Wake Forest Basketball Notebook
10/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 30, 2004
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Senior Class Is A Diverse Group
Wake Forest's three seniors hail from three different continents. Vytas Danelius (Lithuania), Jamaal Levy (Panama) and Taron Downey (Oxford, NC) for a diverse trio that probably doesn't receive the recognition it deserves. All three were recruited by then-coach Dave Odom, and re-recruited by current head coach Skip Prosser. Danelius, Downey and Levy have combined to play in 278 games. Wake Forest has won 67 games during their careers. Only Danelius, a second team All-ACC selection in 2003, has earned all-league honors. That could change this year. After an injury-plagued junior season, Danelius appears ready for his best year yet. Levy is one of the top defensive players in college basketball and one of the ACC's leading returning rebounders. Downey ranks among Wake's all-time leaders in assists and three-point field goals.
Sibling Rivalry Highlights First Exhibition
Wake Forest will play the first of two exhibition games Thursday night (7 pm) at Lawrence Joel Coliseum against Division II USC-Upstate. Thursday's game will include a match-up of the Paul brothers -- Wake Forest's Chris and USC-Upstate's C.J. Chris Paul is a sophomore for the Deacons. C.J. Paul is a senior guard on the USC-U squad. The Paul's grew up 10 minutes from the Wake Forest campus in Lewisville, NC.
Coach Payne Returns Home
USC-Upstate is coached by Eddie Payne, who played for Wake Forest from 1971-73. Payne was a guard on Deacon teams coached by Jack McCloskey (1971 and 1972) and Carl Tacy (1973).
Twin City Shootout Luncheon Is Thursday
Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State join forces Thursday (Nov. 4) for the Twin City Shootout Luncheon at the Benton Convention Center in downtown Winston-Salem. Officials from both schools, including Demon Deacon head coach Skip Prosser and Ram coach Philip Stitt, will be on hand. The luncheon, scheduled for 12-1:30 p.m., will also honor former Winston-Salem State coach, legendary Clarence "Big House" Gaines. The Twin City Shootout - the first game ever between the two Winston-Salem universities - is scheduled for Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The contest between the Division I Deacons and Division II Rams will be an exhibition game. "I have a great deal of respect for Coach Stitt and the Winston-Salem State program," Prosser said. "We know that their players will be well-coached and very enthused for this game. Because the two schools are located in the same city, it brings a little rivalry aspect to the game, making it more meaningful." Tickets for the luncheon are $10 and tables of 10 are $100. Tickets will be sold at the door, but call (336) 777-3787 (x 1924) to reserve a space. Tickets for the game can be purchased by calling (336) 758-DEAC.
Veterans Shine In Black/Gold Game
Senior forward Vytas Danelius scored a game-high 12 points to lead the Gold past the Black, 45-26, in the 20-minute Oct. 23 Black/Gold Game at Joel Coliseum. A crowd of 5,500 was on hand to watch Wake's first public scrimmage of the season. Sophomore All-American candidate Chris Paul did not play because of a strained groin. Junior Richard Joyce scored 11 points and senior Taron Downey 10 points for the Gold. Junior Trent Strickland led the Black with 11 points.
Stanley Steaming Right Along
Cameron Stanley, the only freshman on the Demon Deacon roster, is recovering from a torn ACL just fine. Stanley suffered the injury last December in the seventh game of his senior year at Raleigh Millbrook High School. He was cleared to participate in practice just before drills began Oct. 16. Stanley has participated in drills with no problems so far.
New Floor, New Uniforms
Lawrence Joel Coliseum, the home of Demon Deacon basketball, has a new playing floor this season. The new floor replaces the original surface, which had been in place since the facility opened in 1989. Also new this year are the Wake Forest uniforms. The Deacons will sport new Nike Elite uniforms with versions in white, gold and black.
Deacons No. 2 In Coaches Preseason Poll
Wake Forest debuted at No. 2 -- its highest preseason ranking ever -- in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll released October 28. The Deacons received the most first-place votes (12), but trailed No. 1 Kansas for total points. North Carolina is No. 3 in the poll, followed by Georgia Tech, giving the ACC three of the top four teams in the nation. Illinois, which will host Wake Forest Dec. 1, is fifth. Other Wake Forest opponents in the top 25 include (12) Duke, (15) Texas, (16) Maryland and (19) NC State. Deacon opponents Cincinnati and Florida State received votes for the poll.
