No. 6 Wake Forest Men's Basketball Weekly Release
12/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 23, 2000
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(6) Wake Forest (10-0)
vs.
Navy (6-4)
Dec. 29, 2000 - 7:00 p.m.
Joel Coliseum (14,407)
Winston-Salem, NC
Tip Time:
7:05 p.m.
Television:
Fox Sports Net South. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Phil Ford (color analysis) call the action. Ken Neal produces.
Radio:
The Deacon Radio Network. Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action.
The Records:
Wake Forest is 10-0 (15 consecutive victories overall) after winning at Temple, 73-65, Thursday night. Navy is 6-4 after an 85-69 road win at William and Mary Friday night.
The Rankings:
The Deacons are ranked 6th in the Associated Press poll this week (WFU's highest AP ranking since being ranked No. 5 on Feb. 24, 1997) and 6th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Navy is not ranked.
WFU Coach Dave Odom:
Odom (Guilford '65) is in his 12th season at Wake Forest with a record of 231-121. In 15 years overall, he is 269-163. Odom, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year, owns the second-most wins in WFU history and the eighth-most wins in ACC history.
Navy Coach Don DeVoe:
DeVoe (Ohio State '64) is 148-90 in nine seasons at Annapolis, 476-318 in 28 seasons overall.
The Series History:
Navy leads, 4-3.
The Officials:
Announced on game day.
Deacons Break For The Holidays, Host Navy Nov. 29
Wake Forest, undefeated and ranked sixth nationally, will take three days off (Dec. 23-25) before resuming preparations for a Nov. 29 home game against Navy (Fox Sports Net South/7:00 p.m.).
The Deacons, 10-0, are coming off a hard-fought 73-65 win against Temple Thursday night in Philadelphia. Craig Dawson (23 points), Robert O'Kelley (20) and Darius Songaila (17) combined for 60 of Wake's 73 points against the Owls. Wake held its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting (Temple shot .397) for the 17th consecutive game.
Navy, 6-4, has won two straight including an 85-69 win at William and Mary Friday night. The Midshipmen, led by senior forward Chris Williams (16.4 ppg.), has won six of their last eight games.
Wake kicks off ACC play Jan. 2 at home against Virginia.
Navy leads the all-time series, 4-3. Wake Forest has won the last two meetings including a 90-55 win in Annapolis last season.
Demon Deacon Streaks
- The Deacons own a 15-game winning streak dating back to last year's NIT title run. The streak is the school's longest since a 20-game win streak that ended in 1927. The win streak is also the second-longest current streak nationally. Only Michigan State (20 straight wins) owns a longer current streak. The Spartans play Bowling Green Dec. 27.
- Remarkably, Wake Forest has held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in 17 consecutive games. That streak almost ended Thursday when Temple shot 39.7 percent against the Deacons.
- When the national polls are released Monday, look for Wake Forest to be ranked in the Associated Press top five for the first time since being ranked fifth on Feb. 24, 1997. Wake's two wins last week, coupled with a Tennessee loss, could put the Deacs in the top five.
- The Deacons are looking to begin the season 11-0 for the first time since going 13-0 in Tim Duncan's senior year (1996-97).
- WFU owns a five-game win streak in road games, including road wins this season at Richmond, Michigan and Temple.
Wake Forest-Navy Series History
- Navy leads the all-time series, 4-3.
- Wake Forest has won the last two meetings and three out of the last four, including a 90-55 win last season (Nov. 22, 1999) in Annapolis.
- Navy won the first three meetings between the two teams including the first contest played during the 1929-30 season.
- In Winston-Salem, the series is tied, 1-1. Wake beat Navy, 67-43 in 1997-98. Navy beat the Deacons in Winston-Salem, 72-69, in 1971-72.
- WFU coach Dave Odom is 2-0 all-time versus Navy.
- Navy's Don DeVoe is 3-4 all-time against Wake Forest, including an 0-2 record while at Navy. He went 3-2 versus the Deacons from 1971-72 to 1975-76 while coaching at Virginia Tech.
- Wake Forest is 12-5 all-time against teams from the Patriot League. The Deacons have played every Patriot League member except for Army.
- Wake Forest defeated another service academy -- Air Force -- earlier this season (84-44). Navy also defeated Air Force earlier this year (64-62 in Colorado Springs).
- The Deacon football team defeated Navy back on Nov. 18.
A Look Back At Last Year's 90-55 Win At Navy
Wake Forest shot 60.3 percent from the field en route to winning at Navy, 90-55 on Nov. 22, 1999.
Robert O'Kelley went 8-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range, for 20 points to lead the Deacons. Craig Dawson came off the bench to sink 7-of-8 shots, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc, for 17 points. Darius Songaila made 7-of-10 field goal attempts on the way to 14 points.
