Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Play At Georgia Tech Thursday Night
2/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2003
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#10 Wake Forest (17-4/7-3) at Georgia Tech (12-10/5-6)
Game #22 / February 20, 2003 Alexander Memorial Coliseum (9,191) Atlanta, GA
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Television: ESPN2. Dave O??Brien (play-by-play) and Brad Daugherty (color analysis) call the action. Michael Molinari produces.
Radio: The Deacon Radio Network, produced and distributed by ISP. Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action. Websites: WAKE FOREST (wakeforestsports.com). GEORGIA TECH (ramblinwreck.com)
The Records: WAKE FOREST is 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the ACC after a 90-67 loss at 13th-ranked Maryland on Monday. GEORGIA TECH is 12-10 and 5-6 following a 71-64 loss at Florida State on Saturday.
The Rankings: WAKE FOREST is ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll and 11th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. GEORGIA TECH is not ranked.
WFU Coach Skip Prosser: Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy ??72) is 38-17 in his second season at Wake Forest, 203-95 in 10 years overall. Prosser coached one season at Loyola (MD) and seven seasons at Xavier before coming to Wake Forest
Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt: Hewitt (St. John Fisher ??85) is 44-39 in three seasons with the Yellow Jackets, 110-66 in six seasons overall.
Series History: Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 28-25. More series information later in this release.
Trivial Note: Wake Forest owns its highest national AP ranking (10th) since Jan. 22, 2001.
The Officials: Announced on game day.
Deacons face another difficult road challenge at Georgia Tech Thursday Tenth-ranked Wake Forest, road weary after an extended trip and its worst loss of the season at 13th-ranked Maryland, travels to Georgia Tech on Thursday (7:00 p.m./ESPN2). The Yellow Jackets are a perfect 11-0 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Demon Deacons, 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the ACC, lost 90-67 at Maryland on Monday. The game was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was postponed one day because of heavy snow in the College Park area. WFU faced travel difficulties returning home and did not arrive in Winston-Salem until late Tuesday afternoon. Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard scored 20 points to lead the Deacons, who were out-rebounded for the first time all season. Georgia Tech, 12-10 and 5-6, is coming off consecutive road losses to NC State and Florida State. The Yellow Jackets lost to Florida State, 71-64, Saturday in Tallahassee despite 19 points by guard B.J. Elder. Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 28-25, including a 73-66 victory in Winston-Salem on Jan. 19. More series information later in this release. Some of Thursday??s storylines: - A Wake Forest victory Thursday could possibly return the Deacons to first place in the ACC standings (if Duke beats Maryland Wednesday night). A loss, however, would likely put the Deacons into a tie with NC State for third place. - Georgia Tech is trying to protect its perfect home record of 11-0. - Wake Forest is looking to sweep the series with Georgia Tech for just the third time in the last 20 years. Tech is looking to split the series for the 10th time in the past 13 years.
A quick look at the Deacons
Fielding one of the nation??s youngest rosters -- four freshmen, three sophomores and senior All-American candidate Josh Howard all average at least 14 minutes per game -- the Deacons have exceeded all expectations. WFU is 17-4 with three wins over nationally-ranked teams (No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 17 Maryland and No. 8 Duke). Statistically, Wake Forest??s biggest strengths have been rebounding and free throw percentage. The Deacons lead the nation in rebound margin (+11.0) and rank 12th nationally in free throw percentage (.763). Howard (18.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game), who leads the ACC in scoring, is one of college basketball??s premier players. He is a solid candidate for All-American honors as well as the Wooden, Naismith and Robertson awards. Sophomore forward Vytas Danelius (12.9 ppg. and 7.7 rpg.) ranks fifth in the ACC in rebounding and shoots 54.0 percent. Sophomore guard Taron Downey (10.4 ppg., 3.9 apg.), leads the team and ranks eighth in the ACC in assists. Back after a month lay-off is freshman guard Justin Gray (10.8 ppg.), who broke his jaw Jan. 12 and returned to action Feb. 13 by scoring 18 points in the win over Duke. Sophomore Jamaal Levy (7.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg.), who has started the last 11 games, has 31 rebounds over the last two contests. A pair of freshmen reserves -- Trent Strickland (5.6 ppg.) and Chris Ellis (3.5 ppg.) -- have been key to WFU??s success. Senior guard Steve Lepore, who is recovering from a ruptured patella tendon, missed the last two games after aggravating his knee recently. Freshman Richard Joyce is a perimeter threat off the bench.
