Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Basketball Begins Second Half of ACC
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
WAKE FOREST (12-9 / 3-6 in ACC) at VIRGINIA (11-10 / 2-7)
February 3, 1999 -- 8:00 --University Hall
Deacs Look to Sweep Cavs
Wake Forest struggled through the first half of its ACC schedule, winning just twice in eight outings, but the Demon Deacons began the second time around the league by defeating then-#4 Maryland this past Sunday, 85-72, to snap a five-game losing skid. Wake now goes to Charlottesville seeking a second straight win and a second win this year over Virginia -- the Deacs downed the Cavs in Winston-Salem on January 2nd, 69-53.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
Career Starts No. Name Pos. Ht. Class Key Statistics (*leads team) (98-99 starters) 4 Robert O'Kelley G 6'1 So. 16.9 ppg*, 2.1 rpg, 44 asts*, 54 3pters* 0 (21) 31 Ervin Murray G 65 Fr. 3.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 75.0 FT%, 50.0 FG% 8 (8) 41 Rafael Vidaurreta C 6'8 So. 6.6 ppg, 5.9* rpg, 76.4 FT%* 37 (15) 25 Darius Songaila F 69 Fr. 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 51.8 FG%*, 25 stls* 19 (19) 42 Craig Dawson G/F 65 Fr. 7.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 40.0 3pt%*, 81.8 FT% (18-22) 2 (2)HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (10th year at Wake Forest) / Won 194, Lost 102 (13th year overall) / Won 232, Lost 144.TOP RESERVES 44 Josh Shoemaker F 6'9 So. 3.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg 32 (15) 11 Joseph Amonett G/F 6'5 Sr. 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg 19 (9) 3 Broderick Hicks G 61 Fr. 4.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg 7 (7) 34 Antwan Scott F/C 68 Fr. 4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg 0 10 Jim Fitzpatrick G 60 Jr. 1.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg 1 (1)
THE LINEUP - Wake Forest utilized its 12th different starting lineup (the one listed above) on Sunday in its win over Maryland as freshman CRAIG DAWSON started for only the second time this season. With Dawson joining ERVIN MURRAY and DARIUS SONGAILA in the opening lineup against the Terrapins, it marked only the second time this year that the Demon Deacons had employed a starting five that included three freshmen (the first time came vs Mercer when Dawson, Songaila and BRODERICK HICKS each started).
ROBERT OKELLEY - is the only Deac who has started all 21 games. He and RAFAEL VIDAURRETA, who has started nine straight contests, are the only two players to start all nine ACC dates. Songailas 20 starts on the year are second only to OKelley -- the Wake freshman standout has started every game except at VMI and at Maryland, including the last 13 in a row. Murray has started the last eight games.
THE HEAD COACH - Now in his 10th season at Wake Forest, DAVE ODOM has built the Demon Deacon program into one of the nations 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 years 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 nations #2-ranked team.
UPCOMING - Wake Forest faces a rare midseason weekend "off" this Saturday/Sunday. The Demon Deacons, who have completed the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-3 record, return to action at home against Clemson one week from tonight (9 pm / ACC network television).
Wake Forest vs Virginia
THE SERIES - Wake Forests win over Virginia in January (see below) gave the Demon Deacons nine vic-tories in their last 11 meetings with the Cavaliers and an overall 56-51 advantage in a series that began in 1911. The two schools played only six times through 1921, however, then did not meet again until renewing annual encounters as fellow ACC members when Virginia joined the newly founded conference for the 1954-55 season.
Although the Deacons have held the upper hand in recent years, most of their wins have been down-to-the-wire affairs. Seven of those nine recent victories have come by 10 points or fewer. In 23 contests over the last 10 years, 19 have been decided by single-digit outcomes, including 13 with final margins of five points or fewer.
THIS YEARS FIRST MEETING - Deacon freshmen Darius Songaila, Ervin Murray and Craig Dawson combined for 45 points in a 69-53 WFU win in Winston-Salem on January 2nd. Wake led by only three at halftime (30-27), and by a 32-29 margin with 17:40 remaining, before going on a 9-0 spurt. All nine points in that run were scored by the aforementioned rookie trio. Songaila finished with a season-high 22 points and 9 rebounds. Murray, in his first career start, contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Dawson scored 9 points off the bench. Neither team shot well (Wake 39.6%, UVa 35.9%), but the Deacons held a commanding 49-29 advantage in the rebounding department, led by Rafael Vidaurretas 11.
(A complete boxscore from that game is included in this packet.)
