Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Head To New York
3/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 25, 2000
WAKE FOREST (20-14) in the NIT SEMIFINALS
March 28-30, 2000 -- Madison Square Garden
Wake Forest makes its second appearance in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals after the Demon Deacons' 76-59 win over California on Friday evening in Greensboro. The Deacs also appeared in this tournament's semifinals at the Madison Square Garden in 1983.
Wake Forest will square off with Atlantic Coast Conference rival NC State on Tuesday evening, while Notre Dame and Penn State will play in the tournament's other semifinal. The winners of Tuesday's semifinals will advance to the NIT championship game on Thursday at 7:00, while the losing semifinal teams will play in a consolation game on Thursday at 5:00. Both semifinal games, as well as the championship game, will be televised nationally on ESPN.
The Demon Deacons enter this event having won six of their last seven games.
THE LINEUP - The Demon Deacons used the same starting lineup listed in 11 of the first 15 games this season (O'KELLEY, HOWARD, VIDAURRETA, ARINZE, SONGAILA) before using five different lineups over the next 10 games. Sophomore ERVIN MURRAY was inserted into the starting lineup on Feb. 15 against NC State and the Deacs have used the above listed lineup in eight of the last 10 games (all except "Senior Day" against Georgia Tech). Wake Forest has used nine different lineups this season while 11 different players have started at least one game. Center RAFAEL VIDAURRETA is the only individual to start all 34 games, and Vidaurreta and DARIUS SONGAILA started all 16 ACC contests.
In all, 12 different Deacons have started at least one game in their career while eight different players have started 10 or more games. Wake Forest used 15 different starting lineups during the 1998-99 season as twelve different players started at least one game.
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 and most consistent. The Deacs made seven consecutive NCAA appearances from 1991 through 1997, then extended their string of postseason tourneys to 10 in a row by playing in the 1998, 1999, and 2000 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.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG 4 Robert O'Kelley G 6'1 Jr. 13.1 2.031 Ervin Murray G 6'5 So. 3.2 2.041 Rafael Vidaurreta C 6'9 Jr. 4.7 6.9 5 Josh Howard F 6'6 Fr. 9.0 4.625 Darius Songaila F 6'9 So. 13.7 5.5TOP RESERVES
42 Craig Dawson G/F 6'5 So. 9.0 2.444 Josh Shoemaker F/C 6'9 Jr. 4.9 5.134 Antwan Scott F 6'8 So. 4.8 2.63 Broderick Hicks G 6'1 So. 4.0 1.410 Jim Fitzpatrick G 6'0 Sr. 0.4 0.552 Tate Decker F 6'11 Jr. 2.5 1.9HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (11th year at Wake Forest) / Won 219, Lost 121 (14th year Overall) / Won 257, Lost 163
TEN STRAIGHT POSTSEASON TRIPS - The Demon Deacons are making a tenth straight postseason appearance with their participation in the 2000 NIT. That streak of 10 straight postseason trips ranks second among ACC schools, six of which are taking part in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT this season.
Consecutive Postseason Appearances by ACC Schools
North Carolina 34 Duke 5 WAKE FOREST 10 NC State 4 Maryland 7 Virginia 1
Wake Forest vs. NC State
THE SERIES - Tonight's game is the 208th meeting between Wake Forest and NC State, although it is the first time the two schools have played in a postseason tournament (excluding the ACC Tournament, of course). The series dates back to 1911, and the two schools have met at least twice every year since then except 1915 and 1944.
NC State holds a 122-85 advantage in the series, although Wake Forest has won 16 of 23 meetings since 1990 when Dave Odom took over the Demon Deacon program. The two schools split two meetings this season, with each team winning on its homecourt.
THIS YEAR'S PREVIOUS MEETINGS -NC State took a 76-56 decision on Jan. 16 in Raleigh, thanks to an outstanding performance from Anthony Grundy who scored a career-high 30 points. With NC State leading 21-20 at the 7:57 mark in the first half, the Wolfpack closed the period on a 13-2 run to build a 12-point lead at halftime (34-22). Wake Forest shot just 36.8% from the floor for the game while NC State hit 51.3% of its field goals and connected on 31 of 37 free throws (83.8%). ROBERT O'KELLEY led the Demon Deacons with 15 points that day while DARIUS SONGAILA added 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Demon Deacons exacted revenge with a 71-53 win in Winston-Salem on Feb. 15, led by 20 points from Songaila a 14 point/12 rebound performance from JOSH HOWARD. The Demon Deacons used a swarming defense to build a 33-15 halftime lead as they held the Wolfpack to 23.1% shooting from the floor in that period. For the game, Wake Forest shot 54.0% from the floor and held NC State to just 30.5% shooting while the Deacs outrebounded the Wolfpack 41-33.
