Wake Forest Athletics
Final Tune-Up Is Saturday At 7 p.m.
11/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 5, 2003
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Exhibition #2
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-0) vs. Athletes In Action (2-2)
Saturday, November 8
7:00 p.m.
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,665)
No TV
Tip-Off: 7:05 p.m.
Television: None
Radio: None
Records: Wake Forest is 1-0 in exhibition play after a 100-80 win over EA Sports Monday night in Winston-Salem. Athletes in Action is 2-2 heading into Thursday night's game at Southern Illinois.
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. Athletes in Action is coached by John Farwell.
SID Contacts Wake Forest assistant athletic director/media relations Dean Buchan.
Websites: Wake Forest -- WakeForestSports.com; Athletes In Action -- AIA.com
The Series: None
Officials: Announced on game day.
On Deck: Wake Forest opens the 2003-04 regular season Thursday night against Memphis at Madison Square Garden as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Athletes in Action play at California Monday night.
Final Tune-Up Is Saturday Night
Wake Forest closes out the exhibition season Saturday night in Lawrence Joel Coliseum against the Athletes in Action (7 pm/no TV).
The Deacons posted a 100-80 win over EA Sports Monday night in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest shot 59.4 percent from the floor and out-rebounded EA Sports, 50-30.
Athletes in Action will come to Winston-Salem with six games under its belt. Former college standouts' Shawn Redhage, Ryan Sears and Joe Crispin lead AIA.
Saturday's game is Wake's final tune-up before opening the regular season Thursday night in Madison Square Garden against Memphis.
Noteworthy
- Wake Forest will try to accomplish something it didn't do last season by going 2-0 in the exhibition season. Last year the Deacons split a pair of exhibitions.
- The Deacons started two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman in Monday's exhibition game.
- Wake Forest is preparing for an early start to the season. The Deacons open the regular season Nov. 13 in New York against Memphis.
- Wake will put a streak of nine consecutive season-opening wins on the line Thursday. The last time the Deacons opened the season with a loss came in 1993 at Alaska in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout. Tim Duncan was a freshman on that team.
Athletes In Action Will Play Seventh Game Saturday Against The Deacons
The Athletes in Action, a talented group of former college stars, will play the seventh game of a 14-game tour when it plays at Wake Forest Saturday night.
AIA started its tour with a lopsided victory at Mount Vernon (OH), then beat Elon by 11 points on Saturday. Athletes in Action lost Monday at Saint Louis, 68-58, despite 16 points from Shawn Redhage and a remarkable 10 steals by Ryan Sears. On Tuesday, AIA lost 81-68 at UMKC despite 15 points and 13 rebounds by Redhage.
Athletes In Action Results
10/27/03 at Mount Vernon (OH) W, 109-61 11/1/03 at Elon W, 73-62 11/3/03 at Saint Louis L, 58-68 11/4/03 at UMKC L, 68-81 11/6/03 at Southern Illinois 11/7/03 at Indiana 11/8/03 at Wake Forest 11/10/03 at California
Deacons Whip EA Sports, 100-80
Wake Forest opened the exhibition season Monday night with a 100-80 win over EA Sports at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
The Deacons posted impressive numbers in the win. Wake shot 59.4 percent from the floor, produced 14 steals and out-rebounded EA Sports, 50-30. Eleven different players scored for Wake Forest.
If there was a negative, it came in the form of 26 turnovers.
Sophomore Justin Gray led all scorers with 19 points, sophomore center Eric Williams had 14 points and six rebounds, and junior Vytas Danelius came off the bench for 14 points.
Three Captains Named
Juniors Taron Downey and Jamaal Levy and sophomore Justin Gray were named team captains Monday by head coach Skip Prosser.
With no scholarship seniors on the roster, Downey, Levy and junior Vytas Danelius bring the most experience to the team. The trio has helped the Deacons post 46 wins over the last two seasons and have played in four NCAA Tournament games.
Deacons Add Three More Walk-Ons
Wake Forest added three non-scholarship walk-ons to the roster.
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.
Deacs One Of ACC's Youngest Teams
Wake Forest may have lost just one starter from last year's 25-6 team, but youth still rules the Demon Deacons.
There are no scholarship seniors on the Wake Forest roster and the Deacons have just three juniors. Nine of the 12 scholarship players are either freshmen or sophomores.
The oldest players on the team are 22-year olds Vytas Danelius and Taron Downey.
Gray, Visser Shine In Scrimmage No. 2
Youth led the way in a closed 40-minute intra-squad scrimmage Nov. 1 in the Miller Center. Sophomore Justin Gray led all scorers with 20 points, followed by freshman center Kyle Visser, who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior Taron Downey overcame a sluggish start to make his last five field goal attempts en route to 17 points and freshman Chris Paul scored 14 points and dished out five assists.
Big E Leads The Way In First 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.
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 the first 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.
- Wake Forest will play against nine of the 50 individual preseason candidates for the John Wooden Award: Chris Duhon (Duke), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Julius Hodge (NC State), Jason Maxiell (Cincinnati), Rashad McCants (North Carolina), Brandon Mouton (Texas), J.J. Redick (Duke), James Thomas (Texas) and Bracey Wright (Indiana).