A quick look at the Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech, 12-10 overall and 5-6 in the ACC, is a perfect 11-0 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets have home wins over Georgia, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia and Maryland. Tech has a youthful roster with no seniors among the Jackets?? top 10 scorers. Sophomore guard B.J. Elder (15.9 ppg.), who ranks among the ACC leaders with 48 three-point field goals, leads a balanced Georgia Tech attack. Freshman forward Chris Bosh (15.6 ppg and 9.5 rpg.), perhaps the leading candidate for ACC Newcomer of the Year, leads the ACC in rebounding. Junior guard Marvin Lewis (13.0 ppg.) burned Wake Forest last year in Atlanta with 25 points. Freshman point guard Jarrett Jack (9.2 ppg., 6.0 apg.) has done a solid job replacing Tony Akins. Sophomore Ed Nelson (7.9 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) had eight points and six rebounds in Saturday??s loss to Florida State. Sophomore center Luke Schenscher (4.7 ppg.) was instrumental in Tech??s win over WFU last season in Atlanta, going 7-for-7 from the field with 14 points.
More from WFU??s 90-67 loss at 13th-ranked Maryland on Monday
- The game was originally scheduled for Sunday night, but was postponed because of snow in the Baltimore/DC area. The Deacons ended up spending three nights (instead of one) in Maryland. - Wake Forest was out-rebounded (44-24) for the first time all season. In fact, prior to Monday, the Deacons had out-rebounded every opponent but one by at least six rebounds per game. - Maryland??s rebound margin (+20) was the most by an opponent in the Skip Prosser era. - The 23-point loss tied for Wake Forest??s second-worst loss ever to the Terrapins. It was also WFU??s worst loss of the season. - Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard scored 20 points for the 10th time this season and scored in double figures for the 16th consecutive game. In the process, Howard took over 15th place on the Deacons?? all-time scoring list. - Sophomore Jamaal Levy had a career-high six assists. - Wake Forest had a season-high 23 three-point field goal attempts (making seven). - The Deacons had season-lows for field goals (20), offensive rebounds (10), defensive rebounds (14) and total rebounds (24). - Maryland??s point total (90), victory margin (23), free throw percentage (.900), defensive rebounds (29) and total rebounds (44) were season-highs by a Wake Forest opponent.
A not-so-memorable trip to Maryland
Wake Forest??s trip to Maryland earlier this week was scheduled to last around 30 hours. Instead, with two feet of snow paralyzing the College Park area, the Deacons spent three nights in the Greenbelt Marriott and were away from home 76 hours and 15 minutes (but who??s counting?). Here??s what happened: - The Deacons had no problems arriving in Maryland, even though a snowstorm was on its way. - Halfway through Sunday??s shoot-around, the Deacs found out they would not be playing Maryland later that night. - After Monday morning??s workout, Wake Forest got the call at 12:30 p.m. that it would play the Terrapins at 5:00 p.m. - Following the loss to the Terps, the Deacs could not fly home because the airports were closed. - The Deacons went to the airport (Dulles) at 10 a.m., but their charter flight did not leave until 3 p.m. WFU arrived in Winston-Salem at 4:30 p.m. - Wake departed Wednesday for Atlanta at 6 p.m.
