Deacons Host EA Sports In Monday's Exhibition
10/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 31, 2003
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Tip-Off: 7:05 p.m.
Television: None
Radio: None
Records: Wake Forest is 0-0 and will be playing the first of two exhibition games. EA Sports is 0-0 and will open its tour Sunday night at Penn State.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today preseason poll. The Associated Press poll has not been released.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy '72) is 46-19 in two seasons with the Deacons, 211-97 in 10 seasons overall. EA Sports is coached by Phil Bryant.
SID Contacts Wake Forest assistant athletic director/media relations Dean Buchan. EA Sports' headquarters are in Chatsworth, CA. Phone: 818-349-0935.
Websites: Wake Forest -- WakeForestSports.com; EA Sports -- doublepump.com
The Series: None
Officials: Announced on game day.
On Deck: Wake Forest will host Athletes in Action Saturday at 7 p.m. in an exhibition game. EA Sports plays at NC State Tuesday night.
Deacs Host Exhibition Opener
With two weeks of practice behind it, Wake Forest opens exhibition play Monday night against a talented EA Sports team in Lawrence Joel Coliseum (7 p.m./no TV).
EA Sports, which embarks on its 12-game, 15-day schedule Sunday night at Penn State, defeated Wake Forest last season. While there are several new names on the EA Sports' roster, this year's team appears just as strong as last year's squad.
Wake Forest returns nine letterwinners from last year's team that went 25-6 overall, 13-3 in the ACC. ACC Player of the Year Josh Howard is the only starter missing from that team.
Noteworthy
- A familiar face is expected to play for EA Sports Monday -- former Deacon point guard Broderick Hicks. Wake's all-time games played leader, Hicks helped the Deacs to the 2000 NIT title and was a senior starter on Skip Prosser's first WFU team in 2000-01.
- Monday night is head coach Skip Prosser's 53rd birthday.
- Wake Forest is preparing for an early start to the season. The Deacons open the regular season Nov. 13 in New York against Memphis.
- The Deacs play their final exhibition game Saturday night against Athletes in Action.
Broderick Hicks Returns To Alma Mater To Face His Old Team
Broderick Hicks, who played in more games than any player in Wake Forest history, returns to Winston-Salem Monday night as a member of the EA Sports team that will play the Demon Deacons in an exhibition game.
Hicks played in 131 career games and he also ranks ninth in the Wake Forest record books for career assists (286) and ninth in three-point field goals made (110).
The Houston native played his senior season (2001-02) under first-year Deacon head coach Skip Prosser. A member of the 2000 NIT championship team, Hicks helped Wake Forest win an NCAA Tournament game in 2002 for the first time since 1997.
Hicks shared the starting point guard duties in 2001-02 with then-freshman Taron Downey.
EA Sports Begins Hectic Schedule
EA Sports kicks off a hectic 12-game, 15-day schedule Sunday night at Penn State before playing Wake Forest Monday night at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Following Monday's game, EA Sports hits the road to play at NC State (Tuesday) and Duke (Wednesday). EA Sports also has games scheduled at Auburn, South Alabama, Florida, Maryland, James Madison, Temple, George Washington and Clemson.
Deacons Add Three More Walk-Ons
Wake Forest added three non-scholarship walk-ons to the roster this week.
Two of the newcomers -- 6-8 sophomore John Buck (Westbury, NY) and 6-6 junior Scott Benken (Cincinnati, OH) -- played on the team last year. The new face is 6-1 junior guard Scott Feather (Maryville, OH).
There are now 16 players on the Demon Deacon roster including four non-scholarship players.
Wake Debuts At #21 In ESPN Poll
Wake Forest is ranked No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today preseason poll announced Oct. 30. The Associated Press poll has not yet been released.
The Demon Deacons are in the preseason top 25 for the first time since 2000-01. Wake Forest was not ranked in last season's preseason poll but finished the season ranked eighth in the AP poll.
Connecticut is ranked No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The Deacons are one of four ACC teams in the preseason poll, joining No. 2 Duke, No. 10 North Carolina and No. 25 Maryland.
Ellis Fractures Foot At First Practice
Less than one hour into Wake Forest's first practice of the year -- Saturday, Oct. 18 -- sophomore Chris Ellis suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
Ellis, who played in all 31 games as a freshman last season, underwent successful surgery Oct. 20. Dr. David Martin, Wake's director of sports medicine, performed the surgery.
No timetable has been given for Ellis' return.
Big E Leads The Way In Scrimmage
Wake Forest fans packed into Reynolds Gymnasium Oct. 24 to catch their first glimpse of the 2003-04 Demon Deacons. The Deacs went through a 20-minute intra-squad scrimmage.
Sophomore Eric Williams led all scorers with 16 points and the 6-9 center added two rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman Todd Hendley scored 12 points, including a three-point field goal.
Sophomore Justin Gray chipped in nine points and grabbed five boards. Freshman Chris Paul dished out eight assists.
Wake Hosts Second Exhibition Saturday
Wake Forest's final tune-up comes Saturday night when the Deacons host Athletes in Action in the second and final exhibition game (7:00 p.m./no TV).
Joe Crispin, the former Penn State standout, leads a talented Athletes in Action team.
Miscellaneous
- Wake Forest's season opener Nov. 13 in Madison Square Garden will come against a team that had a head start. Memphis, Wake's opponent in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, began practice two weeks early in preparation for an October trip to Mexico.
- With Chris Ellis out with an injury, Wake Forest is left with no one who can match the strength of sophomore center Eric Williams. The 6-9, 275-pound Williams is getting his way right now in practice. In Friday's intra-squad scrimmage, 6-11 freshman Kyle Visser did his best against the big guy, but Visser committed seven personal fouls and Williams scored 16 points.
- Wake Forest is ranked between 18th and 22nd in most preseason magazines. The Deacons are ranked 18th by Blue Ribbon, 19th by Lindy's, 20th by Street & Smith's and 22nd by SLAM.
- Four former Deacons -- Tim Duncan (San Antonio), Rodney Rogers (New Jersey), Josh Howard (Dallas) and Darius Songaila (Sacramento) -- are currently on NBA rosters.
- Sophomore Trent Strickland is wearing jersey No. 33 this year after wearing No. 34 last season.
- The Wake Forest-Indiana game (Dec. 2) will be televised internationally by ESPN's family of international networks, including ESPN Dos.
- Wake Forest is 26-23 all-time against the three teams that will soon join the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Deacons are 24-20 all-time against Virginia Tech and last played the Hokies in 1999. Wake is 2-0 versus Miami with the last meeting in 1991. The Deacs are 0-3 all-time against Boston College with the last meeting coming in 1986.