Wake Forest Athletics
Veteran Players Pass Baton To Downey
2/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2002
By Sam Walker
Coach Skip Prosser of Wake Forest has told his team that it all begins at the beginning. In basketball that means success begins with the point guard. Prosser also adheres to the theory that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So when Prosser started freshman Taron Downey at the point and brought senior guard Broderick Hicks off the bench on Jan. 26 against Georgia Tech, it was a controlled experiment. Prosser's hypothesis must have proven true because Downey has started the last four games, and Hicks, in Prosser's opinion, has played probably his best back-to-back games of the season in victories over Florida State and North Carolina.
It isn't often that a freshman point guard can cope successfully with the cruel world of ACC competition, but Downey has a unique situation. The 6-2 guard from Oxford, N.C., spent last year honing his skills at Fork Union Military Academy in Chatham, Va. He comes to Wake Forest a year older and with an extra year of playing experience. He also is beginning his collegiate career at a time when the Demon Deacons are a veteran team that knows well the pitfalls of playing in the ACC. Downey is learning "on the fly" and taking to heart what senior guards Broderick Hicks and Ervin Murray have passed along.
"I don't care if I'm starting or coming off the bench," Downey said. "I just want to play and whatever I can do to help the team win is what I want to do. It's just been a pleasure for me learning from Broderick and Ervin (Murray), the two point guards here. I learn from them every day."
Downey averaged 6.8 minutes over the first 12 games of the season, but has played no less than 17 minutes in any game over the last 11. He has a 22-18 assist-to-turnover ratio over the same span, and his defense has been solid. Hicks critiqued his young teammate by saying, ""He's a pain to play against, that's what I'd say about him. He has a quick first step, a quick cross-over, and I wouldn't want to be guarding him."
Prosser says he doesn't really get wrapped up in Downey's statistics but likes his demeanor on the floor. "He's steady, he doesn't turn the ball over, I think he has a good ability to score, and he's one of our best on-the-ball defenders," Prosser said. "Early on I thought he had a chance to have a big year for us, and that has proven out."
Downey's insertion into the starting lineup came about partially out of necessity and partially because of the chemistry he helps create when he's on the floor. Hicks sustained a deep thigh bruise when he was knocked out of bounds by Duke's Carlos Boozer on Jan. 19. Hicks needed some time to heal, and Downey started for the first time against Georgia Tech on Jan. 26. Then Hicks came off the bench with a 23-point outing at Florida State where he helped Wake Forest become the first ACC team to win in Tallahassee this season. Against North Carolina, Hicks teamed with Downey to dominate the point guard position with a combined 20 points. Downey had five steals against the Tar Heels. "It's working so far, and I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but if it aint broke don't fix it," Prosser said of the present situation. Downey graciously has given much credit for his success to his senior teammates. Hicks has especially made the transition easier, and they both have said that being a starter isn't as important as winning.
"It was shaky for me at first because I didn't really know what to expect, but the senior point guards really took me under their wing and showed me the ropes, and I've adapted to it well," Downey said. "He (Hicks) gives me small tips here and there, he'll tell me during games how to play off screens and how to defend certain players. Sometimes he'll talk to me during scouting stuff, and sometimes it during games."
"We both play so we're not taking minutes away from each other," Hicks said. "Our games are pretty similar, so we try to give the team a lift whenever we get in whether we start, or come off the bench in the first half or second half."
Hicks had high praise for his younger understudy. And because Hicks already went through the learning curve he can predict some of the aspects of the game with which Downey might struggle. Still, Hicks admits, as much as he wants to teach, there are some things Downey will have to learn the hard way.
"He's progressing quickly," Hicks said. "He's improving at a faster rate than I did as a freshman. He has a knack for the point guard position, and he's a great player, real quick, with a great shot so it's the little things that he has to pick up. But that's any player, and he's picking them up quickly. He's going to be a great point guard here for the next three and one half years.
"But in this league, a lot of things you have learn through experience and as you go along and as things occur then that's when you step in and say something. There hasn't been anything tough to teach him because he has a knack for picking things up."
The next step for Downey, according to Prosser is to be more aggressive offensively and to step up and take a more verbal role on the team. The skills are there, but Prosser desires a point guard who plays with passion and takes control.
"We want a point guard to be a leader, and he's still not as vocal as we'd like for him to be, and maybe that's a function of being a freshman on a team dominated by upperclassmen," Prosser said. "And that part will have to evolve to where he can be more of floor-general, quarterback type. He can score, and I don't want him to be so wrapped up in running the team and being a freshman who's starting that he forgets what he's good at and that's scoring baskets."
There's a tremendous amount of pressure on a point guard. They call the plays, call the defenses, distribute the ball and are asked to possess and protect the ball longer than any other player. That's what Prosser really means when he says it begins at the beginning. It's a language his players understand, and the responsibility a point guard must embrace.
"Coach always tells me it starts with the point guard. I'm used to running a team just by my actions, but now I have to get into a role where I have to be more vocal," Downey said. "It's been a big adjustment, but I think I'm doing alright so far."
