Wake Forest Athletics
ACC Second Half Begins Saturday Vs. #17 North Carolina
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2004
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Game #19
#16/15 Wake Forest (13-5/4-4) vs. #17/19 North Carolina (13-6/3-5)
Saturday, Feb. 7 / 1:06 p.m. / Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,665) / Winston-Salem, NC / CBS Sports
Tip-Off: 1:06 p.m.
Television: CBS. Verne Lundquist (play-by-play) and former Wake Forest standout Billy Packer (color analysis) call the action. Bob Dekas produces.
Radio: Deacon Radio Network (ISP). Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action.
Records: Wake Forest is 13-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC after losing at NC State, 73-68, Wednesday night. North Carolina is 13-6 and 3-5 following an 83-81 overtime loss at home Thursday to No. 1-ranked Duke.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked 16th in the Associated Press poll and 15th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. North Carolina is 17th in the AP poll, 19th in the Coaches poll.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy '72) is 59-24 in three seasons with the Deacons, 224-102 in 11 seasons overall. North Carolina coach Roy Williams (North Carolina '72) is 13-6 in his first season at his alma mater, 431-107 in 16 seasons overall.
SID Contacts: Wake Forest assistant athletic director/media relations Dean Buchan; North Carolina assistant athletic director Steve Kirschner..
Websites: Wake Forest -- WakeForestSports.com; North Carolina -- TarHeelBlue.com.
The Series: North Carolina leads, 146-62.
Officials: Announced on game day.
On Deck: Wake Forest will play next at Clemson Thursday night. North Carolina plays at Georgia Tech Tuesday.
ACC 2nd Half Starts Saturday Vs. UNC
Wake Forest and North Carolina, both coming off narrow losses to Big Four rivals, meet Saturday at Lawrence Joel Coliseum as the second half of the ACC race gets underway (1 p.m./CBS).
The 19th-ranked Demon Deacons, 13-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC, saw a 16-point halftime lead evaporate Wednesday night in a 73-68 loss at NC State. After starting the season 11-0, Wake has lost five of its last seven games.
The 17th-ranked Tar Heels, 13-6 and 3-5, nearly beat the nation's No. 1-ranked team for the second time in three weeks Thursday. UNC, which beat then-No. 1 Connecticut Jan. 17, dropped a heartbreaker to No. 1 Duke Thursday night, 83-81 in Chapel Hill.
North Carolina leads the all-time series, 146-62. Wake Forest has won the last five meetings.
Noteworthy
- Wake Forest would be alone in third place in the ACC standings with a win Saturday, or tied for fifth with North Carolina if the Deacons lose.
- A capacity crowd (14,665) is expected.
- The Demon Deacons have won 26 out of their last 27 games in Lawrence Joel Coliseum and are trying to avoid losing more than one game in the building for the first time since 2001-02.
- Saturday's game matches two of the nation's highest-scoring teams. North Carolina (86.1 ppg.) ranks second nationally in scoring offense while Wake Forest (84.0 ppg.) ranks fifth nationally.
- Wake's Chris Paul ranks fourth nationally in steals per game (3.22) and he already has more steals (58) than any freshman in Wake Forest history. He leads Wake in steals, assists, free throws and attempts.
More From Wednesday's Loss At NC State
Wake Forest saw a 16-point halftime lead (46-30) evaporate Wednesday night in a 73-68 loss at NC State. More from that game:
- The Deacons shot a season-best 58.6 percent in the first half, then shot a season-worst 24.0 percent in the second half.
- The 16-point halftime lead was the largest halftime lead Wake has blown in Skip Prosser's three years as head coach.
- In a statistically strange game, Wake Forest out-rebounded the Wolfpack 38-31 and held State to just 20 percent shooting from three-point range.
- Junior Jamaal Levy recorded his third double-double of the season (12 points, 10 rebounds).
- Wake lost in NCSU's RBC Center for the first time since the 1999-00 season.