Jehiel Lewis came off the bench to lead Navy with 15 points. Wake Forest led 46-29 at halftime.
Quick Notes About The Navy Game
- Navy is the preseason choice to win the Patriot League title this year, receiving 14 of 21 first-place votes. Senior forward Chris Williams was voted to the preseason All-Patriot League first team.
- Navy's Don DeVoe is one of three coaches Wake Forest faces this season who have taken three or more teams to the NCAA Tournament (also Jim Harrick and Gary Williams). DeVoe has guided Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Navy to the NCAA Tournament.
- Navy sophomore Demond Shepard's cousin, Lamar King, recently played against Wake as a member of the Radford team.
- Navy's Jehiel Lewis and Wake's Broderick Hicks both call Houston (TX) home.
- Former Deacon Tim Duncan and former Midshipman David Robinson are teammates with the San Antonio Spurs. Navy graduate Hank Egan is an assistant coach with the Spurs.
More From Wake's 73-65 Win Over Temple Thursday
Wake Forest hit clutch shots down the stretch to beat pesky Temple, 73-65, Thursday in Philadelphia. More from that game:
- Junior Craig Dawson came off the bench for a career-high 23 points.
- Dawson and Robert O'Kelley each had four three-point field goals.
- Junior Ervin Murray dished out a career-high nine assists to go with zero turnovers.
- Wake was out-rebounded (38-35) and allowed a season-high 65 points.
Deacons Putting Up Impressive Numbers
Through the first 10 games of the season, Wake Forest has put up numbers worthy of its No. 6 national ranking. The Deacons rank in the top 10 nationally in five different statistical categories.
- Wake Forest ranks eighth nationally and first in the ACC in field goal percentage (.517) despite shooting under 50 percent in five of its last six games.
- Meanwhile, Wake ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.358). The Deacons have held 17 straight opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
- While it's very early in the season, Wake is averaging more more than 80 points per game (80.8 ppg.) for the first time since 1990-91.
- Defensively, the Deacs rank fourth nationally in scoring defense (limiting opponents to just 55.5 points per game).
- WFU's scoring margin (+25.3) ranks 4th nationally.
- With 186 assists and just 118 turnovers, the Deacons lead the ACC in assist-turnover ratio.
- Individually, senior Josh Shoemaker leads the ACC in rebounds (10.0 rpg.) and in defensive rebounds (7.6 pg.). Shoemaker ranks 26th nationally in rebounding.
- Junior Ervin Murray leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.00) and teammate Broderick Hicks (3.44) ranks second.
- Josh Howard and Josh Shoemaker are tied for sixth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.588).
Good Shooting A Team Thing
Wake Forest's field goal percentage (.517), the best percentage in the ACC and the eighth-best field goal percentage in college basketball, is truly a team effort. Consider:
- Seven of Wake's top nine scorers are shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
- All five frontcourt players -- Josh Howard (.588), Darius Songaila (.542), Antwan Scott (.574), Josh Shoemaker (.588) and Rafael Viduarreta (.500) -- are all shooting 50 percent or better.
- Howard and Shoemaker both rank among the top six individuals in the ACC in field goal percentage with identical .588 marks.
- Craig Dawson, who leads the team with 24 three-point field goals, ranks fourth in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (.453).
Streak Continues: Deacons Hold 17 Straight Opponents To Less Than 40 Percent Shooting
The one constant in Wake Forest's 15-game winning streak has been defense. The Deacons have held their last 17 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
That streak almost ended Thursday when Temple shot 39.7 percent against the Deacons. Temple's second-half field goal percentage (.471) was the highest single-half percentage by a Wake opponent this season. The last time a team shot 40 percent or better against Wake Forest came March 2, 2000 when Virginia shot 41.9 percent from the floor against the Deacs in the regular season finale.
The last time a team shot 50 percent or better versus Wake came on Feb. 22, 2000 when Duke shot 55.4 percent in Cameron Indoor Stadium (18 straight games under 50 percent).
This season, the Deacons lead the ACC and rank sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.8 percent).
Deacons Earn Highest Ranking Since Feb. 24, 1997
Wake Forest remained at No. 6 this week in the Associated Press Poll and the Deacons gained a spot to No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The last time Wake was ranked this high came on Feb. 24, 1997 when the Deacs were ranked fifth in the AP poll. Wake has been ranked in the AP top 25 all seven weeks this season.
The latest polls demonstrate just how difficult the Wake Forest schedule is this season. Six different Deacon opponents are ranked in the Associated Press poll: (1) Duke, (9) Kansas, (14) Virginia, (15) North Carolina, (20) Maryland and (22) Cincinnati.