WFU-Georgia Tech series history
- Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 28-25. - The Demon Deacons have won four out of the last five meetings, including a 73-66 win on Jan. 19 in Winston-Salem and a 92-83 win in the quarterfinals of the 2002 ACC Tournament. - The two teams have split regular season meetings in three out of the last four years. The home team has won eight of the last nine. - Georgia Tech leads the series in Atlanta, 17-7, with all of those meetings coming in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. - Georgia Tech won the first meeting ever between the two teams, 64-57, back in 1949-50. Wake Forest then reeled off nine straight wins over the Jackets between 1965 and 1983. - The Yellow Jackets dominated the series from 1985 to 1991, winning 12 consecutive meetings. - WFU??s Skip Prosser is 3-1 all-time against Georgia Tech. Tech??s Paul Hewitt is 2-4 all-time against the Deacons.
Deacon-Yellow Jacket connections
- Wake Forest??s Eric Williams played against Georgia Tech??s Chris Bosh in the 2002 McDonald??s High School All-American Game. - Georgia Tech assistant director of communications, Chris Capo, previously worked in a similar position at Wake Forest. Capo has been seen frequently in Forsyth County during the past year. - Kyle Snipes, previously the basketball operations director at Wake Forest, is currently a hard-working administrative assistant in the Georgia Tech women??s basketball office. - Jeremy Noel, assistant director of communications at Georgia Tech, is a Wake Forest graduate and worked in the WFU media relations office. - Ed Ellis and Scott Sinclair, Tech??s director and assistant director of player development, previously worked in a similar capacity at Wake Forest. - John Pendergast, the public address announcer at Tech??s Alexander Memorial Coliseum and Bobby Dodd Stadium, is a Wake Forest graduate. His son, Tripp, is a student assistant in the WFU media relations office. - Bobby Moranda, the Georgia Tech pitching coach, previously worked in the same capacity at Wake Forest. - Jon Palmieri, a former Deacon baseball All-American, is a Tech assistant baseball coach.
On this date in WFU basketball history
Wake Forest is 11-5 all-time on the date of February 20th, including a record of 2-3 on the road. The Deacons haven't played on Feb. 20 since 1999 when they beat visiting Florida State, 67-65. Wake Forest and Georgia Tech met on this date in 1993 with the Yellow Jackets coming away with a 69-58 win in Winston-Salem. On Feb. 20, 1960, the Deacs beat Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, 83-64.
Statistical comparison
A statistical comparison between Wake Forest and Georgia Tech: Category Deacs Jackets Record 17-4 12-10 Conference Record 7-3 5-6 Scoring Average 80.0 75.5 Opponent Scoring Average 67.6 69.5 Scoring Margin +12.4 +6.0 Rebound Average 43.1 39.6 Opponent Rebound Average 32.1 35.7 Rebound Margin +11.0 +3.9 Field Goal Percentage 45.5% 44.8% Defensive Field Goal Percentage 39.3% 41.4% Free Throw Percentage 76.3% 66.8% Three-Point Field Goals Per Game 6.0 6.1 Three-Point Field Goal Percentage 33.3% 36.4% Assists Per Game 14.6 16.1 Turnovers Per Game 15.6 15.9 Blocked Shots Per Game 4.4 5.5 Steals Per Game 6.4 8.3
Josh Howard named one of 20 finalists for the Naismith Award
Wake Forest senior Josh Howard is one of 20 finalists for the Naismith Award, which goes to the nation??s top college player. The list of 20 candidates was released on Wednesday.
Howard featured on Fox Sunday
Wake Forest??s Josh Howard will be profiled Sunday on the Fox Sports Net pre-game show, which begins at 6:00 p.m.
Wake Forest-Duke game will be on ESPN Classic Thursday night
Demon Deacon fans will want to have their VCRs rolling Thursday night when ESPN Classic re-broadcasts last week's men's basketball game against Duke and the 1996 ACC Championship Game. The Duke game will air at 9:00 p.m. and the '96 game will re-broadcast at 3:00 p.m. (all times eastern).