Deacons Try To Put Two Halves Together
In the last week, Wake Forest has played three halves of basketball worthy of highlight films and recruiting videos. But in the case of Wednesday's game at NC State, it was the other 20 minutes that hurt the Deacs:
- Feb. 4 at NC State -- Wake Forest played a near-flawless first half, shooting 58.6 percent and outscoring NC State 46-30 at intermission. In the second half, however, the Deacons made just six field goals (on 25 attempts), went 0-of-8 from three-point range, and were outscored 43-22 in a 73-68 loss.
- Jan. 31 vs. Virginia -- The Deacons jumped out to a 37-10 lead and made its first six three-point field goal attempts. Wake didn't play poorly in the second half, but Virginia did cut the 27-point deficit down to 13 points.
- Jan. 29 vs. Maryland -- Against the Terrapins, it was the second half in which the Deacons shined. In the first half, Maryland shot a sizzling 51.5 percent, made 6-of-12 three-point attempts and led at the break, 53-43. In the second half Wake came out energized, put the clamps on the Terps and outscored Maryland 50-32 in a 93-85 win.
Feb. 4 at NC State 1st Half 2nd Half Total Points 46 22 68 Opponent Points 30 43 73 Field Goal Percentage 58.6 24.0 42.6 Opponent Field Goal % 41.7 48.4 45.5 3-Point Percentage 66.7 0.0 35.3 Rebound Margin +9 - 1 +8 Assists/Turnovers 8/8 1/8 9/16
Jan. 31 vs. Virginia 1st Half 2nd Half Total Points 44 47 91 Opponent Points 27 51 78 Field Goal Percentage 44.8 56.0 50.0 Opponent Field Goal % 41.4 57.6 50.0 3-Point Percentage 50.0 42.9 47.4 Free Throw Percentage 92.3 66.7 75.7 Rebound Margin +2 - 6 - 4
Jan. 29 vs. Maryland 1st Half 2nd Half Total Points 43 50 93 Opponent Points 53 32 85 Field Goal Percentage 44.0 50.0 47.1 Opponent Field Goal % 51.5 36.0 44.8 3-Point Percentage 33.3 50.0 41.2 Opponent 3-Point FG % 50.0 36.4 43.5
Deacons Up To 16th, 15th In National Polls
Wake Forest inched up three slots to 16th in the Associated Press poll and two spots to 15th in the ESPN/ USA Today poll this week. More on Wake in the polls:
- The Deacons, ranked as high as 4th this season, rebounded in the polls this week after suffering their biggest drop since 1976 the previous week.
- There are three other ACC teams in the AP poll -- (1) Duke, (15) Georgia Tech and (17) North Carolina.
- The Deacons have been ranked in the AP poll for 26 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 40 times in 47 weeks under Skip Prosser.
- In other polls, Wake Forest is ranked 19th by Blue Ribbon Yearbook, 14th by CBS Sportsline, 13th in the Sagarin Ratings and 25th at CollegeRPI.com.
Chris Paul On Wooden Midseason List
Deacon freshman Chris Paul is one of 30 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award and Wooden All-America Team announced Jan. 26.
Paul is averaging 12.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally in steals. Paul ranks fourth in the ACC in assists and third in assist-turnover ratio. 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.
Rankings, Deacs, Heels, Etc.
- Wake Forest is 1-3 this season against nationally-ranked teams including an 0-1 record at home. The Deacons beat then-No. 4 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and lost at No. 18 Texas and No. 2 Duke. Wake lost at home Jan. 20 against No. 11 Georgia Tech.
- The Deacons faced six ranked teams all of last season (earning a 3-3 record) and Wake is sure to face more than six this season. On the horizon are three games against teams currently in the national polls -- No. 1 Duke, No. 10 Cincinnati and No. 15 Georgia Tech. The Deacs will play three other teams that are currently receiving votes in the polls -- NC State, Florida State and Maryland.
- The first meeting this season between Wake Forest and North Carolina marked the first Wake Forest-North Carolina game that both teams were nationally-ranked since Feb. 6, 2001 when No. 1 UNC beat No. 19 Wake in Winston-Salem.
- The last time North Carolina came to Winston-Salem as a ranked team (Feb. 6, 2001), the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 nationally.
Two Of Nation's Top-Scoring Teams Meet
The two highest-scoring teams in the ACC and all of Division I basketball meet Saturday when Wake Forest takes on North Carolina.
