Wake Forest Athletics
Joseph Amonett is Having Quite a Year
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 6, 1999
This is shaping up to be the best year of Joseph Amonett's life. And if you don't believe it, just ask him.
The 6-foot-5 senior got a head start on the school year by marrying his high school sweetheart over the summer. He's on schedule to graduate on time in May. And on the court, he has exhibited the maturity and leadership that should be expected from a married senior ballplayer. Dave Odom said at Christmas that Amonett was probably playing better than anyone else on the Deacon roster.
"It's been wonderful," Amonett said. "Overall, it's been a great year for me. Hopefully, we'll keep winning games, and it will just get better."
A year ago, Amonett's basketball future didn't look nearly as bright as it does now. On a team blessed with an abundance of guard depth, he saw himself as a streak shooter who needed to keep firing. When the shots didn't fall, he warmed the bench often.
But circumstances can change with the calendar. Three of those guards he had been competing with graduated, and he soon found himself in something of a position of authority - two years older than anyone else on the young Wake Forest squad.
He has made the most of it. By helping to keep his teammates in check and contributing, he learned a lot about himself.
"I've been here for four years," Amonett said. "I came here because I liked coach Odom's system. That hasn't changed, and as I've gotten older, I know it better than anybody.
"I try to help in practice, pass along the stuff that I've been through. It always helps the younger players, because you don't always understand what the coach is saying. It made me listen more, and I understood a lot more things."
Odom had always told Amonett that doing the little things well was more important than making shots. This season, Amonett has listened and taken that advice to heart.
It has shown in his statistics a little bit. He's doubled his scoring average to 4.5 points a game through the New Year, but a lot of that has just been a result of playing time. The ACC doesn't keep a statistic for floor burns, but Amonett would certainly have the market cornered on that stat. His hustle has kept the Deacs in many a game this season.
"He's playing maybe as well as anybody on our team right now," Odom said. "His first three years, he always felt like 'if I don't make my shot, I'm not helping.' Now, he's learned to do other things for us, and it's made him a better player.
"He's posting up, he's going on the floor for the basketball, and he knows exactly what's going on or what should be going on. He's able to keep everybody's spirit and energy up."
Amonett has become a better leader this year because the team responds better to his personality. Last year's more businesslike approach has given way to a youthful enthusiasm that infects the entire roster. Amonett has learned, from watching his own development over the years, how to channel that enthusiasm into success on the court.
"This is an excited group," Amonett said. "Some of the younger guys haven't really experienced the ACC, so it's hard to really know the little things that need to be done to win in the ACC. That's what I try to get them focused on - getting excited about learning to win in the league."
Sophomore guard Robert O'Kelley has appreciated Amonett's tutoring.
"We all know that he's been through it," O'Kelley said. "During the game and off the court, he tells us things that really help us."
Besides leadership, Amonett worked hard this summer on his quickness and his ever-improving shooting touch.
"I was about 15 pounds heavier last year than I am this year," Amonett said. "I put on too much weight last season. Taking that off has helped my defensive footwork. Also, coach (Ernie) Nestor had me add some arch to my shot, which is working out well right now."
Indeed, Amonett always seems to come through when he is needed. The Deacs had a problem with slow starts early in the season, so Amonett started customarily taking the first shot of the game and usually making it.
"He certainly hits some timely shots for us," Odom said. "It's really helped us out."
As the team came off Christmas break and prepared for the wars of the ACC, Amonett knew better than anyone what hills the team had to climb. The drop in the number of healthy players on the roster hasn't helped matters, but Amonett's confidence for a solid finish to his college career remains high.
"Of any year since I've been here, this one has had the most uncertainty," Amonett said. "We've won all the games we were supposed to. With all the injuries and all the freshmen, it's been tough, but we'll get together by January. We should be a solid club, and once we get the chemistry, we can surprise some teams this year."
By Jay Reddick