IN U-HALL - Wake Forest has been successful on four of its last five visits to University Hall, including a 66-60 win here in 1997. (The two schools did not play here last year, meeting instead in Richmond on 1/4/98). Wake also has claimed victories on this floor in 1993 (75-73), 1994 (63-45) and 1995 (71-70), but did see its even-tual ACC championship club in 1996 lose by a convincing 67-49 score here.
The Deacons had experienced very little success in this building, though, prior to the arrival of Dave Odom as their head coach. Wake Forest was 2-21 in U-Hall prior to Odoms first year (1989-90) at WFU. In eight trips here under his guidance, the Deacs are 5-3 on this floor.
Noting the Demon Deacons
DEACS NOT AS OFFENSIVE OFFENSIVELY - Wake Forest has struggled throughout much of the season with its offensive consistency. The Deacs 66.1 ppg average is the lowest in the ACC, and their 42.7 field goal percentage is next-to-last in the league.
Wake comes to Virginia, however, following one of its best offensive performance of the year in its 85-72 victory over Maryland on Sunday. Those 85 points were a season-high for the Demon Deacons, who shot 50% from the floor (15-30) versus the Terps in the second half in scoring 57 points.
Wake had scored just 43 points in the second half of the previous two games combined (16 vs UNC; 27 at NCState) in seeing halftime leads disappear against both of those opponents.
STREAK(S) SNAPPED - Wake Forests win over Maryland ended a five-game losing streak for the Demon Deacons, the longest at the school since head coach Dave Odoms first year (the 1989-90 season) when his first Deacon squad lost six straight games in January of 1990.
Two statistical "streaks" were also halted in that victory over the Terps. Wake had been out-rebounded in six consecutive games before claiming a 42-39 advantage over Maryland. Five straight opponents had shot the ball better from the floor than the Deacs as well, until Sunday when their 43.8% for the game was superior to Marylands season-low 35.8% effort.
FREE THROW SHOOTING BACK ON TRACK - After a subpar 15-of-25 (60%) performance at the free throw line in a loss last week at NC State, Wake Forest bounced back to form by hitting 32 of 40 foul shots (80%) in its win over Maryland. The Demon Deacons have now shot 74% (140-190) at the line over the last eight games, raising their team percentage at the charity stripe from 66.7% to 70.3% during that period.
Wake is 5th in the ACC in free throw percentage for the season, but stands 2nd in that category in league games only (72.7%).
THREE-POINT STREAK - Wake Forest has made at least one three-point field goal in 220 consecutive games. The last time that Wake did not make a three-pointer was in a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
The Demon Deacons, however, have not shot well from behind the arc in their last three games, hitting a combined 12-for-52 (23%) versus Maryland (3-14), NC State (6-20) and North Carolina (3-14).
LIMITING TURNOVERS - In their first 10 games this season, the Demon Deacons committed 171 turn-overs (17 per game). In the last 11 games, they have committed only 143 turnovers (13 per game). On Sunday against Maryland, Wake Forest lost the ball 15 times, their highest total in the last eight outings, but still quite an improvement over the first meeting with the Terrapins in College Park in December when the Deacs committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
DEFENSE HELPS, TOO - During Wake Forests recent five-game losing streak, three opponents shot better than 50% from the floor -- and the other two made over 50% of their shots during second-half comebacks. In Sundays win over Maryland, the Demon Deacons limited the Terps to 35.8% accuracy.
Thirteen opponents have shot under 44% against Wake this year -- the Deacons are 11-2 in those games.
When the opposition has shot over 44%, the Deacs are 1-7.
STARTING YOUNG - Last year Wake Forest gained notice by becoming 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 years ACC schedule.
Those freshmen are now sophomores, although one of last seasons regulars (forward NIKI ARINZE) is out for the year with a shoulder injury. They have been joined by another talented class of current freshmen. The result is that Wake Forest is again the youngest team in a quite youthful ACC, which features six teams that are dominated by freshman/sophomore starters.
North Carolina has had freshmen start 41 games this season -- Deacon freshmen have started 36 times. But when the freshman and sophomore classes are combined, Wake has had considerably more underclass starters than any other league school. (Figures compiled by the ACC Office.)
Games Started by Class
(entering this weeks games)
Starters WAKE UVA NCST UNC GAT DUKE FSU MD CLEM Frosh/Soph 95 73 70 70 67 66 26 22 3 Junior/Senior 10 37 35 45 38 44 74 88 102
COMEBACK WINS - Wake Forest has trailed in the second half of seven of its 12 wins. In four of those victories (Mercer, William & Mary, Davidson & Clemson), the Deacs were behind at halftime. The largest deficit that they have overcome in a win has been 13 points (27-14 in the first half) against Davidson.
