Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Faces Tough Road Test At Maryland Saturday
2/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2004
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Game #25
#11/11 Wake Forest Deacons (18-6/8-5) at Maryland (14-10/5-8)
Saturday, Feb. 28 / 1 p.m. / Comcast Center (17,950) / College Park, MD / ABC-TV
Tip-Off: 1:02 p.m.
Television: ABC (Regional). Former NC State standout Terry Gannon (play-by-play) and former Maryland standout Len Elmore (color analysis) call the action. Ray Tipton is the producer.
Radio: Deacon Radio Network (ISP). Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action.
Records: Wake Forest is 18-6 overall and 8-5 in the ACC after a 90-87 win in overtime over visiting Florida State Wednesday night. Maryland is 14-10 and 5-8 following a 70-49 home win against Clemson Tuesday.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked 11th in the Associated Press poll and 11th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Maryland is not ranked.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy '72) is 64-25 in three seasons with the Deacons, 229-103 in 11 seasons overall. Maryland coach Gary Williams (Maryland '68) is 309-163 in 15 seasons at his alma mater, 516-291 in 26 seasons overall.
SID Contacts: Wake Forest assistant athletic director/media relations Dean Buchan; Maryland basketball SID Mark Fratto.
Websites: Wake Forest -- WakeForestSports.com; Maryland -- umterps.com. The Series: Maryland leads 56-52.
Officials: Announced on game day.
On Deck: Wake Forest travels to Virginia Tuesday at 7 p.m. Maryland is at NC State Wednesday.
Wake Faces Road Test At Maryland
Wake Forest, coming off five consecutive victories including four straight decided by six points or less, travels Saturday to face Maryland in College Park, where the Deacons have not won since 1998.
The Demon Deacons, 18-6 overall and 8-5 in the ACC, came from 17 points down Wednesday night to beat visiting Florida State, 90-87 in overtime. Sophomore Justin Gray scored a career-high 31 points, including seven points in OT, to lead the Deacons.
The Terrapins, 14-10 and 5-8, snapped a three-game losing streak by whipping visiting Clemson, 70-49, Tuesday night. John Gilchrist led the Terps with 19 points.
Maryland leads the all-time series, 56-52. Wake Forest has won two of the last three meetings including a 93-85 win over Maryland Jan. 29.
Noteworthy
- Over the last 11 games, Wake Forest has played nine games decided by eight points or less. Wake's last four wins, three of which came against nationally-ranked opponents, were decided by an average of 4.7 points.
- Wake Forest will try to erase painful College Park memories Saturday. Last year the Deacons suffered their worst loss of the season, 90-67, in their first-ever game in the Comcast Center. To make matters worse, a snowstorm grounded Wake for three full days. The previous year, Maryland won 90-89 on Juan Dixon's free throws after Josh Howard called a time-out the Deacons did not have. Wake has not won in College Park since an 83-79 win on Feb. 19, 1998.
- A Wake Forest win Saturday would secure the Deacs at least a share of third place in the ACC.
More From The 90-87 OT Win Vs. FSU
Wake Forest scored the final nine points in regulation, then shot 66.7 percent in overtime for a wild, 90-87 overtime win over visiting Florida State Wednesday night. The Demon Deacons trailed by as many as 17 points in the game, but rallied behind sophomore Justin Gray's career-high 31 points. More from that game: - The win gave Wake Forest a five-game winning streak, including four straight conference wins. - Wake's three-guard offense of Gray (31 points), freshman Chris Paul (21 points) and Taron Downey (17 points), all scored more than their season average; they combined for 69 points, 11 three-point field goals and 13 assists. - Gray's 31 points were the most by a Deacon player since Josh Howard scored 32 points at North Carolina on Feb. 2, 2003. - Wake tied a season-high with 11 three-point field goals, while Florida State's 12 three-point field goals were the most by a Deacon opponent this season. - The Deacons' 31 three-point attempts were its most since the 2001-02 season.