Wake Forest vs. Penn State & Notre Dame
VS PENN STATE - Penn State and Wake Forest have met on two previous occasions, and the series is knotted at one win apiece. The first meeting came On Dec. 10, 1960 when the Deacons claimed a 84-78 victory in Charlotte en route to winning their first ACC Championship later that season. The schools did not meet again until Dec. 30, 1989 (Dave Odom's first season at Wake Forest) when Penn State won 67-63 in the consolation game of the Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Tempe.
VS NOTRE DAME - Wake Forest and Notre Dame have never met in basketball.
Wake Forest in the NIT
FIFTH NIT APPEARANCE - Wake Forest is making its fifth appearance in the NIT, including appearances in this tournament in each of the last three years. The Demon Deacons have an overall 8-4 record in their NIT history. Wake Forest played in the 1983 and 1985 NIT events, experiencing both success and early round disappointment, then was absent from this postseason affair until the last three years.
In '83, the Demon Deacons won three games to advance to New York for the national semi-finals where they lost to eventual champion Fresno State. Two years later, however, the Deacs were eliminated in the first round of the '85 NIT, sustaining a loss at South Florida.
In 1998, Wake Forest and Lawrence Joel Coliseum hosted two NIT contests. In the first, Coach Dave Odom's squad defeated former Odom assistant Jerry Wainwright's UNC Wilmington team in a close contest, 56-52. In the second round, Wake's season was ended by visiting Vanderbilt in another tight, hard-played matchup, 72-68.
This year, Wake Forest has advanced to the NIT semifinals by winning at Vanderbilt in the first round, and defeating New Mexico in Winston-Salem and California in Greensboro.
Wake Forest NIT History
1983 1st Rd at Murray State W 87-80 2nd Rd at Vanderbilt W 75-68 QF South Carolina W 78-61 SF Fresno St. (@MSG) L 62-861985 1st Rd at South Florida L 66-771998 1st Rd UNC Wilmington W 56-52 2nd Rd Vanderbilt L 68-721999 1st Rd Alabama W 73-57 2nd Rd at Xavier L 76-872000 1st Rd at Vanderbilt W 83-68 2nd Rd New Mexico W 72-65 QF vs California W 76-59
Noting the Demon Deacons
IN THE GARDEN - Wake Forest owns an all-time record of 4-4 in six previous trips to the Madison Square Garden. The Deacons made their first appearance here in 1955 when they defeated Seton Hall, 71-63. Wake Forest also made appearances here in 1961 against NYU, as well as in the 1961 NCAA Tournament, the 1983 ECAC Holiday Festival, and the 1983 NIT semifinals. The Deacs made their most recent appearance here in the Coaches vs Cancer event last season, defeating Illinois in the first round before falling to Temple in the championship game.
DEACONS GET #20 - With their win over California in the NIT quarterfinals, Wake Forest reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in the last eight years. Since 1993, the Demon Deacons have averaged 22 wins per year under head coach Dave Odom.
BIG FOUR TOPS 20 - Also noteworthy in Wake Forest's win over Cal -- that victory gave each of the "Big Four" schools (Wake Forest, NC State, North Carolina and Duke) 20 wins in the same season for the first time since the Atlantic Coast Conference was formed in 1953-54.
NCAA IN JOEL & WHY WE PLAYED IN GREENSBORO - Wake Forest was forced to go on the road for the first round of the NIT, as the Demon Deacons' home floor - Joel Coliseum - was in use as a first and second round site of the NCAA East Regional. The Deacs did play a second round game in Joel Coliseum last Tuesday night, but the arena was not be available to host a quarterfinal matchup due to a concert already scheduled in Joel. Therefore, Wake Forest school officials negotiated to play Friday night's game against California in the Greensboro Coliseum.
ALL-ACC - Sophomore forward DARIUS SONGAILA was named to the third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference squad, as voted on by the ACSWA. Junior ROBERT O'KELLEY, the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year and a second-team All-ACC honoree last season, was named to the honorable mention All-ACC team.
OFFENSE GETS IN GEAR - After struggling through much of the first half of the ACC schedule, the Deacon offense has come alive in the last three weeks. Below is a breakdown of Wake's offensive production over the last 10 games against ACC opponents and in the NIT versus the first nine league games:
Wake Forest Offensive Production
ppg FG% FT% 3pt% Reb Margin1st 9 ACC 61.4 37.9% 64.8% 29.4% +1.9last 9 games 73.4 46.8% 72.1% 31.2% +5.6
SONGAILA TOPS "20" - Sophomore forward DARIUS SONGAILA scored 20 points or more in each of the final five games of the regular season. During those last five games, Songaila averaged 23.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 90.0% from the free throw line.