North Carolina (86.1 ppg.) ranks second nationally in scoring behind Arizona (86.9), and Wake Forest ranks fifth (84.0 ppg.). When the Deacons and Tar Heels met Dec. 20 in Chapel Hill, the two teams combined for 233 points in a triple-overtime thriller.
The Deacons and Tar Heels are closely associated in other statistical categories:
- North Carolina (10.84 steals per game) and Wake Forest (10.61) rank one-two in the ACC and both rank in the top 10 nationally for steals per game.
- North Carolina (+4.68) and Wake Forest (+4.22) rank first and second, respectively, in the ACC in turnover margin.
- North Carolina (47.2 percent) ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage and Wake Forest (46.9) ranks third.
Deacon-Tar Heel Series History
- North Carolina leads the all-time series, 146-62.
- The 208 meetings between the two teams is the fifth-longest series in the ACC.
- Wake Forest has won the last five meetings -- the Deacons' longest streak in the series since winning six straight from 1961-62 to 1963-64.
- The Deacons have won seven out of the last 11 meetings.
- Wake Forest has won the last two, and three out of the last four meetings at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. All-time at Joel Coliseum, the series is tied 7-7.
- The Wake-Carolina series is more than 93 years old. The first meeting came during the 1910-11 season.
- Deacon head coach Skip Prosser is 5-0 all-time against North Carolina.
- North Carolina coach Roy Williams is 2-2 all-time against Wake Forest, with three games coming while coaching at Kansas.
- Prosser is 1-1 when coaching against Williams. In 1999-00, Prosser's Xavier team lost to Williams' Kansas team in the second round of the Great Alaska Shootout.
Wake Forest-North Carolina Connections
- Wake Forest freshman Chris Paul was a high school rival of North Carolina's Reyshawn Terry in Winston-Salem. Paul, however, considers Terry his best friend from another Division I team. Paul and Terry were AAU teammates.
- UNC has two players on its roster from Winston-Salem -- Terry and freshman Justin Bohlander.
- Wake sophomore Eric Williams played on the same team in the 2002 McDonald's High School All-American game with North Carolina's Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton and Sean May.
- Former Deacon All-American Josh Howard and former Tar Heel All-American Antwan Jamison are teammates on the Dallas Mavericks.
- Deacon sophomore Justin Gray and UNC sophomore Rashad McCants played on the same AAU team.
- Gray and UNC's Phillip McLamb and Wes Miller all hail from Charlotte.
- The Voice of the Tar Heels, Woody Durham, was once the Voice of the Deacons -- at least during football season, from 1964-68.
- The late Horace "Bones" McKinney graduated from North Carolina and later served as a very successful head coach at Wake Forest.
- Carolina coach Roy Williams and assistants Joe Holladay, Steve Robinson, Jerod Haase and C.B. McGrath all previously worked at Kansas. Wake Forest assistant AD Dean Buchan and Deacon media relations assistant Mike Vest previously worked at Kansas.
- Wake Forest media relations intern Jeremy Hoffman is a 2003 North Carolina graduate.
- Wake Forest basketball strength and conditioning coach Matt Jennings is a North Carolina graduate.
Billy's Back
Billy Packer, who led Wake Forest to ACC championships in 1961 and 1962 and its only Final Four appearance in 1962, will call the game for CBS Saturday.
The First Meeting: An Instant Classic
The first game of the 51st season of ACC basketball was one for the books. An attempt to put the Dec. 20 Wake Forest (119)-North Carolina (114), triple-overtime game into statistical perspective:
233 Combined Points
- Tied for the second-most in ACC history.
- Wake's Skip Prosser has been involved in two of the three highest combined scoring ACC games in league history. Wake Forest (115) and Clemson (118) combined for 233 points on Feb. 13, 2002.
- Tied a Wake record for most combined points in a game.
- Broke a North Carolina record for the most combined points.
Wake Forest's 119 Points
- The most points ever scored by a team against UNC.
- Wake Forest record for most points scored on the road (previously 115).
- Wake Forest record for most points scored against a ranked team (previously 103).
- The fourth-most single-game points in school history.
North Carolina's 114 Points
- The first time North Carolina has ever lost a game while scoring 100 points.
