Deacons Try To Rebound From First Loss Saturday vs. Richmond
12/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2004
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Game 7
#1 Wake Forest (5-1) vs. Richmond (3-1)
Dec. 4, 2004 / 2 pm / Winston-Salem, NC / Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,665) / No TV
Television: None.
Radio: Wake Forest/ISP Radio Network. Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action. Chris Ferris is the producer/engineer.
Records: Wake Forest is 5-1 after suffering a 91-73 loss at 5th-ranked (AP) Illinois Wednesday night. Richmond is 3-1 after a 78-72 home win over South Florida Wednesday night.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Richmond is not ranked.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy `72) is 72-30 (.706) in his fourth season with the Demon Deacons, 237-108 (.687) in his 12th season overall. Richmond coach Jerry Wainwright (Colorado College `68) is 39-27 in three seasons with the Spiders, 175-130 in 11 seasons overall.
Series: Wake Forest leads 33-9.
Officials: Announced on game day.
Deacons Try To Rebound From First Loss; Host Richmond Saturday At 2
Top-ranked Wake Forest, coming off its first loss of the season -- an 18-point defeat at 5th-ranked Illinois Wednesday night -- hosts a talented Richmond team Saturday at Joel Coliseum (2 pm/no TV).
The Demon Deacons, 5-1, fell at Illinois 91-73 Wednesday night, losing for the first time ever in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Wake Forest is led by juniors Justin Gray (15.7 ppg) and Eric Williams (14.5 ppg) and sophomore Chris Paul (13.5 ppg). Richmond, 3-1, is coming off a 78-72 home win against South Florida Wednesday night. Daon Merritt scored 21 points and Jermaine Bucknor had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Spiders.
The Spiders, whose only loss came at Virginia Nov. 28, have shown they can win on the road. Richmond opened the season with a 77-71 road win at Seton Hall.
Saturday's game marks the 43rd meeting between Wake Forest and Richmond. The Demon Deacons have won the last 12 meetings including all seven games played in Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Today's Tip-Off
- Wake Forest will try to rebound from its first loss of the season. Six times last season the Deacons followed a loss with another loss.
- The Demon Deacons have won 12 straight over Richmond but one half of those wins were by single digits.
- Richmond head coach Jerry Wainwright was an assistant coach at Wake Forest from 1986-93.
- Saturday's game marks Wake's first home game since Nov. 22 and it will be their final home game until Dec. 15.
- Wake Forest has final exams all of next week.
Deacons Suffer First Loss, 91-73
Roger Powell Jr. scored 19 points, Dee Brown and Luther Head added 16 each and No. 5 Illinois defeated No. 1 Wake Forest 91-73 Wednesday night. The Illini led by double-digits for the last 28-plus minutes of the game, and were up by as much as 32 in the second half.
Illinois (5-0) has now won 35 straight at home against non-conference opponents, a streak that dates back to Nov. 17, 1998. The Illini are 66-3 overall at Assembly Hall since the 2000-01 season.
The Deacons were held to 39 percent shooting. Chris Paul was held to 10 points while Justin Gray, MVP of the preseason NIT, had 11. Eric Williams had 18 on 7-of-13 shooting.
More From Wednesday's Loss At Illinois
- Wake Forest produced season-highs for three-point field goals made (10) and attempted (24).
- The Deacons had season lows for field goal percentage (.397), free throws made (9) and attempted (13), turnovers (9), blocked shots (0) and steals (3).
- Illinois' points scored (91), points in a half (54), scoring margin (+18) field goals (38), three-point field goals (11), three-point attempts (26), defensive rebounds (30) and assists (27) were all Wake Forest opponent season-highs.
- Illinois' offensive rebounds (7), turnovers (6) and steals (4) were all Deacon opponent season-lows.
- Wake Forest suffered its largest margin of defeat since Feb. 17, 2003 -- a 90-67 loss at Maryland.
- Illinois' point total was the highest by a Deacon opponent since Texas scored 94 on Jan. 13, 2004
- Wake Forest's halftime deficit (21 points) was the largest in the Skip Prosser era.
