolina with a 12 pt/10 reb performance. Here in Joel Coliseum last week in Wake's win over Georgia Tech, he totaled 13 pts/12 rebs.
Freshman DARIUS SONGAILA recorded three double-figure games in both points and rebounds in December (all non-ACC games). Songaila totaled 14 pts/10 rebs versus Mercer, 15 pts/10 rebs against East Tennessee State, and 23 pts/12 rebs versus Arkansas.
NEW HAMPTON DUO - Wake Forest's two leading frontcourt players, RAFAEL VIDAURRETA and DARIUS SONGAILA, both played at New Hampton Prep (in New Hampshire) although the two current Deacs were never teammates there. Vidaurreta spent two years at New Hampton after departing his home city of Zaragoza, Spain. Songaila's only year at New Hampton came while Vidaurreta was a freshman at Wake.
PLEASE SAY IT THIS WAY - Contrary to the notation in this year's Wake Forest Basketball media guide, freshman DARIUS SONGAILA's last name should be pronounced "son - GUY - lah". Sorry about the confusion and thanks for your cooperation. ODOM MOVING UP ACC COACHING LIST - Last Saturday's win over Florida State was the 197th at Wake Forest for Demon Deacon head coach DAVE ODOM, who now stands 12th on the ACC all-time victory list (for wins at an ACC school). Earlier this season, Odom surpassed the fabled Everett Case, who compiled 191 wins during his career at NC State.
Next on the chart are former Maryland mentor Bud Millikan (199) and NC State's Jim Valvano (209).