- One point shy of tying the ACC record for most points scored by a losing team.
- Wake Forest record for most points allowed in a win.
Three Overtimes
- Only one other game in ACC history included more overtime periods. The Wake Forest-NC State game on March 4, 1989 is the only four-overtime league game in ACC history.
- Was the second-longest game in Wake Forest history. Only the WFU-NCSU game was longer.
- While Wake Forest has played one four overtime game and several double-OT games, it was the first triple-overtime game in school history.
- The first multiple-overtime game in Smith Center history.
Miscellaneous - Wake's 46 field goals were its most in a game since Nov. 29, 1984 and its most in an ACC game since Jan. 22, 1975.
- Wake's 90 field goal attempts were its most since Feb. 25, 1976 and tied for the fourth-most in school history.
- Thirteen players scored in double figures including seven by Wake Forest players.
Gray Emerging As A Star In The ACC
On a very balanced team, sophomore guard Justin Gray is emerging as one of the top players in the ACC:
- Over his last three games, Gray scored 63 points and made 10 three-point field goals.
- With 51 three-point field goals in 18 games this season, Gray ranks third in the ACC for three-pointers per game (2.83).
- He leads the team and ranks ninth in the ACC in scoring (14.8 ppg.).
- Gray ranks among the ACC leaders in six categories -- free throw percentage (2nd), three-point field goals (3rd), scoring (9th), 3-point percentage (7th), assists (12th) and steals (16th).
- He averages 17.7 points per game in road contests.
- Gray has made at least one three-point field goal in 29 out of his last 30 games.
- He is shooting 86.8 percent from the free throw line, which ranks second in the ACC and would be the eighth-highest single season percentage in Wake Forest history.
- Even though he missed 10 games last season because of a broken jaw, he has already amassed 559 career points.
- Gray made a career-high eight three-point field goals Jan. 13 at Texas en route to a career-best 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.
Thinner "Big E" Leads ACC In FG%
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.
Last season as a freshman, "Big E" battled more than just a weight problem. He was foul-prone and inconsistent. This year he is establishing himself as one of the top players in the ACC. More:
- Williams has improved his scoring average from 8.7 ppg. last season to 13.4 ppg. this season. He ranks 15th in the ACC in scoring.
- He ranks first in the ACC in field goal percentage (.543).
- Williams ranks among the ACC leaders in three other statistical categories -- offensive rebounds (6th), rebound average (12th) and free throw percentage (12th).
- Williams has started all 49 games of his career.
- He was named ACC Player of the Week Dec. 22.
- He was instrumental in Wake's triple-overtime win at 4th-ranked North Carolina. He hit what proved to be the game-winner in the third overtime and scored 24 points against the Tar Heels.
Downey: Solid As A Starter Or As Reserve
Junior guard Taron Downey, has proven to be productive as a starter (53 career starts) or as Wake's sixth man.
- After an early January slump, Downey has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. - Over the last three games, Downey scored 37 points and dished out 12 assists.
- Downey's career free throw percentage (.847) is the fourth-highest in Wake Forest history. His free throw percentage this season (.870) would be the sixth-best in Wake history.
- He is the 11th player in Wake Forest history to make 100 career three-point field goals (he has 106).
- With 250 career assists, Downey will become the eighth player at Wake to record 300 career assists.
- He has scored 655 career points.
- This season, he ranks sixth in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio, 10th in assists, 10th in three-point percentage and 11th in three-point field goals per game.
"Mayor" One Of The Nation's Top Rookies
Chris Paul has proven to be one of the nation's top freshmen and a candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year honors:
- He is one of just two freshmen -- joining Minnesota's Kris Humphries -- on the midseason list of 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award.
- Paul has been named ACC Rookie of the Week four times.
- He ranks fourth in the nation in steals per game (3.22).
- He leads all ACC freshmen and ranks fourth in the ACC in assists per game (5.39).
- Paul ranks third in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio (2.42).
- Paul has 97 assists and just 40 turnovers in a team-high 590 minutes of action.That equates to just one turnover every 14.8 minutes.
- With 58 steals, he has already shattered 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.