- The 21-point deficit, in fact, was Wake's largest at halftime since March 16, 2001 when WFU trailed Butler 43-10 at halftime of a first round NCAA Tournament game
- Illinois' 54 first-half points were the most points in any half by a Deacon opponent since NC State scored 54 in the second half on March 15, 2003
- Justin Gray's 16 field goal attempts were the most by a Deacon player this season.
Wake Forest-Richmond Series History
- Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 33-9.
- The Demon Deacons have won the last 12 meetings.
- Wake and Richmond will meet for the fifth consecutive season and for the 14th time in the last 16 seasons.
- The Deacons are 15-2 at home all-time against the Spiders including a 7-0 record in Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Richmond's last win in Winston-Salem came in 1988-89 when the Deacons played their final season in the old Winston-Salem Coliseum.
- Three of the last five meetings have been decided by single digits.
- Wake Forest is 77-60 all-time against teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, including a 97-76 win over George Washington in the season opener. The Deacons play a third A-10 team, Temple, Dec. 13 in Philadelphia.
- Deacon coach Skip Prosser is 3-0 all-time versus Richmond with all three wins coming while at Wake Forest. Prosser previously coached in the Atlantic 10 at Xavier, prior to Richmond joining that league.
- Richmond is one of five teams from the Commonwealth of Virginia on the Deacon schedule. Wake Forest has already played VCU and has future games with Virginia, Virginia Tech and Longwood.
Deacon-Spider Connections
- Jerry Wainwright, the Richmond head coach, was an assistant coach at Wake Forest for nine years. He worked under Bob Staak from 1986-89 and under Dave Odom from 1989-94.
- Wainwright, like the current Wake Forest coaching staff, also has ties to Xavier. He broke into the college coaching ranks as an assistant at Xavier in 1984-85. Deacon head coach Skip Prosser also previously served as an assistant and head coach with the Musketeers. Wake associate head coaches Dino Gaudio and Jeff Battle previously served as Xavier assistant coaches and WFU assistant coach Pat Kelsey played under Prosser at Xavier.
- Wainwright is 0-4 all-time against Wake Forest including an 0-2 mark while at Richmond. While coaching UNC-Wilmington, his Seahawks nearly beat Wake Forest twice -- a 56-52 loss to the Deacons in 1997-98 and a 79-78 loss in 2001-02, Skip Prosser's first season at WFU.
- Richmond freshman Jarhon Giddings, who played at R.J. Reynolds High School, is from the Winston-Salem area.
- Wake Forest freshman Cameron Stanley and Spider freshman Monty Sanders both hail from Raleigh. Stanley went to Millbrook HS and Sanders attended Cardinal Gibbons.
- Wake Forest assistant athletic director/sports medicine Greg Collins previously worked as an athletic trainer at Richmond.
- WFU media relations intern Courtney Tysinger hails from Richmond.
Deacons 5-1, But Stats... Not So Good
It's likely an indication of how difficult the schedule has been, but Wake Forest's statistical rank in the ACC makes it appear surprising that the Demon Deacons are 5-1. Consider:
- Wake Forest ranks 11th (out of 11) in the ACC in scoring defense (72.2 ppg).
- The Deacons are last in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (0.86).
- Wake Forest ranks 10th in field goal percentage defense (.423).
- WFU is 10th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.398).
- The Deacons are 10th in assists per game (14.33). Wake Forest ranks no higher than fourth in any category. The Deacons are fourth in rebounds per game (41.5) and in offensive rebounds per game (15.17).
ACC teams have played six nationally-ranked opponents and Wake Forest has been involved in two of those -- vs. Arizona and at Illinois. Seven ACC teams have yet to play a ranked opponent.
Gray Named ACC Player Of The Week
Wake Forest junior guard Justin Gray, who scored 42 points last week in wins over Providence and No. 18 Arizona, was named the ACC Player of the Week Monday. Gray's performance led Wake Forest to the Preseason NIT championship and the Charlotte native was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Demon Deacon sophomore Chris Paul won the award last week as Wake Forest has won ACC Player of the Week honors in each of the first two weeks.