Deacons 2-0 In Extra Minutes
Wake Forest improved to 2-0 this season in overtime games when it beat visiting Florida State, 90-87, Wednesday night. The Deacons beat North Carolina in triple-overtime back on Dec. 20, 119-114.
One of the oddities about Wednesday's game is that it was Wake's first overtime game that didn't go to at least a second overtime since Jan. 31, 2001. It was also the first WFU-Florida State game that needed an extra period since Jan. 6, 1996.
Gray On A Roll; Earns ACC Honor
Wake Forest's Justin Gray was tabbed ACC Player of the Week after guiding the Demon Deacons to a pair of conference victories over No. 3 Duke and No. 18 Georgia Tech last week.
And Gray has been even more impressive this week. He scored a career-high 31 points and made five three-point field goals in Wednesday's overtime win against Florida State. Against Duke, Gray tallied 17 points in 33 minutes of action to rally Wake Forest past the Blue Devils, 90-84. On Sunday night at Georgia Tech, the Charlotte, N.C. native scored a team-high 26 points including five three-point buckets, to shoot 56 percent for the game (10-for-18). Gray dished out six assists, pulled down four rebounds and posted a steal in Wake Forest's 80-76 win at Tech.
Gray is the second Deacon sophomore to be named ACC Player of the Week this season. Gray's teammate, Eric Williams, won the award back on Dec. 22. Gray and Williams give Wake Forest two different players to earn ACC Player of the Week in the same season for the first time since Randolph Childress and Tim Duncan in 1994-95.
About The Five-Game Winning Streak
The most impressive thing about Wake Forest's current five-game winning streak is the quality of opponents -- road wins at No. 18 Georgia Tech and Clemson, and home victories over No. 3 Duke, No. 13 Cincinnati and Florida State.
The Deacons have shot well during the winning streak -- 49.8 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from three-point range. They've also done a better job on the boards, out-rebounding opponents by 5.6 rebounds per contest.
Below is a look at Wake's statistics over the last five games compared to the first 19 games of the season:
Category Last 5 Games First 19 Games Record 5-0 13-6 Points Per Game 86.6 83.4 Rebound Margin +5.6 +2.0 Field Goal Percentage 49.8 46.8 3-Point FG Percentage 44.8 35.3 3-Point FGs/Game 8.6 6.8 FT Attempts/Game 30.2 26.5
Deacons Reach Victory Milestones
Wake Forest earned all-time win No. 1,300 Feb. 22 at Georgia Tech. The Deacons' all-time record is currently 1,301-996.
The Feb. 25 win over Florida State guaranteed Wake will have at least a .500 record in ACC play for the fourth consecutive year.
The victory over the Seminoles also gave Wake Forest 30 ACC regular season victories over the last three seasons combined. Duke (35 wins), Maryland (31) and Wake (30) are the only three teams to average 10 league wins over the last three years.
Deacon-Terrapin Series History
- Maryland leads the all-time series, 56-52.
- Wake Forest has won two of the last three meetings including a 93-85 win over the Terrapins Jan. 29 in Winston-Salem.
- The two teams split the regular season series last year with both clubs winning at home. Wake Forest's home win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Terrapins.
- Saturday's game marks the 50th time Wake has played Maryland in College Park, with the Terrapins holding a 33-16 series lead. Wake is 0-1 all-time in the Comcast Center.
- Maryland has won the last five meetings in College Park. WFU's last win at Maryland came on Feb. 19, 1998 (83-79).
- The two teams have split six meetings in ACC Tournament play.
- The first meeting between the two teams came in the 1953 Southern Conference Tournament, won by Wake Forest.
- Wake coach Skip Prosser is 2-4 all-time against Maryland, including a loss while at Loyola (MD).
- Maryland coach Gary Williams is 18-16 all-time against Wake Forest, including a 16-14 record while coaching the Terrapins.
Wake Forest-Maryland Connections
- Maryland's Jamar Smith is the only scholarship senior on either roster.
- Maryland coach Gary Williams went 4-2 against Wake Forest while playing for Maryland from 1965-67.
- Wake Forest's Trent Strickland and Maryland's Andre Collins and Hassan Fofana all played previously at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.