- He is attempting to be the first freshman to lead the ACC in steals since NC State's Chris Corchiani in 1988.
- He is attempting to become the first Deacon player, regardless of class, to lead the ACC in steals since Tyrone Bogues did it three straight years from 1985-87.
- With 97 assists, only one freshman in Wake Forest history -- Derrick McQueen (147) -- had more assists.
- His free throw percentage (.810) is the fourth-highest ever by a Deacon freshman, ranks fifth overall in the ACC and he goes to the line more than any Deacon.
- He has started every game and leads the team in minutes played (32.8 mpg.).
- The shortest player on the roster, Paul (6-0) has eight blocked shots.
- Paul (12.2 points per game) ranks second among ACC freshmen in scoring.
Levy Defies His Lanky Frame
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:
- In ACC games only, Levy ranks second in the league in rebounds per game (8.6) and he leads the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (3.75).
- Levy leads the team and ranks third in the ACC (all games) in rebounding (8.1 rpg.).
- He ranks third in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (3.17) and fourth in defensive rebounds (4.89).
- Levy is shooting 54.0 percent from the field.
- He leads the team and ranks 12th in the ACC in blocked shots (1.00).
- Levy leads the team in double-doubles (3).
Strickland Brings Energy Off The Bench
Sophomore Trent Strickland spent his freshman season as a back-up to All-American Josh Howard. Now, he's bringing Howard-like skills off the bench as Wake Forest's sixth-man and part-time starter.
Strickland averages 8.1 points per game and he has developed into a perimeter threat (11 three-point field goals). His rise in offensive production can be credited to the 500-plus jumpers he takes alone, almost every night, in Wake's practice facility. On defense, Strickland is one of Wake's top players.
After waiting a year and a half for his first career start, Strickland was thrown into the fire. His first three starts came against nationally-ranked teams (Texas, Duke and Georgia Tech) in front of national TV audiences.
The Great A-Viss
Wake Forest freshman center Kyle Visser is looking more and more like one of the real steals of his recruiting class.
The Deacon coaching staff felt like Visser, who is fundamentally sound and runs the court well, had plenty of potential, but they didn't expect Visser to blossom so early.
Visser played sparingly until forced into action Dec. 20 in Wake's triple-overtime win over North Carolina. He responded with a career-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Visser produced those numbers one game after not getting off the bench against SMU Dec. 15.
The Grand Rapids (MI) native has scored in double figures in three of the last four games. He is shooting 57.1 from the floor and he has more blocked shots (11) than turnovers (10).
Props To Skip
Did you know this about Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser?
- His winning percentage in ACC league games (.650/26-14) is the third-highest ever by a coach in his first three seasons in the conference. Only Vic Bubas and Bill Guthridge had higher winning percentages (.667) in their first three years in the league.
- Prosser's overall winning percentage at Wake Forest (.711/59-24) 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 winning percentages than Prosser.
- His career winning percentage (.687/224-102) is the 15th-highest nationally among all active Division I coaches.
- ABC/ESPN's Dick Vitale recently called Prosser the second-leading early candidate for National Coach of the Year honors.
- Wake already has two 100-point games this season. 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.
On Pace To Break Scoring, Steals Records
- Wake's scoring average (84.0 points per game) is its highest since 1976.
- Wake is second in the ACC and ninth in the nation in steals per game (10.61). The Deacons could break the school record of 10.5 steals per game set in 1977-78.
- Freshman Chris Paul ranks fourth nationally in steals per game (3.22).
Wake Approaching Victory Milestones
Wake Forest needs the following number of wins to reach various milestones:
Wins Needed Would Give Wake Forest... 1 Average of 20 wins over the last 3 years. 1 Coach Skip Prosser's 225th career win. 2 Its 14th consecutive winning season. 2 Average of 20 wins over the last 2 years. 2 80 victories over the last four seasons combined. 4 Its 1,300th all-time victory.
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.
Magic Number: 82
Wake Forest is undefeated when it scores at least 82 points -- or two points less than what the Deacons are averaging this season (84.0 ppg.).
The Deacons are also undefeated (7-0) when they shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
Deacons Are Balanced Bunch
The Deacons are sharing the spotlight this season:
- Five different Deacons average at least 10.4 points per game and eight players are contributing at least 5.6 points per contest.