Three other Deacon opponents received votes for one or both major polls this week -- Georgia Tech, Georgia and Richmond.
More Poll Stuff
The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) saw Wake jump from No. 13 to No. 10 this week. Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the Index.
The Deacons are ranked No. 1 in the latest Sagarin computer poll.
The Last Time The Deacons Were Ranked As High As...
No. 1 -- none
No. 2 -- February 10, 1997 (2nd)
No. 3 -- February 10, 1997 (2nd)
No. 4 -- February 17, 1997 (4th)
No. 5 -- February 24, 1997 (5th)
No. 6 -- December 18, 2000 (6th)
Winning Streak Ties For Longest In The Modern Era
Dave Odom has had many good teams and numerous talented players. But until now, he's never had a team that has won 15 games in a row.
Wake's 15-game winning streak is a modern day Deacon record. You have to go back to 1926 and 1927 to find a longer winning streak in WFU history (20 games). Wake won its final five games of the 1925-26 season and began the 1926-27 season by winning 15 straight.
Wake's 10-0 start ties for the fifth-best start in school history and the best since the 1996-97 team started 13-0.
Howard Sparks Defense
If you listen to his head coach, Josh Howard would lead the nation in blocking shots on the perimeter -- if the NCAA tracked such a statistic. Dave Odom is only guessing, of course, but he does help illustrate the havoc that the 6-6 Howard causes away from the basket.
Howard has 15 blocked shots this season (ranking second on the team behind Antwan Scott and eighth in the ACC) and almost all of those have come near or beyond the three-point line. He's a big reason opponents are shooting just 23.7 percent from behind the arc.
Howard leads the team and ranks and ranks 10th in the ACC in steals (18).
Vidaurreta Back In Action, Deacs Near Full Strength
Wake Forest senior center Rafael Vidaurreta, who underwent knee surgery in late September, returned to action Dec. 16 against Virginia and has seen limited action in three total games before the Christmas break. Vidaurreta is averaging 8.3 minutes per game and his playing time is expected to go up steadily as the year unfolds.
As Vidaurreta's health improves, Wake Forest nears full strength for the first time this year. Ervin Murray has recovered from mononucleosis, which kept him out of practice the entire preseason.
Songaila Nine Points Shy Of 1,000
If junior Darius Songaila can score nine or more points Dec. 29 when Wake Forest hosts Navy, he will become the 39th player in school history to register 1,000 career points.
Songaila enters the Navy game with 991 career points.
O'Kelley Eyes Top 10 For Career Scoring
Senior Robert O'Kelley moved into 11th place on Wake Forest's all-time scoring list Thursday night, passing Bob Leonard (1964-66).
O'Kelley enters the Navy game with 1,639 career points, which puts him 61 points away from 1,700 points and 81 points shy of tying Rodney Rogers for the 10th-most points in Wake Forest history.
O'Kelley Gets 250th Career Three-Pointer, Ranks 9th In ACC History
Robert O'Kelley reached a personal milestone Thursday by making his 250th career 3-point field goal.
In the process, O'Kelley passed Tony Rutland (248 career treys from 1995-98) for second place on Wake Forest's all-time list and for ninth place in ACC history.
Up next for O'Kelley is catching former Florida State guard James Collins (255 three-point field goals) for eighth place on the all-time ACC list. Former Georgia Tech star Travis Best (258 treys) is within striking distance as well.
O'Kelley also ranks second at Wake for career three-point field goal attempts (691).
Dawson Also Among WFU's Most Prolific Three-Point Shooters
Junior Craig Dawson, who had eight three-point field goals in two games last week, enters the Navy game with 124 career three-point field goals, ranking sixth in WFU history. Dawson needs just four treys to pass Steven Goolsby for fifth place. Dawson also ranks sixth at Wake Forest for career three-point field goal attempts (321).
Scott, Songaila Climb Blocked Shots List Antwan Scott, who has 17 blocked shots (1.7 bspg.) this season, is climbing Wake's list of all-time shot blockers. Scott, just a junior, ranks ninth on WFU's all-time blocked shots list with 72. He needs three blocks to pass Rodney Rogers for eighth place.
Junior Darius Songaila (58 career blocks) is tied with Daryl Peterson (1975-76) for 10th place on Wake's all-time blocked shots list.
Shoemaker Leads ACC In Rebounding
When senior center Rafael Vidaurreta underwent surgery in late September, Wake Forest coach Dave Odom expected senior Josh Shoemaker to step up. Shoemaker has exceeded almost everyone's expectations.