- Wake's Chris Paul and Maryland's Mike Jones both played in the McDonald's All-America Game last spring.
- Deacon junior Taron Downey played on the same AAU team with former Terrapin Chris Wilcox.
- Wake sophomore Eric Williams played on the same team in the 2002 McDonald's High School All-American game with Maryland's Travis Garrison.
- Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser's first college head coaching job was at Loyola (MD) in 1993-94. Deacon assistant coach Dino Gaudio was the head coach at Loyola (MD) from 1998-2000.
- Former Deacon Darius Songaila and former Terrapin Tony Massenburg are teammates on the Sacramento Kings.
Statistical Tid-Bits On Saturday's Game
- Wake Forest ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage (.474), while Maryland ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.390).
- Maryland's Jamar Smith (9.3 rebounds per game) and Wake's Jamaal Levy (8.3 rpg.) rank second and third, respectively, in the ACC in rebounding.
- Five Terrapins rank among the top nine in the ACC in blocked shots. Wake Forest has no players ranked in the top 10.
Magic Number: 82
Wake Forest is undefeated (13-0) when it scores at least 82 points -- or 2.1 points less than what the Deacons are averaging this season (84.1 ppg.). The Deacons are also undefeated (9-0) when they shoot 50 percent or better.
The Last Meeting: Wake 93, Maryland 85
Freshman Chris Paul scored 25 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer with 2:23 to play, to lead Wake Forest to 93-85 victory over Maryland on Jan. 29.
The Demon Deacons had struggled mightily with their scoring during their losing streak as Paul and fellow guard Justin Gray had not been able to find an offensive rhythm. But the two snapped out of it against Maryland and helped Wake Forest overcome a 10-point halftime deficit.
Nik Caner-Medley led Maryland with 15 points.
Wake Forest had seemingly wrapped the game up on Paul's 3-pointer, but a flurry of late Maryland 3-pointers - two from John Gilchrist and one from Mike Jones - made it a close final margin.
One Of The Nation's Toughest Schedules
Wake Forest has faced one of the nation's most difficult schedules this season:
- The Deacon schedule is ranked as the fifth-toughest by Sagarin and the seventh-most difficult by CollegeRPI.
- Seven Wake Forest opponents are in the AP top 20 -- (5) Duke, (10) Texas, (12) North Carolina, (14) NC State, (15) Cincinnati, (18) Georgia Tech and (19) Memphis.
- Ten Wake opponents have an RPI of 47 or better.
- Wake Forest has faced eight nationally-ranked opponents (going 4-4) so far this season. The Deacons played just six ranked teams all of last season.
- Wake has defeated four ranked teams for the first time since 1996-97.
- The Deacs have beaten two teams ranked in the top five -- No. 4 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke -- for the first time since 1994-95.
- Wake Forest has two road wins this season against ranked teams -- at then-No. 4 North Carolina on Dec. 20 and at No. 18 Georgia Tech Feb. 22 -- for the first time since 1996-97.
- The Deacons beat three nationally-ranked teams -- No. 13 Cincinnati, No. 3 Duke and No. 18 Georgia Tech -- in consecutive games for the first time in school history.
Hitting The Boards Like Last Year
One thing that has been consistent in Wake Forest's five-game winning streak is the Deacons' rebounding. Wake has out-rebounded each of its last five opponents.
The recent rebounding success has moved the Deacons up to first in the ACC in rebounding for ACC games only (+3.8). Last year the Deacons led the nation in rebounding (+9.4).
Good News And Bad News
The good news is that Wake Forest has shot the ball better recently and now leads the ACC in field goal percentage (ACC games only) at 46.7 percent (47.4 percent overall). The bad news is that the Deacons rank ninth in just one ACC category -- field goal percentage defense (ACC games only) at 46.8 percent.
Deacons Up To 11th In The Polls
Wake Forest moved up four spots in the Associated Press and ESPN/ USA Today polls this week to 11th. More on Wake in the polls:
- The Deacons, ranked as high as 4th this season, are at their highest position in the Associated Press poll since being ranked 10th on Jan. 19.