In the two games against the Friars and Wildcats, Gray scored 42 points, registered six three-point field goals and four steals. For the tournament, the junior guard shot 55.6 percent from the floor (15-of-27) including 42.9 percent from three-point territory (6-of-14). Against Providence, Gray received five stitches below the eyebrow in the first half, but came back to score 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from long range in Wake Forest's 79-67 win. Gray followed that performance with a game-high 21 points against Arizona while shooting 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Gray has been named ACC Player of the Week three times in his career, including two times last season. He is the first Deacon player to win the honor at least once in back-to-back seasons since Tim Duncan in 1996 and 1997.
"E-Rex" Consistently Good So Far
Junior center Eric Williams, who has battled inconsistency during his career, has arguably been Wake Forest's most consistent player thus far this season. More on "E-Rex":
- Williams is the only Deacon to score in double figures in every game this season.
- He has grabbed at least five rebounds in every game.
- Williams is shooting a sizzling 64.2 percent from the field (34-of-53). He ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage.
- Plagued with foul trouble his entire career, Williams has not fouled out of a game this season and is averaging just 2.7 fouls per game.
- Williams is second on the team and 13th in the ACC in scoring (14.5 ppg).
Gray Takes MVP, Stitches Home From NY
Junior All-American candidate Justin Gray showed his toughness last week in New York. Early in last Wednesday's game against Providence, he took an elbow just below the eyebrow, opening up a gash. After receiving five stitches, he returned to the game to make 5-of-8 three-point field goal attempts and score 21 points.
Gray also scored 21 points last Friday in the Preseason NIT championship game against 18th-ranked Arizona. He was named tournament MVP for his efforts.
Levy The Glue That Keeps WF Together
Senior forward Jamaal Levy will not lead the team in scoring and he will not grab the majority of headlines. But the 6-9 Panama native is vital to Wake Forest's success.
- Levy is averaging a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game, including 3.67 offensive boards per contest.
- He ranks fourth in the ACC in rebounds per game and third in the league in offensive boards per game.
- He leads the team and ranks eighth in the ACC in steals (14 total).
- Levy leads the team and ranks 14th in the ACC in blocked shots with eight.
- Levy, who earned a spot on the Preseason NIT All-Tournament team, is widely considered one of the nation's best defenders and one of the ACC's top rebounders.
Small Enrollment, Huge Crowds
Wake Forest has an undergraduate enrollment of just 3,950 (6,444 when graduate students are added to the mix), so one might think there would be plenty of empty seats in the 14,665-seat Lawrence Joel Coliseum for Deacon home games. However, near-capacity crowds are the norm at Wake Forest home games.
Last year an average of 13,197 fans attended Deacon home games and that number should be even higher this year based on season ticket sales. Based on last year's numbers, Wake Forest's attendance was 204.8 percent of its total enrollment last year, ranking the Deacons No. 1 nationally in that category. No other ACC school had a percentage higher than 80.1 percent last year.
11 Deacon Opponents Ranked In Top 25
Notes on the 2004-05 Demon Deacon schedule:
- Eleven Wake Forest opponents are ranked this week in the ESPN/USA Today top 25 -- (3) Illinois, (4) Georgia Tech, (10) Duke, (11) North Carolina, (12) Maryland, (13) NC State, (15) Texas, (20) Arizona, (24) Cincinnati and (25) Virginia.
- Three other Deacon opponents -- Providence, New Mexico and George Washington -- are receiving votes for one or both polls.
- Beginning Jan. 2, 11 out of Wake's final 18 games will come against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
- Four of Wake Forest's final 12 regular season games come against two 2004 Final Four teams -- Duke and Georgia Tech.
Deacons No. 1 -- For Now
For the first time in the history of Wake Forest basketball, the Demon Deacons earned a No. 1 national ranking Nov. 22. Wake Forest is ranked No. 1 in both major polls -- Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today -- for the second straight week this week.