The Demon Deacons fell behind at Florida State by 14 (30-16) in the first half, rallied to take a 56-54 lead with less than seven minutes remaining, but could not maintain that comeback.
Coach Dave Odoms 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.
OKELLY RECEIVES ACC WEEKLY HONOR Demon Deacon guard ROBERT OKELLEY was named "ACC Player of the Week" this week after leading Wake Forest to its upset of #4 Maryland. OKelley scored a career-high 32 points in that win. Earlier in the week, the Demon Deacon standout had scored 21 points in a loss at NC State. The "Player of the Week" award is the first for the Memphis sophomore. Last year he earned "ACC Rookie of the Week" honors four times on his way to being named "ACC Rookie of the Year".
AMONG THE ACC LEADERS - With his 32-point outing against Maryland, ROBERT OKELLEY moved to 5th in the ACC scoring race (at 16.9 ppg). In ACC games only, the Memphis sophomore ranks 4th (17.7 ppg) in the conference.
OKelley also is among the ACCs most productive three-point shooters, currently standing 2nd (behind only Trajan Langdon) with 54 "3s" (2.6 per game). Hes even slightly higher in league play, averaging 2.8 three-pointers per contest (also behind Langdon).
LEADING THE WAY - The Demon Deacons have had only two players lead the team in scoring in 20 of their 21 games this season. Sophomore ROBERT OKELLEY has done so 13 times (the Deacs are 9-4 in those games), while freshman DARIUS SONGAILA has been the teams top scorer seven times (with a 2-5 record). The only other individual to score the most points in a single game was freshman BRODERICK HICKS with 20 (all in the 2nd half) in a win over William & Mary.
TWO OF LEAGUE"S TOP ROOKIES - Seven freshmen in the ACC are averaging in double figures for the season, but only three active rookies (excluding UNCs Jason Capel) are scoring in double digits in ACC games only. The top two freshman scorers in conference play are here this evening in Virginias Chris Williams (15.2 ppg vs ACC opposition) and Wake Forests DARIUS SONGAILA (12.3 ppg vs the ACC).
That duo also represent the top two rookie rebounders in league play -- Williams at 6.1 rpg, Songaila at 4.7 rpg. Both are shooting well in conference competition as well (Williams 50.0%, Songaila 49.4%), while the Deacon first-year-player holds the edge at the free throw line (Songaila 73.8%, Williams 66.7%).
PLEASE SAY IT THIS WAY - Contrary to the notation in this years Wake Forest Basketball media guide, freshman DARIUS SONGAILAs last name should be pronounced "son - GUY - lah". Sorry about the con-fusion and thanks for your cooperation.
DOUBLE DIGIT DEACONS - Nine Deacons have scored in double figures at least once this season. Only two Deacs (ROBERT OKELLEY & DARIUS SONGAILA), though, are averaging more than 10 points per contest. In fact, they are the only two players scoring more than eight points per game.
OKELLEY has reached double digits in 17 games (and 11 of the last 13). SONGAILA has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEACON - The only Deacon player to record a "double-double" this season is rookie DARIUS SONGAILA, who did so three times 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. The freshman frontcourt standout narrowly missed a fourth "double-double" with a 22 pt/9 reb effort versus Virginia.
ALL IN THE FAMILY - Did you know that Wake Forest head coach DAVE ODOMs two sons, Lane and Ryan, are both involved in college basketball coach on the Division One level?
Lane is in his first season as an assistant coach at UNC Charlotte after serving previously on the coaching staffs at Alabama and East Carolina, while Ryan serves as an assistant at Furman under former Demon Deacon assistant Larry Davis.
ARINZE OUT FOR SEASON - Sophomore forward NIKI ARINZE, who started 24 games as a freshman last year, has been lost for the 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 this season.
The 65 Nashville product re-injured the shoulder on November 30th in Wake Forests win at VMI. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder on December 15th. Having played in only five regular season contests, Arinze should qualify for a medical hardship ruling and not lose a year of eligibility. Wake Forest will make that appeal following the season.
"ED K" JOINS HOOPS TEAM - Freshman ED KARGBOOKOROGIE (KARG-boh-oh-kuh-ROH-gee), an inside linebacker on the Wake Forest football team, began practicing with the basketball squad in December and is now dressing for all Deacon games. Kargbookorogie is a high school teammate of point guard Broderick Hicks at Houstons Strake Jesuit High School, where the two won a state championship last year. He also is the only true freshman to see any game action for the Demon Deacon football squad in the last two years, making nine tackles this past fall, including a sack versus Florida State.