- Four other ACC teams are in the AP poll -- (5) Duke, (12) North Carolina, (14) NC State and (18) Georgia Tech.
- The Deacons have been ranked in the AP poll for 29 consecutive weeks dating back to last season. Duke is the only ACC team with a longer current streak.
- Wake has been ranked in the AP poll 43 times in 50 weeks under Skip Prosser.
- Wake is ranked 6th in the Sagarin Ratings, 10th at CollegeRPI.com, 12th at CBS Sportsline and 12th by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
Prosser: 64 Wins In Three Seasons At WFU
Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser has guided Wake Forest to 64 wins -- or an average of 21.3 victories per season -- in his three years with the Demon Deacons. His ACC coaching start is one of the best in league history:
- His winning percentage in ACC league games (.667/30-15) ties for the highest percentage ever by a coach in his first three seasons in the conference. Only Vic Bubas and Bill Guthridge matched Prosser's win percentage in their first three years in the league.
- Prosser's overall winning percentage at Wake Forest (.719/64-25) gives him the fifth-highest percentage in the 51-year history of the ACC. Only Dean Smith (.776), Mike Krzyzewski (.776), Bubas (.761) and Guthridge (.741) have/had higher percentages.
- His career winning percentage (.689/229-103) is the 15th-highest among all active Division I coaches.
- Wake Forest's 64 wins in three seasons is the sixth-most victories over a three-year period in school history.
- In Prosser's three years with the Deacons, Wake has scored 100-plus points six times. Before his arrival, the Deacons reached 100 points just five times in the previous 13 years.
Wake One Of Nation's Youngest Teams
- With no scholarship seniors on the roster, Wake Forest is one of college basketball's youngest teams. In fact, the Deacons are one of just six Division I schools with no scholarship seniors on the roster.
- Walk-on Alan Williams is the only senior on the Deacon roster.
- Wake Forest has just three juniors on the roster to go with five sophomores and four freshmen.
- Wake's top three scorers are all freshmen or sophomores. In fact, freshmen and sophomores have combined to produce 69.9 percent of the Deacons' point total (1,412 of 2,018 points).
- A freshman or sophomore leads Wake Forest in scoring, three-point field goals, three-point attempts, three-point percentage, free throws, free throw attempts, assists and steals.
Latest Lineup Has Interesting Results
Five games ago -- on Feb. 12 at Clemson -- coach Skip Prosser used his fifth different starting lineup of the season -- one that included freshman center Kyle Visser and junior forward Vytas Danelius. The lineup change has done several things for the Deacons:
- With Danelius in the starting lineup, junior Jamaal Levy can play the No. 3 position.
- It has given the Deacons one of the best benches in the ACC. Junior Taron Downey and sophomore Eric Williams have 104 combined career starts. Sophomores Trent Strickland and Chris Ellis also have starting experience. Over the last three games, Wake's bench has outscored its opponents' bench, 96-56.
- The move from starter to reserve seemed to ignite Williams, who has scored in double figures in four of his last five games.
- The most recent starting lineup has produced a 5-0 record.
Paul A Finalist For Wooden, Cousy Awards
Deacon freshman Chris Paul is a finalist for two of college basketball's most prestigious individual awards -- the John R. Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard Award.
He is one of 30 candidates for the Wooden Award and Wooden All-America Team, announced Jan. 26.
Paul is one of just two freshmen on the Wooden list, joining Minnesota's Kris Humphries. He is one of five ACC players on the list, joining Duke's Chris Duhon, Georgia Tech's B.J. Elder, NC State's Julius Hodge and UNC's Sean May.
Paul is one of 16 finalists for the Cousy Award and he is the only freshman on the list of candidates. North Carolina's Raymond Felton is the other ACC player on the list of candidates.
Paul Named National Player Of The Week
After scoring 23 points and dishing out eight assists in the Feb. 18 win over Duke, Wake's Chris Paul was named the National Player of the Week by FoxSports.com.