#10 Deacons earn highest ranking since Jan. 22, 2001
Wake Forest jumped from 15th to 10th this week in the Associated Press poll and from 17th to 11th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The ranking came on the heels of WFU??s win over Duke last Thursday. The polls were announced an hour before WFU??s loss at Maryland on Monday. The No. 10 ranking in the AP poll is WFU??s highest since being ranked No. 9 on Jan. 22, 2001. The Deacons are in the Associated Press poll for the ninth consecutive week after making their first appearance on Dec. 23. WFU has been ranked in 23 of 32 weeks under Skip Prosser. Wake Forest is in the AP poll for the 201st time. In other polls, Wake Forest is ranked as high as 5th nationally by Fox Sports and as low as 15th in the collegerpi.com ratings. Three Wake Forest opponents are in the AP poll -- No. 8 Duke, No. 11 Marquette and No. 13 Maryland.
Deacs lead the nation in rebounding
With two of its top rebounders off of last year??s team gone via graduation, rebounding was a big concern for Skip Prosser heading into 2002-03. So, you might say it??s been a pleasant surprise that Wake Forest leads the nation in rebound margin (+11.0). More on WFU??s rebounding: - The Deacs are the only team nationally with a double-figure rebound margin. - The Deacons have out-rebounded every opponent but one (Maryland) this season. - WFU??s largest rebound margin in the last 10 seasons was +6.2 in 1997 -- Tim Duncan??s senior year. - The Deacs aren??t exactly a group of giants with no starter taller than 6-9 and their leading rebounder standing 6-6. It helps that 6-2 guard Taron Downey averages 3.5 rebounds per contest. - Three of the ACC??s top eight rebounders are Deacons -- Josh Howard (8.0/3rd) and Vytas Danelius (7.7/5th) and Jamaal Levy (6.3/8th). - Howard, Danelius, Eric Williams and Jamaal Levy all rank in the ACC??s top nine in offensive rebounds. - In ACC games, sophomore Jamaal Levy (7.1 rpg.) ranks sixth in the league in rebounding.
Wake Forest sizzling from the line
Wake Forest leads the ACC and ranks 12th nationally in free throw percentage (.763): - The Deacons are attempting to finish first in the ACC in free throw percentage for the first time since 1994-95. - WFU??s free throw percentage is the fourth-highest in school history and the highest since 1994-95. - Wake Forest has a history of good free throw shooting. The Deacons led the nation in 1954 and 1955 and former Deac Dickie Hemric is the NCAA all-time leader in free throws made and attempted. - Three of WFU??s top four scorers are all shooting at least 82 percent from the line and all rank among the top seven in the ACC -- Taron Downey (2nd/.878), Josh Howard (6th/.842) and Vytas Danelius (7th/.824). - Downey, who has made 28 of his last 30 free throw attempts, would have the second-highest single-season free throw percentage in school history if the season ended today.
Highest Season FT Percentage/WFU History
1. Charlie Davis 88.2 1969 2. Taron Downey 87.8 2003 3. Jackie Murdock 87.5 1957 Charlie Davis 87.5 1970 5. Skip Brown 87.4 1976 6. Paul Long 86.9 1966
WFU among nation??s top-scoring clubs
- Skip Prosser has made the Deacons one of the nation??s highest-scoring teams. WFU ranks 17th nationally in scoring offense (80.0 ppg.). Last year, the Deacons finished eighth nationally in scoring. - Since Prosser??s arrival, WFU has scored 100 points or more four times. Before his arrival, the Deacons reached 100 points just once in the eight previous seasons. - The Deacons rank third in the ACC and 15th nationally in scoring margin (+12.4). - The Deacons have played just one game this year decided by five points or less. - WFU??s scoring margin is the highest in school history. The school record for scoring margin is +12.2 in 1980-81. The Deacons have led the ACC in scoring margin just once -- in 1995-96.