SONGAILA ENTERS ELITE COMPANY - With 11 points at Vanderbilt in the NIT last Tuesday, DARIUS SONGAILA became the 11th player in Wake Forest history to score 800 points by the end of his sophomore season. Guard ROBERT O'KELLEY accomplished that feat last season, too.
Deacon Sophomore Scoring Leaders
(800+ Points at End of Sophomore Year)
Dickie Hemric 1,161Rodney Rogers 1,084ROBERT O'KELLEY 1,041Randolph Childress 997Skip Brown 933Sam Ivy 903Tim Duncan 860Chris King 856Rod Griffin 830DARIUS SONGAILA 826Frank Johnson 818
SONGAILA AT THE LINE - Sophomore DARIUS SONGAILA has established himself as one of the top free throw shooters, not only in the ACC, but across the nation. Songaila currently leads the conference with a 84.8% mark at the line, and led the league with a 87.9% mark in ACC games only. Songaila has connected on 33 consecutive free throws, and over the last eight games he has converted 42 of his last 43 attempts (97.7%). The school record for consecutive free throws made is 43 by Skip Brown (set during the 1976 and 1977 seasons).
DAWSON HEATS UP - It's no coincidence that as Wake Forest has warmed up during the postseason, sophomore CRAIG DAWSON has regained his smooth shooting stroke. In five ACC Tournament and NIT games, Dawson is shooting 60.0% (27-45) from the floor and averaging 13.6 ppg. In three NIT games, Dawson is 16-of-27 (59.3%) from the floor and is averaging a team-best 14.3 ppg.
However, Dawson is doing more damage from inside the arc as opposed to lighting it up from three-point range. In five postseason games, Dawson is shooting 75.0% (21-for-28) on 2pt field goal attempts.
HOWARD IMPRESSES, TOO - Freshman JOSH HOWARD has made an impact as the only freshman on a team full of veteran players. Howard has started 32 of 34 games, an impressive feat considering that 10 other Demon Deacons had started at least one game in their career entering this season. He is currently 3rd on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg) and 4th in rebounding (4.6 rpg). In the last 13 games, however, Howard is averaging 12.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.
MURRAY AT THE POINT - Sophomore guard ERVIN MURRAY has stepped into the starting lineup at the point guard position, providing the solid defense, play-making and ball handling skills that put him into the starting lineup in 14 games in 1998-99. He has come on strong as Murray is averaging 28.3 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game over the last 12 contests.
DEACS HIT MAGIC NUMBER OF "70" - Wake Forest is 15-2 when the Deacons score 70 or more points this season. The Deacs had not topped 70 points for 12 straight games (from Dec. 29 to Feb. 8) before doing so in nine of the last 11 games. Duke is the only team to defeat Wake Forest when the Deacs score over 70 points (Feb. 22 in Durham and Mar. 11 in the ACC Tournament). Wake is just 5-12 when scoring under 70 points, including a 1-4 mark when failing to break the 60-point plateau.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL - Wake Forest has done a solid job of protecting the basketball this season, and the Deacs lead the ACC with an average of 13.6 turnovers per game. In fact, Wake Forest turned the ball over 12 times or less in nine of 16 ACC contests this season, including a season-low six turnovers in the home finale versus Georgia Tech. The Deacs are averaging just 11.0 turnovers per game in the NIT.
DEACONS BEGIN WITH "D" - Wake Forest under head coach Dave Odom has always been known for its solid defensive play, and this year is no exception. The Demon Deacons are second in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.8 points per game in all games and 68.7 ppg in ACC games only.
DEFENSE DOES THE JOB - Twenty of 34 opponents have shot under 43% from the floor against Wake Forest this year -- the Demon Deacons are 18-2 in those games. Florida State (on Feb. 5) and Duke (on Mar. 11) are the only teams to defeat Wake Forest when shooting under 43% from the floor. When the opposition has shot over 43%, the Deacs are just 2-12.
O'KELLEY CLIMBS THE CHARTS - Last season, guard ROBERT O'KELLEY became just the third player in Wake Forest history to reach the 1,000 point plateau by the end of his sophomore year (Dickie Hemric and Rodney Rogers are the others). O'Kelley currently has 1,487 points, good for 14th place on the Wake Forest all-time scoring list. O'Kelley needs 65 points to pass No. 13 Sam Ivy (1987-90).