Paul, Deacons Get More Recognition
Chris Paul was named Diaper Dandy of the Week by Dick Vitale on Feb. 23 and Wake Forest was named Vitale's National Team of the Week.
On Monday night, Paul was voted on ESPN.com as college basketball's "Big Man on Campus" for the week. Paul received 28.1 percent of the more than 26,000 votes.
Deacons Have Had Their Share Of Injuries
Wake Forest head trainer, assistant athletic director Greg Collins, has been one of the most active people on the Deacon staff this season as Wake has suffered more than its share of injuries.
Four different Deacons have missed a combined 14 games. Junior Vytas Danelius (high ankle sprain) missed five straight games before returning to action Jan. 13 at Texas. Sophomore Chris Ellis is back in the fold after breaking a bone in his foot on the first day of practice. Freshmen Kyle Visser and Todd Hendley missed one game each.
Last Hurrah For Senior Walk-Ons
Wake Forest had "Senior Night" Feb. 25 to honor two Deacon players and two student-managers.
Walk-on Alan Williams is the only true senior and the only fourth-year player on the Deacon roster. Williams' career began as a walk-on under coach Dave Odom in the 2000-01 season. He has been a part of one of the best four-year runs in Wake Forest history as the Deacons have won 83 games in the last four seasons combined.
Scott Benken, who earned a spot on the roster with his remarkable work ethic, is in his second year with the Deacons. He will graduate in the spring and enroll in pharmacy school.
Also honored were managers Tom Norton and Adam Ampuja.
"The Mayor"
- One of just two freshmen -- joining Minnesota's Kris Humphries -- on the midseason list of 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award.
- The only freshman candidate for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard Award.
- Named ACC Rookie of the Week five times -- the most since Georgia Tech's Dion Glover won the award five times in 1997-98. Only Kenny Anderson (10 times), Sam Perkins (6), Bryant Stith (6) and Joe Smith (6) won ACC Rookie of the Week more than five times since the award originated in 1970-71. The only other Wake Forest player to win the honor five times was Rodney Rogers in 1990-91.
- Over his last four games he has averaged 19.0 points, 6.3 assists and 2.0 three-pointers per game. Those averages include a career-high 30 points against Cincinnati on Feb. 15.
- Ranks third in the nation and first in the ACC in steals per game (3.00).
- Leads all ACC freshmen and ranks fourth in the ACC in assists per game (5.58).
- Ranks fifth in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio (2.20).
- His 72 steals are the third-most single-season steals in Wake Forest history. Only Muggsy Bogues, who had 89 steals in 1986 and 85 steals in 1985, ranks ahead of Paul.
- Paul's 72 steals shatter the Wake Forest freshman record of 53 held by Rodney Rogers. - His six steals at SMU Dec. 15 tied a Wake Forest freshman record held by Rogers.
- Attempting to be the first freshman to lead the ACC in steals since NC State's Chris Corchiani in 1988.
- Attempting to become the first Deacon player, regardless of class, to lead the ACC in steals since Bogues did it three straight years from 1985-87.
- With 134 assists, he is 14 away from breaking the Wake freshman record for assists of 147 held by Derrick McQueen.
- His free throw percentage (.842) is the highest ever by a Deacon freshman, ranks second overall in the ACC and he goes to the line more than any Deacon.
- Has started every game and leads the team in minutes played (33.3 mpg.).
- The shortest player on the roster, Paul (6-0) has 10 blocked shots.
- Paul (13.6 points per game) ranks second among ACC freshmen in scoring.
"J-Gray"
On a very balanced team, sophomore guard Justin Gray is emerging as one of the top players in the ACC -- a prime candidate for first team All-ACC honors.
- Since Jan. 29, Gray has been arguably the ACC's hottest player, averaging 22.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 three-point field goals and 2.9 assists per game.
- He was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 23.
- Gray seems to play his best in big games. Against nationally-ranked teams, Gray averages 18.9 points, 3.1 assists and 3.8 three-point field goals per game.
- He averages more points on the road (19.9) than overall (16.8).
- Has moved up to fourth in the ACC in scoring (16.8) and third in ACC games only (18.8).