A few notes on Wake Forest and the national polls:
- Wake Forest has been ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll 11 times, but until Nov. 22, never No. 1. The Demon Deacons were ranked No. 2 10 weeks (non-consecutive) during the 1996-97 season and Wake was No. 2 in this year's AP preseason poll.
- Only Maryland (23 weeks at No. 2) and Louisville (16 weeks at No. 2) had been ranked No. 2 more often than Wake Forest without ever obtaining the No. 1 spot.
- Wake Forest is ranked in the AP top 25 for the 36th consecutive week and for the 227th week overall.
- This marks the 31st different week that Wake Forest has been ranked in the AP top five.
- Since the start of the 2001-02 season, Duke is the only other ACC team to earn a No. 1 ranking, which the Blue Devils have done often. North Carolina, in February of 2001, is the most recent other ACC team to be No. 1.
Closing In On A Grand Five Wake Forest players have a shot at reaching 1,000 career points this season -- Justin Gray (912 career points), Taron Downey (833), Vytas Danelius (791), Eric Williams (740) and Jamaal Levy (675).
With 41 1,000-point scorers in its history, Wake Forest ranks ninth among all Division I schools.
Milestones Within Reach Saturday
- Senior Vytas Danelius is nine points away from his 800th career point.
- Junior Justin Gray is three trifectas away from his 150th career three-point field goal.
- Sophomore Chris Paul is just four steals away from his 100th career steal.
- Senior Taron Downey went over the career 300-assists mark on Wednesday and now ranks eighth in Wake Forest history.
Deacons Tough At The Joel
Wake Forest has always enjoyed success within the friendly confines of Lawrence Joel Coliseum, winning at an 81.8 percent clip. In recent years, that percentage is even higher. In Skip Prosser's four seasons with the Deacons, Wake is 44-6 (.880), including a perfect 16-0 mark in 2002-03.
The Deacons have not lost a home non-conference game since Feb. 9, 2002 -- a 103-94 loss to sixth-ranked Cincinnati in Prosser's first seasons with the Deacons. Under Prosser, Wake is 25-1 at home against non-ACC competition.
Wake Forest has won 41 of its last 42 home games against non-conference opponents.
WFU's all-time record in Joel Coliseum is 189-42.
Deacs Play With 10 Scholarship Players
Sophomore Jeremy Ingram will transfer at the end of the semester and Cameron Stanley, Wake Forest's only freshman, will likely redshirt this season. That leaves the Deacons with 10 scholarship players and three walk-ons.
Chris Paul Preseason All-America
Wake Forest sophomore Chris Paul was the leading vote-getter for the Associated Press preseason All-American Team announced Nov. 9. Paul was joined on the first team by Kansas' Wayne Simien, NC State's Julius Hodge, Syracuse's Hakim Warrick and Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts.
Chris Paul ACC Preseason Player Of Year
Wake Forest sophomore Chris Paul edged out NC State's Julius Hodge for pre-season ACC Player of the Year honors by a 38-to-35 count. North Carolina's Marvin Williams was the media's clear cut choice as the preseason ACC Rookie of the Year, receiving 60 of 87 ballots cast. Paul and Hodge joined North Carolina's Rashad McCants and Sean May and Duke's J.J. Redick on the preseason All-ACC team.
Senior Class A Diverse Group
Wake Forest's three seniors hail from three different countries. Vytas Danelius (Lithuania), Jamaal Levy (Panama) and Taron Downey (Oxford, NC) form 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 296 games. Wake Forest has won 72 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.
Stanley May Redshirt In 2004-05
Cameron Stanley, the only freshman on the Demon Deacon roster, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December and may redshirt this season. Stanley has practiced with the team all season, but is still trying to get completely comfortable with the knee.