Howard ranked No. 4 in Fox Sports?? Wooden Award rankings
Close to home, senior Josh Howard has emerged as a leading candidate for ACC Player of the Year honors. On the national level, Howard is emerging as a strong candidate for All-American honors. Howard is Wake??s first legitimate All-America candidate since Tim Duncan in 1997 and he is a candidate for the Wooden, Naismith and Robertson awards, all of which go to the nation??s top players. In the latest unofficial rankings for the Wooden Award, Fox Sports rates Howard No. 4 behind David West (Xavier), Nick Collison (Kansas) and Dwayne Wade (Marquette).
Prosser has Deacons in second after being tabbed to finish sixth
Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser is starting to be mentioned as a strong candidate for coach of the year honors. After being picked to finish sixth in the ACC race, Prosser has the Deacons in second. Prosser recently earned his 200th career victory, Jan. 28 at Clemson. Prosser, 203-95 in his 10th season of coaching, won his 200th game quicker than all but seven active Division I coaches. He is one of just two current ACC coaches -- joining Virginia??s Pete Gillen -- to win 200 games or more in his first 10 seasons as a Division I head coach. More on Prosser: - Prosser??s career winning percentage (.681) ranks 20th among all active Division I coaches. - Last season he became just the fourth coach in ACC history to win nine games in his rookie year. - He is one ACC win shy of becoming the 10th coach to win 17 league games in his first two years. - Last season Prosser won more games than any first-year Deacon head coach since 1927. - In two seasons at Wake Forest, Prosser has compiled a record of 38-17. - He will coach in his 300th career game Sunday.
"He's the best player in our league. He's a beautiful player to watch on both ends of the court. Everyone talks about his offense, but he'll guard whoever is hot on the other team. He's a great college-basketball player and hopefully he will get the recognition nationally that he deserves." n Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
Versatile Josh Howard vying to become WFU??s 11th All-American
Senior Josh Howard, who missed much of preseason drills because of severe shin splints, is a strong candidate to become the 11th player in Wake Forest history to earn All-American honors and the first since Tim Duncan in 1997. Howard is a candidate for the John R. Wooden and Naismith awards and Oscar Robertson trophy, all of which go to the nation??s top player. Without question, Howard is one of the most versatile players in college basketball. The ACC posts 12 individual statistics. He ranks in the top 12 in nine of them. Consider what Howard has achieved in 2002-03: - Over his last five games, Howard has averaged 21.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while posting three double-doubles. - Despite being plagued with shin splints, Howard averages 31.3 minutes per game. - He has been named ACC Player of the Week three times this season (Dec. 9, Jan. 20 and Feb. 3). - He was named national player of the week Jan. 20 by both ESPN.com and Foxsports.com and by Dick Vitale on Feb. 3. Howard was named the Paine-Webber Senior Athlete of the Week Feb. 9. - Howard leads the ACC in scoring overall (18.9 ppg.) and in conference games (21.4 ppg.) - Howard scored 31 points in the Dec. 4 win at nationally-ranked Wisconsin. He erupted for a career-high 32 points in the win at North Carolina. - Versus Georgia Tech Jan. 19, Howard had 30 points and a career-high five blocked shots. - He has eight double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the ACC. - At 6-6, he is one of the best rebounders in the country. He ranks third in the ACC in rebounding (8.0 rpg.) and in ACC games (8.2 rpg.). - Howard has been especially impressive on the offensive boards, where he ranks second in the ACC overall and he leads the league in conference games with 3.20 per game. - He??s got a good chance of being named the ACC??s top defensive player. Howard ranks third in the ACC in steals (2.10), third in blocks (1.62) and he is often asked to defend the opponent??s top scorer, ranging from point guards to power forwards. - He has 36 three-pointers, compared to 26 three-point field goals he made all of last season and he shoots a solid 38.3 percent from behind the arc. - He ranks sixth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.842) and seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage (.465). - Howard seems to play his best on the road, where he averages 21.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocked shots per game.