- With 73 three-point field goals in 24 games this season, Gray ranks second in the ACC for three-pointers per game (3.04).
- Gray ranks in the ACC's top 12 in seven different statistical categories -- three-point field goals (2nd), free throw percentage (3rd), scoring (4th), assist-turnover ratio (9th), assists (10th), field goal percentage (11th) and three-point field goal percentage (12th).
- He has turned his game up a notch by being more aggressive on offense. He has gone to the line more often over his last eight games (52) than he did in his first 16 games (43). - Gray has made at least one three-point field goal in 35 out of his last 36 games.
- He is shooting 82.1 percent from the free throw line, which ranks third in the ACC.
- Even though he missed eight games last season because of a broken jaw, he has already amassed 695 career points.
- With 108 career three-point field goals, he already ranks 12th in Wake Forest history. - His 73 three-pointers this season are the eighth-most single-season three-pointers in Wake history.
- Gray made a career-high eight three-point field goals Jan. 13 at Texas en route to 27 points. His eight three-pointers were the most in the ACC this season and tie for the 11th-most in ACC history.
- His 18 three-point attempts at Texas broke a Wake Forest single-game record and tie for the third-most in ACC history.
TaronDOWNEY
Junior / Guard / 6-2 / Oxford, NC
Junior guard Taron Downey, has proven to be productive as a starter (54 career starts) or as Wake's sixth man.
- Over his last two games -- wins against Georgia Tech and Florida State -- Downey scored 36 points and made 6-of-12 three-point attempts.
- He is one of three team captains.
- Downey has made a three-point field goal in 14 straight games.
- Downey's career free throw percentage (.841) is the fourth-highest in Wake Forest history. His free throw percentage this season (.847) would be one of the highest percentages in Wake history.
- He has 117 career three-point field goals, which ranks as the seventh-most in Wake Forest history.
- With 263 career assists, Downey ranks 11th in Wake history.
- With 720 career points, he is on track to become the 42nd Deacon to score 1,000 career points.
JamaalLEVY
Junior / F / 6-9 / Panama City, Panama
At 6-9 and just 180 pounds, Jamaal Levy is a good example of one of Skip Prosser's favorite sayings: "It's not how big you are, it's how big you play." Levy uses his thin frame and quickness to his advantage as one of the ACC's best rebounders:
- Levy ranks fourth in the ACC in rebounding (8.3 rpg.), fourth in offensive rebounds and fourth in defensive rebounds.
- He has pulled down double-figure rebounds in seven games this season including each of the last two games.
- Levy's production is not limited to rebounding and defense. He scored a career-high 19 points against North Carolina Feb. 7 and he has scored in double figures 12 times this season.
- At 6-9, he has the ability to shoot from the perimeter. Levy has six three-point field goals this season and 20 for his three-year career.
- He has two double-doubles in February and four overall this season.
- Levy is shooting 55.8 percent from the field, which would easily lead the ACC if he had enough field goals made to qualify.
- He leads the team and ranks 11th in the ACC in blocked shots.
- With 60 career blocked shots, he already ranks 12th in Wake Forest blocked shots history.
EricWILLIAMS
Sophomore / C / 6-9 / Wake Forest, NC
Sophomore center Eric Williams weighs about the same as he did last year (275 pounds), but he has gotten stronger and lowered his body fat. The Wake Forest (NC) native has also re-shaped his game.
- Williams has improved his scoring average from 8.7 ppg. last season to 12.7 ppg. this season.
- He has scored in double figures in four straight games.
- Over the last three games, Williams has shot 66.7 percent (14-of-21).
- "Big E" has been instrumental in two of Wake Forest's biggest victories this season. He scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Feb. 18 win over No. 3 Duke. He hit what proved to be the game-winning shot in the third overtime of the Dec. 20 win at No. 4 North Carolina. He scored 24 points against the Tar Heels.
- Williams ranks among the ACC leaders in four statistical categories -- offensive rebounds (9th), rebounds (13th), free throw percentage (14th) and scoring (15th).
- He was named ACC Player of the Week Dec. 22.