Could This Be The Year?
Wake Forest has been ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll 10 times, but the Deacons have never claimed the No. 1 spot. The AP poll is scheduled for release on Monday. Teams that have been ranked No. 2 the most often without ever being ranked No. 1: School Weeks at No. 2 Maryland 23 Louisville 16 Wake Forest 10 Purdue 10 Dayton 8 St. Bonaventure 7 Pittsburgh 6 St. Joseph's 5 UTEP 4 Auburn 3 Florida State 3 California 3 Minnesota 3
Experimental Rules In Play
Wake Forest and its opponent will be using experimental rules in both exhibition games and every game throughout the Preseason NIT. There will be three experimental rules in place: - Moving the three-point line nine inches behind the current three-point line to create a distance of 20 feet, six inches. - Widening the free-throw lane by 1 1/2 feet on each side. - Placing a restricted area arc which is two feet from the center of the basket ring.
The First And The Last
Wake Forest will play the first game this season involving an ACC school -- Nov. 15 vs. George Washington -- and in the last game of the ACC regular season -- March 6 at 8 p.m. at NC State.
The Preseason Hoopla
Wake Forest had its share of preseason hype: - ESPN.com -- chose Wake Forest No. 1 in its preseason poll. - Blue Ribbon Yearbook -- picked Wake No. 1 in the preseason. - Lindy's -- ranked WFU No. 2 in its preseason poll. - Athlon -- selected Wake Forest as a Final Four team. - Slam -- ranked the Deacons No. 3 in the preseason. - ACC Handbook -- ranked Wake No. 4 nationally. - Chris Paul will be on the cover of early November editions of ESPN The Magazine and The Sporting News.
Brutal Schedule
Notes on the 2004-05 Demon Deacon schedule: - Eleven of Wake's regular season games come against teams that were ranked in the final 2004 Associated Press top 25: (13) Illinois, (12) Texas, (19) Maryland, (18) North Carolina, (11) Cincinnati and two games against (6) Duke, (14) Georgia Tech and (15) NC State. - Wake Forest will play at least nine different teams that participated in the 2004 NCAA Tournament for a total of 12 games: Illinois, Richmond, Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, Cincinnati, and two games against Duke, Georgia Tech and NC State. That number could go up if the Deacons advance in the Preseason NIT to face VCU and others. - Four other Deacon opponents -- George Washington, Temple, Florida State and Virginia -- played in the 2004 Postseason NIT for a total of 13 different opponents to participate in postseason action last season. - Four of Wake Forest's final 12 regular season games come against two 2004 Final Four teams -- Duke and Georgia Tech.
A New Era In The ACC
Miami and Virginia Tech join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004-05, giving the league 11 teams. The regular season ACC schedule will still consist of 16 games. The Deacons are 2-0 all-time against Miami with the last meeting coming in 1990-91. Wake Forest is 24-20 all-time against Virginia Tech with the last meeting coming in 1998-99.
Deacons Enter Season With Streaks
Wake Forest enters the 2004-05 season with a handful of streaks: - 14 consecutive postseason appearances -- the longest current streak in the ACC. - Four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. - 33 consecutive weeks ranked in the Associated Press poll. - Three consecutive 20-win seasons. - Three straight NCAA Tournament first-round wins.
Closing In On A Grand
Seniors Taron Downey (791 career points), Vytas Danelius (754) and Jamaal Levy (623) are all within reach of 1,000 career points. But a junior -- Justin Gray (818 points) -- may beat them to the punch. With 41 1,000-point scorers in its history, Wake Forest ranks ninth among all Division I schools.
Bringing Home The Gold
Junior Justin Gray and sophomore Chris Paul were two of 12 college all-stars who led the United States to a gold medal this summer at the World U-20 Championship Qualifying Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The two Deacons started every game and helped the USA to a perfect 5-0 record. If not for a case of extreme dehydration, which sent Wake's Eric Williams to the hospital during the trials, the USA team would have likely included three Demon Deacons.
