Gold Rush: 100% Cotten
2/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2003
by Stan Cotten
Wake Forest's double overtime win over Duke the night before Valentine's Day was one that will likely not soon be forgotten by those who saw it. What impressed me most was not how hard the Deacs fought, although their grit was terrific. What left the biggest impression on me was not the fact that freshmen had a huge impact in the second overtime, but that was remarkable. What I can't shake is the unselfishness of two of the game's combatants - Josh Howard and Justin Gray.
Just before the game Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski called Howard a "beautiful player" - in Coach K's mind the best in the ACC. It had been a week full of similar comments from others about Wake's senior star. The Duke game would be a big stage - a chance for Howard to prove maybe once and for all that any vote for anyone other than Howard for Player of the Year in the ACC would be a wasted one.
A few hours prior to tip-off I sat alone with Howard in the Miller Center on the Wake campus and asked what was going on in his mind. "I just want to win," he said. He was not concerned about scoring a lot of points. He was not involved with having to produce or else. He knew this was about his team.
"I'll give it my all," Howard said. "But I know my team will have my back."
His words were prophetic. Howard got saddled with early fouls and was never able to get his motor running. He picked up his fifth foul with 4:54 remaining in regulation and was forced to sit and watch while his teammates covered his back. I could see down to my left during the Deacs' wild flurry on the way to victory Howard standing, cheering, grinning. His team had won.
Following the game Howard was not worried about his stats, which were virtually nil when you consider the many other numbers that added up to the win. He didn't sulk or worry that his performance was not what we all have come to expect. His team had won.
"Right now I'm so happy I don't know what to do," Howard admitted following the game.
And so was Gray who played for the first time since breaking his jaw Jan. 12 against Duke in Durham. He had a right to be. He finished with 18 points and had the packed Joel Coliseum in his hip pocket as it welcomed him back to Wake's lineup. But as he entered the game to a standing ovation he felt this game was not about him.
"I pulled the guys together when Josh left the game," said Gray in the postgame celebration. "I told them that we had to win this one for him because he had never beaten Duke."
Howard was thinking about his team. Gray was thinking about his senior. Wake's players' like and respect for one another might be the biggest factor in why, at press time, the Demon Deacons remained in first place in the ACC heading to back-to-back road games at Maryland and Georgia Tech.
And regardless of what happens in the race for the ACC title, this young team is learning how to win games. And grasping a clearer understanding of how to be a productive person once the ball stops bouncing.
Sleeth Sizzles
Wake Forest pitching ace Kyle Sleeth got his junior year off to hot start, winning the Deacs' opener at chilly Hooks Stadium recently with a near perfect performance against Appalachian State. Sleeth got his 21st straight win - an ACC record - going six innings, giving up just two weak base hits, striking out nine and walking none.
Sleeth went 14-0 last year in the best single season ever by a Wake hurler. He seems a cinch to go in the top few picks in the June draft and says if things go as expected, he'll skip his senior year to pursue his dream.
So get a good look at Sleeth this season - something Deac opponents have been trying in vain to do for two years.