- Eight different players have scored in double figures at least twice and five different Deacs have scored 20 or more points in a game.
- Eleven different Deacons have made at least one three-point field goal.
- Eight different Wake Forest players are averaging at least 12 minutes per game.
Better With Time
Wake Forest has improved its winning percentage each of the last five decades. In the 1960s, the Deacons won just 50.7 percent of their games. That percentage increased to .535 in the 1970s, .537 in the 1980s, up to .666 in the 1990s and is at .690 this decade.
In the 1980s Wake won just 34.3 percent of its ACC games, compared to 56.9 percent in the 1990s and 60.7 percent this decade.
Deacons Hope Injury Bug Is Behind Them
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.
1,300 In Sight
With 1,296 all-time victories, Wake Forest is four wins shy of reaching the 1,300-win milestone. The Deacons are 1,296-995 all-time.
Home Court Streak Ends At 24
Wake Forest's home loss to Georgia Tech Jan. 20 ended a 24-game home court win streak and marked the Deacons' first loss at Joel Coliseum since Feb. 21, 2002, against Duke. The 24-game streak fell one short of tying the school record for consecutive home court wins.
Wake Forest has won 36 of 40 home games in the Skip Prosser era.
Atlanta Will Carry Deac Radio Broadcasts
The Zone (790 AM) in Atlanta will be airing the following schedule of Wake Forest basketball games: Feb. 12 -- Wake Forest at Clemson Feb. 15 -- Wake Forest vs. Cincinnati Feb. 18 -- Wake Forest vs. Duke March 2 -- Wake Forest at Virginia
Wake Signs One In Early Signing Period
Cameron Stanley, a 6-7 senior at Raleigh Millbrook High School, signed a letter-of-intent to play basketball at Wake Forest, Demon Deacon head coach Skip Prosser confirmed November 19. Stanley averaged 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as a junior in 2002-03 while leading Millbrook to a 26-5 record.
He was a finalist for North Carolina's Mr. Basketball, he earned a spot on the all-conference team and he emerged as one of the nation's top prospects at the ABCD camp in Teaneck, N.J.. Stanley was also invited to USA Basketball's Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo. As a sophomore, Stanley averaged 19.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
The current Wake Forest roster includes no scholarship seniors. Assuming the roster remains intact, Stanley will be one of nine North Carolina natives on the 2004-05 Deacon roster.
Wake Forest Retires Howard's Jersey
Wake Forest retired the jersey of former consensus All-American Josh Howard during a ceremony at halftime of Wake's Jan. 29 game against Maryland.
Howard, currently a rookie with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, attended the ceremony.
In 2003, Howard enjoyed a remarkable season. He was the first unanimous selection for ACC Player of the Year since NC State's David Thompson in 1975. Howard, a consensus first team All-American last season, is one of five players in the history of the ACC to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocked shots. He led Wake Forest to a 25-6 record in 2003 and the Deacons won the ACC regular season title for the first time in more than 40 years. Howard's jersey is the 10th to be retired at Wake Forest and the first since Tim Duncan in 1997. Other Deacons to have their jerseys retired: Tyrone Bogues, Skip Brown, Len Chappell, Randolph Childress, Charlie Davis, Rod Griffin, Dickie Hemric and Rodney Rogers.
Josh To Play For Rookies
Josh Howard was one of nine rookies selected to play All-Star weekend in the annual Rookies vs. Sophomores game. This year's event takes place Feb. 13th in Los Angeles.
Downey Made Remarkable Recovery To Lead Deacons To Season-Opening Win
Junior guard Taron Downey was expected to play sparingly -- if at all -- in Wake Forest's season opener Nov. 13 against Memphis in Madison Square Garden.
After all, just eight days earlier, Gray had an emergency appendectomy. He took part in just one practice and avoided all contact drills prior to the team's departure to New York. Freshman Chris Paul started in Downey's spot at point guard.
When sophomore guard Justin Gray got into foul trouble, Downey was inserted into the game. Coach Skip Prosser continually consulted with Downey on his condition and the junior ended up playing 29 minutes. Downey scored a career-high 20.