Deacons First In ACC Preseason Poll
Wake Forest was the top pick in the media's preseason poll conducted Oct. 31 at the 43rd annual Atlantic Coast Conference Operation Basketball. The Deacons received 65 of a possible 91 votes for 965 points. North Carolina was second with 13 first place votes and 866 points, followed by Georgia Tech with 836 points and Duke with 746.
Ingram Will Transfer
Jeremy Ingram, a sophomore guard on the Wake Forest basketball team, will transfer to another school at the end of the fall semester, head coach Skip Prosser announced Nov. 2.
Ingram, a 6-3 Kinston (NC) native, played in eight games last season. He averaged 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game.
"Jeremy Ingram is a very good basketball player and more importantly, an outstanding young man," Prosser said. "He will be an asset to whatever school he chooses and we wish him the very best."
Miscellaneous Notes
- Wake Forest, after capturing the Preseason NIT title in November, is 7-1 all-time in that tournament.
- The Deacons are 28-1 in their last 29 games played in the month of November, including a streak of 10 straight wins.
- Wake Forest has won 11 straight season openers and the Deacons are 71-28 all-time in season openers.
-- The Deacons have won 16 consecutive home openers. The last time the Deacons lost their first home game of the season came on Nov. 28, 1988 -- the last season WFU played in old Memorial Coliseum. That loss came against Richmond, 74-61.
The First And The Last
Wake Forest played the first game this season involving an ACC school -- Nov. 15 vs. George Washington -- and will play in the last game of the ACC regular season -- March 6 at NC State.
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.
Three Sign National Letters Of Intent
Three talented high school seniors - two from North Carolina and one from New Mexico - signed letters of intent to play basketball at Wake Forest beginning next season, head coach Skip Prosser announced.
Harvey Hale (Albuquerque, NM/Rio Grande HS), Kevin Swinton (Greensboro, NC/Dudley HS) and David Weaver (Black Mountain, NC/Owen HS) will make up the Deacon freshman class. The three signees, all highly-rated nationally, will give Wake Forest help in at least three positions.
"We really think this is a solid class that will help us compete at the highest level," Prosser said. "Every school in the ACC has outstanding recruiting classes almost every season and again, this class will help us compete within the league. All three young men are potentially terrific basketball players, they are outstanding students, good people and come from quality high school programs."
Hale, 6-3 and 190 pounds, is considered the top prep prospect in New Mexico and is rated in the top 150 nationally by Rivals.com. He averaged 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game as a junior. Hale, who also plays for the Arizona/New Mexico Pump n' Run AAU team, chose the Deacons over Arkansas, Arizona State, DePaul, SMU and Stanford. He is coached at Rio Grande High School by Ron Garcia.
"Harvey (Hale) is a combo guard who we feel will help fill the void created by the impending loss of Taron Downey," Prosser said. "Harvey is not the pure shooter that Taron is, but he is longer and is potentially an even better defender. He has a knack for scoring and he leads one of the best high school teams in New Mexico.
Swinton, 6-7 and 230 pounds, is one of the top forwards in the nation. He averaged 22.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a junior at Dudley. Swinton is ranked as the 20th-best power forward nationally by Rivals and the 47th-best prospect overall by Hoopmasters. A member of the 2004 USA South Team at the Olympic sports festival, Swinton also plays for the North Carolina Gaters AAU team. Swinton plays for coach David Price at Dudley.
"Kevin is a product of one of the most prestigious high school programs in North Carolina," Prosser said. "He is strong, very athletic and he is a winner."
Weaver, 6-10 and 210 pounds, is ranked No. 27 among power forwards nationally by Rivals and in the top 85 overall by Hoopmasters. Hoop Scoop ranked Weaver as the fifth-best post player at the Nike camp. Weaver averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He also produced a lofty grade-point-average of 3.93. Weaver, who also runs track at Owen, is teammates with Swinton on the North Carolina Gaters AAU team. Weaver played for coach Roger Schnepp at Owen.
"David Weaver has great length and good ball skills for a young man of his size," Prosser said. "We feel that he has a bright, bright future at Wake Forest."
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.
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.