Howard closing in on very elite company in the ACC
Senior Josh Howard will leave his name etched throughout the Wake Forest record books: - Only three players in ACC history -- Duke??s Shane Battier, Christian Laettner and Grant Hill -- accumulated 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks. Howard is five steals away from joining that group (see chart at top of page). - Howard (1,555 points) ranks 15th in Wake Forest career scoring history after passing former Deacon Sam Ivy on Monday. - Howard (747 rebounds) ranks 10th in WFU career rebounding history. He needs three boards to reach 750 for his career and five boards to pass Jack Williams for ninth place in WFU history. - Howard leads the team that leads the nation in rebounding. - With 129 career blocked shots, he ranks sixth all-time in the WFU record books. - He is on pace to become the 10th player in school history to make 100 career three-point field goals. He has 92 currently. - Howard??s 195 career steals ties for third in WFU history with Skip Brown. He needs three steals to take over 25th place in ACC history and five pilfers to reach 200 for his career. - Howard (20 career double-doubles) ranks sixth in WFU history for career double-doubles. - Howard has played in 117 career games. - With 109 games started, Howard is fourth in Wake Forest history behind only Tim Duncan, Darius Songaila and Frank Johnson.
Just one other in college basketball matches Howard??s statistics
Some players score more, others rebound more and yet others dish out more assists than Josh Howard. However, just one other player in college basketball -- Virginia Tech??s Bryant Mathews -- comes close to Howard??s overall statistics. Howard and Mathews are the only players in Division I averaging at least 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot per game.
Wake getting it done with defense
Wake Forest is holding opponents to just 39.3 percent shooting. That ranks the Deacons 13th nationally in field goal percentage defense. The Deacons have held six of their last seven opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. Only one opponent (Virginia, .508) has shot better than 50 percent against Wake Forest this season. WFU??s field goal percentage defense is its lowest since the 1996-97 season.
Deacons in middle of most difficult stretch in the schedule
March may seem easy compared to February for Wake Forest. The Deacons are closing out a four-game February stretch that is as difficult as they come. The Deacons enter Thursday??s game at Georgia Tech having played three consecutive nationally-ranked opponents -- #15 Marquette, #8 Duke and #13 Maryland. While the streak of rank foes ends Thursday, the Deacons will attempt to do something no other team has done this season -- beat Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets are 11-0 at home this season.
Deacs have played six ranked foes
- Wake Forest is 3-3 this season against nationally-ranked teams including victories at No. 23 Wisconsin and at home against No. 17 Maryland and No. 8 Duke. The Deacons lost at No. 1 Duke on Jan. 12, at No. 15 Marquette on Feb. 9 and at No. 13 Maryland on Feb. 17. - The win at Wisconsin was WFU??s first victory against a ranked team on the road since 1998-99. The Deacons are attempting to beat more than one ranked team on the road for the first time since 1996-97. - The Deacons have already tied last year??s total of three wins against ranked teams. WFU went 3-10 last season versus ranked clubs. The last time Wake Forest beat more than three ranked clubs in one season came in 1996-97 when it went 6-4 against ranked teams.
WFU Wins Vs. Ranked Teams - Last 3 Seasons Feb. 13, 2003 vs. #8 Duke W, 94-80 (2ot) Jan. 15, 2003 vs. #17 Maryland W, 81-72 Dec. 4, 2002 at #23 Wisconsin W, 90-80 Feb. 17, 2002 vs. #15 Virginia W, 92-70 Dec. 19, 2001 vs. #19 Marquette W, 65-59 Nov. 21, 2001 vs. #23 Fresno State W, 62-61 Jan. 2, 2001 vs. #8 Virginia W, 96-73 Dec. 7, 2000 vs. #3 Kansas W, 84-53
Deacons chasing first ACC regular season crown since 1995
Wake Forest is attempting to finish first in the ACC standings for the first time since 1995. That season, the Deacons were one of four teams who shared the regular season crown with identical 12-4 records. The Demon Deacons have not won the regular season title outright since 1962. That Wake Forest team finished 12-2, won the ACC Tournament and earned the school??s only Final Four berth. Wake is the only team to finish fifth or higher in the league standings each of the past 10 years. The Deacons are currently 7-3 and in second place in the ACC standings.