While Shoemaker's numbers may decline slightly with the return of Rafael Vidaurreta, he is currently the only player in the ACC averaging double-figure rebounds (10.0 rebounds per game). He ranks 26th nationally in rebounding and he has five double-figure rebound games this season.
Vidaurreta, Shoemaker Moving Up Rebounds List
Senior Rafael Vidaurreta, with 654 career rebounds, ranks 15th in Wake Forest career rebounding history. He needs three boards to pass Alvis Rogers for 14th place. Vidaurreta is 46 rebounds shy of becoming the 11th player in Wake Forest history to garner 700 career rebounds.
Senior Josh Shoemaker (546 career rebounds) moved into 22nd place on Wake's all-time rebounds chart after grabbing 10 boards Thursday at Temple. He needs nine more rebounds to pass Kenny Green for 21st place.
Junior Darius Songaila (420 career rebounds) should soon become the 26th Wake Forest player to grab 500 career boards.
Senior Trio Has Combined For 313 Career Games Played
With much of his senior season remaining, only 12 players in Wake Forest history have played in more games than Robert O'Kelley (107 games played). O'Kelley ranks 13th in WFU history for games played and he should move into 11th place on Jan. 2 when the Deacs host Virginia. Josh Shoemaker is hot on O'Kelley's trail with 106 games played, tying for 14th in school history.
At Temple, Rafael Vidaurreta became the 17th player in Wake Forest history to play in 100 games.
Wake Likely To Redshirt Schoetz
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom would like to redshirt 7-0 freshman Dshamal Schoetz. Schoetz has been impressive, but could benefit greatly from a redshirt year, Odom said. The German native did not begin playing basketball until the age of 15.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Craig Dawson is the nephew of NBA standout Jerry Stackhouse. "Uncle Jerry" was in attendance at the Nov. 28 game against Michigan.
- Deacon assistant coach Barry Sanderson is the son of legendary and former Alabama coach, Wimp Sanderson.
- Dave Odom's sons -- Ryan (American) and Lane (Missouri) -- are both working as Division I assistant coaches.
- Through Friday, Wake was one of just three teams with a 10-0 record or better. The Deacs are one of just nine undefeated Division I teams overall.
- Wake Forest has won 14 consecutive November games. The last time the Deacs lost in November was a 59-48 loss to Temple in 1998.
- Wake's 29 assists in the season opener against Mount St. Mary's are the most assists in a game by an ACC team this season.
- Wake Forest's Nov. 16 season opener marked the third-earliest season opener in school history.
- The Deacons have won seven straight season openers and are now 11-1 in season openers under Dave Odom following a Nov. 16 win over Mount St. Mary's. Wake is 69-28 all-time in season openers.
Deacon Point Guards Combine For 66 Assists, 16 Turnovers
Wake Forest's predominant point guards -- juniors Broderick Hicks and Ervin Murray -- have an assist-to-turnover ratio that any coach would love.
With a combined 66 assists and just 16 turnovers between them, the duo has dished out more than four assists to go with every turnover. Murray and Hicks rank one-two in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio. Murray leads the Deacons with 35 assists and just seven turnovers. He had nine assists and zero turnovers Thursday at Temple. Hicks has 31 assists and nine turnovers.
Hicks has started all nine games and is averaging 19.0 minutes per game. Murray is averaging 17.0 minutes per game.
Senior Robert O'Kelley, the starter at big guard, and freshman A.W. Hamilton, also see action periodically at point guard.
Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Odom
Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom (Guilford '65) owns a career record of 231-121 in 12 seasons with the Deacons, 269-163 in 15 seasons overall. Odom was the head coach at East Carolina for three seasons before taking over the Deacon program in 1989-90. The three-time ACC Coach of the Year has led Wake to 10 consecutive postseason appearances. Odom has already reached a pair of milestones this season:
- On Nov. 18, Odom won his 223rd game at Wake Forest, passing Carl Tacy as the second-winningest coach in WFU history and the eighth-winningest coach in ACC history.
- Odom needs seven ACC victories this season to become just the ninth person to win 100 ACC conference games. The Latest They've Trailed The latest in a game Wake Forest has trailed this year is with 10:09 remaining in the second half of the Michigan game Nov. 28. The Deacons trailed by as much as 11 points with 15:53 remaining in that game.
Quotebook
"Darius Songaila (is) one of the most underrated players in the country. I think the world saw how good he is by the way he played in Sydney."
-- Shane Battier, Duke senior forward
"Wake Forest is a terrific team. A lot of teams might be big and strong, but these guys have skill."
-- Joe Scott, Air Force head coach
"He has that smile all the time and you wonder what's so special about the guy, he's so happy. He just draws you into all that happiness. He's crazy in his own way."
-- Darius Songaila on teammate Antwan Scott