Wake Forest Career Scoring
1. Dickie Hemric (52-55) 2,587 2. Randolph Childress (91-95) 2,208 3. Len Chappell (60-62) 2,165 4. Tim Duncan (94-97) 2,117........12. Lefty Davis (53-56) 1,59413. Sam Ivy (87-90) 1,55114. Robert O'Kelley (98- ) 1,487
O'KELLEY ENTERS ELITE COMPANY - With 15 points at North Carolina, ROBERT O'KELLEY became only the sixth junior in Wake Forest history to score 1,400 points. Below is a list of the school's all-time scoring leaders at the end of their junior season. (Of course, from the mid-50s until the 1972-73 season freshmen did not play on the varsity level.)
Deacon Junior Scoring Leaders
(1400+ Points at End of Junior Year)
Dickie Hemric (1952-55) 1,841 Rodney Rogers (1991-93) 1,720 Randolph Childress (1991-95) 1,564 ROBERT O'KELLEY (1998- ) 1,487 Skip Brown (1974-77) 1,476 Tim Duncan (1994-97) 1,472
VIDAURRETA & THE GLASS - Junior RAFAEL VIDAURRETA became the 24th member of the 500 rebound club at Wake Forest against North Carolina on Jan. 12. He is currently 15th on the Wake Forest career rebounding chart with 635 boards.
Wake Forest Career Rebounding
1. Dickie Hemric (52-55) 1,802 2. Tim Duncan (94-97) 1,570 3. Len Chappell (60-62) 1,213........13. Dave Budd (58-60) 68214. Alvis Rogers (79-83) 65615. Rafael Vidaurreta (98- ) 635
VIDAURRETA REACHES MILESTONE - With nine rebounds against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals, RAFAEL VIDAURRETA became the just the fifth WFU player to grab at least 600 rebounds by the end of his junior season. Below are the school's all-time rebounding leaders at the end of their junior season.
Deacon Junior Rebounding Leaders
(600+ Rebounds at End of Junior Year)
Dickie Hemric (1952-55) 1,287Tim Duncan (1994-97) 1,113Rodney Rogers (1991-93) 705Rod Griffin (1975-78) 656RAFAEL VIDAURRETA (1998- ) 635
ODOM CRACKS ACC'S TOP 10 - 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 in 9th place on the ACC's all-time victory list (219-121). Odom's overall record as a head coach is now 257-162 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 94 ACC victories (he's 94-78), however, are the most for any Demon Deacon coach and the 10th highest in ACC history.
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest enters the semifinals of the NIT having made at least one three-point field goal in 264 consecutive games. The last time that the Demon Deacons did not make a three-pointer was a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
TOP HALF OF ACC STREAK ENDS - Wake Forest finished in fifth place in the ACC regular season standings this season, ending a streak of seven consecutive seasons that the Demon Deacons finished in the top half of the ACC regular season standings (4th place or higher including ties).
However, Wake Forest and North Carolina are the only two schools to finish in the top five of the ACC standings in each of the last eight years. Coincidentally, the Demon Deacons and Tar Heels are the only to schools to have never played on Thursday in the ACC Tournament.
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 132-33 (80% 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 (57-22) on its homecourt since 1990. North Carolina and Duke are the only ACC visitors to post a winning record in Joel Coliseum.
Wake's record in Joel includes an outstanding 74-5 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.
ALL IN THE FAMILY - Did you know that head coach DAVE ODOM's two sons, Lane and Ryan, are both involved in coaching at the Division I level? Lane is in his second season on the staff at UNC Charlotte after previously serving on the staffs at Alabama and East Carolina, while Ryan is in his first year at UNC Asheville after a stint at Furman.
The Wake Forest Record When...
At Home 11-4On Opponent Court 6-6On Neutral Court 3-4Leading at Halftime 18-5Trailing at Halftime 2-9Leading with 10:00 Left 19-3Trailing with 10:00 Left 1-11Final Margin Fewer than 5 Pts 0-3Final Margin 5-to-9 Pts 9-5Final Margin in Double Figures 11-6WF Scores 80+ Pts 6-0WF Scores 70-79 Pts 9-2WF Scores 60-69 Pts 4-8WF Scores Under 60 Pts 1-4WF Shoots 50%+ 7-3WF Shoots Under 50% 13-11Opponent Shoots 50%+ 0-4WF Atts More FTs than Opp 15-5WF Out-Rebounds Opp 15-8Opp Out-Rebounds WF 5-6