Deacons 4-4 on the road this season
Road wins in the ACC have been rare this season. The visiting team has won just 11 of 50 games (.220) in league play. Four of the league??s nine teams are undefeated on their homecourt. Wake Forest is one of just three ACC teams that own more than one league road win. In all games, Wake Forest is 4-4 on the road as the Deacs are trying to earn a winning road record for the first time since going 10-2 in 1996-97.
On The Road Overall Pct. ACC Pct. Clemson 2-5 .286 1-4 .200 Duke 2-4 .333 2-4 .333 Florida State 1-6 .143 0-6 .000 Georgia Tech 0-9 .000 0-6 .000 Maryland 3-2 .600 3-2 .600 NC State 1-6 .143 1-4 .200 North Carolina 2-6 .200 1-5 .167 Wake Forest 4-4 .500 2-3 .400 Virginia 2-7 .222 1-5 .167
Consecutive home streak now at 14
Wake Forest has won 14 consecutive home games dating back to last season -- the second-longest homecourt streak in school history. The last time the Deacons lost in Lawrence Joel Coliseum was against third-ranked Duke on Feb. 21, 2002. WFU??s streak ties for the 10th-longest nationally. The Deacs are 13-0 at home this season. WFU has three remaining home games -- Virginia (Sunday), Clemson (March 1) and North Carolina (March 5). The Deacons haven??t finished a season unbeaten at home since 1995-96.
Deacon trends, streaks & notes - Wake Forest is trying to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since Feb. 24-27, 2002. - The Deacons?? five-game ACC winning streak -- their longest since starting the 1996-97 season 5-0 -- came to an end at Maryland on Monday. - Wake Forest??s 7-3 ACC record is identical to the Deacons?? record through 10 games last season. - The Deacons have not blown a lead this season when leading with 10 minutes remaining. WFU is 15-0 when leading at the 10:00 mark. WFU is 17-0 this season when leading with 5:00 remaining. - Wake is undefeated (16-0) when it shoots a higher field goal percentage than its opponent. - WFU is 5-0 when it shoots at least 40 percent from three-point range. - Wake Forest is undefeated (11-0) when it scores at least 76 points - For a team that leads the nation in rebounding, the Deacons aren??t great at jump balls. Wake Forest has won the opening tip just six times in 22 attempts. - An ACC player has scored 30-plus points in a game nine times this season. Three have been by Josh Howard. - WFU has secured a winning season for the 13th consecutive year.
Gray??s return a big boost for Deacons
Freshman Justin Gray, who suffered a fractured jaw Jan. 12 at Duke and underwent surgery the next day, sat out for exactly one month before making a dramatic return Feb. 13. Wearing a protective mask and not expected to see many minutes, Gray scored 18 points and played 29 minutes in WFU??s 94-80 double-overtime win against 8th-ranked Duke. From Jan. 13-Feb. 6, Gray??s mouth was wired shut. His diet of up to 10 milkshakes per day could not prevent him from losing 19 pounds (he has gained most of the weight back). He took part in just two practice sessions prior to the Feb. 13 Duke game. Prior to getting his jaw un-wired, Gray spent two weeks doing individual workouts, including limited running and shooting drills with assistant coach Dino Gaudio.
Danelius relishing blue-collar role
Sophomore forward Vytas Danelius isn??t flashy and he rarely makes SportsCenter highlights on ESPN. But the 6-8 Lithuanian is a big reason that Wake Forest is currently 17-4. Consider: - Over his last two games, Danelius averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. - He ranks second on the team and fifth in the ACC in rebounding (7.7 rpg.). Danelius ranks fourth in the league in offensive rebounds and fourth in defensive rebounds. - He is shooting a team-best 54.0 percent from the field for the season. - Danelius ranks seventh in the ACC in free throw percentage (.824). - Danelius has added three-point shooting to his game, making him more difficult to defend. Last season he was 0-for-3 from three-point range. This year he is 13-of-27 (.481) from behind the arc.
Sophomore Taron Downey emerges as a vocal leader for the Deacons
With five seniors gone off of last year??s team, sophomore guard Taron Downey has taken over the role as a vocal leader. That??s a big change for a player who rarely talked last season as a rookie. And Downey is letting his play do his talking as well. - He has scored in double figures in three out of his last four games. - With Justin Gray??s one-month absence, Downey became an ironman of sorts. He played all 40 minutes in the Jan. 26 win over Florida State -- the first time since Tim Duncan in 1997 that a Deacon has played every minute of a game. He played 42 minutes in the Feb. 13 double-overtime win over Duke. He leads the team in minutes played (34.0). - He ranks second in the ACC in free throw percentage (.878) and has converted 28 of his last 30 attempts. If the season ended today, Downey would have the second-highest single-season free throw percentage in WFU history. - Downey ranks eighth in the ACC in assists, ninth in assist/turnover ratio and 15th in three-point field goals made. - He ranks second on the team in three-point field goals made (31). He has 13 three-point field goals over his last seven games.
Panamania: Levy one of Wake Forest??s hottest players
Sophomore Jamaal Levy is a long way from his home in Central America, but he??s close to becoming a star in the ACC. Levy moved into the starting lineup Jan. 12 at Duke after Justin Gray was late earlier in the week for a team meeting. Since then, Levy has been one of the Deacons?? hottest and most consistent players: - He has three career double-doubles and they have all come since Jan. 15. - Over his last five games, Levy has averaged 11.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game. - In ACC games, he is shooting 50.7 percent. - He has three times as many blocked shots this season (18) than he had all of last season (6). - In ACC games, Levy ranks sixth in the league in rebounding (7.1 rpg.) and third in offensive rebounds (2.90).
JAMAAL LEVY 1st 10 Games Last 11 Games Minutes Per Game 18.1 34.6 Points Per Game 5.1 9.6 Rebounds Per Game 4.9 7.5 Blocks Per Game 0.5 1.2 Steals Per Game 0.6 1.0
Baby Deacs making a huge impact
Time will tell, but the Wake Forest five-man freshman class has a chance to be one of the top overall groups in school history. Combined, the freshman class averages 31.7 points per game, making it the fifth-highest-scoring group in school history (see box at top of page). The ??Baby Deacs?? have shown great poise this season, winning on the road four times and beating three nationally-ranked teams. Center Eric Williams, Wake??s first McDonald??s All-American since Loren Woods, and point guard Justin Gray, are both starters (until Gray??s recent injury). Swingman Trent Strickland and Chris Ellis are key parts of the rotation. And guard Richard Joyce has shown glimpses of his outstanding potential. Next year??s Deacon team will be even younger. There is just one scholarship junior on this year??s roster and four freshmen come on board in 2003-04.
Lepore??s knee acting up again
Senior Steve Lepore aggravated his knee Feb. 9 at Marquette and has missed the last two games. Lepore, who suffered a ruptured patella tendon last March in the ACC Tournament, sat out the Feb. 13 Duke game and is questionable for Thursday??s game at Georgia Tech.
Miscellaneous notes
- Paul Cluxton of Northern Kentucky holds the NCAA record (all divisions) for consecutive free throws made with 94 in 1996-97. Who is Paul Cluxton? He is the brother-in-law of Wake Forest director of basketball operations Pat Kelsey. - When freshman Eric Williams came to campus last summer, he reported in at 320 pounds. Now, the 6-9 center is a svelte 270 pounds. - Williams?? hobby is drawing cartoons. Some of his work is expected to be published soon in the Raleigh News & Observer. - Following the events of Sept. 11, Josh Howard changed his major. His major now is sociology with an emphasis on religion.
