Deacons Entertain Longwood Wednesday Night At 7 pm
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2005
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Game 27
#6/6 Wake Forest (22-4, 10-3) vs. Longwood (1-28)
Feb. 23, 2005 / 7:05 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.
Radio: XM Satellite Radio (nationally).
Records: Wake Forest is 22-4 overall and 10-3 in the ACC after losing its first game since Jan. 27, 102-92 at 7th-ranked Duke Sunday night. Longwood is 1-28 overall and the independent Lancers lost at James Madison, 72-70, Monday night.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Longwood is not ranked.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy `72) is 89-33 (.729) in his fourth season with the Demon Deacons, 254-111 (.695) in his 12th season overall. Longwood coach Mike Gillian (North Adams State `86) is 6-50 in two seasons with the Farmville (VA) school, 6-50 in two seasons overall.
Series: First meeting.
Officials: Announced on game day.
Deacons Host Longwood Wednesday Night In Non-Conference Action
Wake Forest, coming off its first loss in February, hosts Longwood Wednesday night in a non-conference game at Lawrence Joel Coliseum (7:05 pm/no TV).
The sixth-ranked Demon Deacons, 22-4 overall and 10-3 in the ACC, lost a 102-92 shootout at No. 7 Duke Sunday night. All-American candidate Chris Paul had 27 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals to lead five Deacons in double figures.
Junior Justin Gray (16.6 ppg), junior Eric Williams (16.1 ppg and 7.5 rpg) and Paul (15.1 ppg and 6.6 apg) lead the Deacons. Wake Forest is one of the nation's highest-scoring teams at 85.8 points per game.
Longwood, 1-28, takes a 17-game losing streak into Wednesday's game after a 72-70 loss at James Madison Monday. The Lancers, an independent, are led by sophomore guard Michael Jefferson (15.4 ppg).
Wednesday's game will mark the first meeting ever between the two schools.
Today's Tip-Off
- Wake Forest begins a three-game homestand Wednesday. Following the Longwood game, the Deacons host Virginia Sunday and Georgia Tech March 2.
- After Sunday's loss at Duke, Wake Forest finds itself in second place in the ACC standings behind North Carolina.
- A Wake Forest win Wednesday night would give the Deacons a 13-1 record this season against non-conference teams and it would also give Wake 90 victories over the last four seasons combined.
- Wake ranks among the nation's leaders in scoring offense (85.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.493), 3-point field goal percentage (.404) and win percentage (84.6).
Deacons Fall At No. 7 Duke, 102-92
J.J. Redick scored a career-high 38 points after Mike Krzyzewski shook up the starting lineup, and reserve Lee Melchionni added 15 to lead the seventh-ranked Blue Devils past No. 5 Wake Forest 102-92 Sunday night.
Duke, coming off consecutive losses for only the fourth time in the past eight seasons, had its way with the Demon Deacons in the second half. After trailing by two at the break, the Blue Devils shot 61 percent in the final 20 minutes to reach their highest point total of the season.
Chris Paul had 27 points and Trent Strickland scored 15 for Wake Forest, which fell out of a first-place tie with North Carolina.
Duke center Shelden Williams finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. And Melchionni, a junior who played very little during his first two seasons, came up with big play after big play when the Blue Devils needed it most.
The Blue Devils closed it out at the free throw line to win for only the third time in the past six games. They last lost three in a row to complete the 1995-96 season.
More From Sunday's Loss At Duke
- Wake Forest's 28 personal fouls were a season-high, the most since committing 29 at Clemson in 2004.
- Wake Forest's 8-of-12 performance (75.0 percent) from three-point range was the best in the Skip Prosser era (previous: 10-of-15 vs. Cincinnati in 2004).
- Duke's 54.5 percent from three-point range is an opponent season-high (previous: 54.2 by Duke) and tied for fifth-best by a Deacon opponent in the Skip Prosser era.
- J.J. Redick scored the most points by a Deacon opponent in the Skip Prosser era -- the most since Maryland's Walt Williams scored 39 points on Jan. 22, 1992.
- Wake Forest allowed 100 points for the second time this season (Georgia Tech also scored 102).
- Wake lost for the first time this season and just the fourth time in the Prosser era when shooting 50 percent or better.
Deacs Continue To Reach Win Milestones
- Wake Forest's 22 wins ties for the sixth-most single-season victories in school history.
- Wake Forest's 22-3 start was its best through 25 games in nearly 80 years -- since the 1926-27 team finished the season at 22-3.
- The Deacons have double-digit ACC wins for just the second time in the last eight years.
- Wake's 10 ACC victories tie for the ninth-most single-season league wins in school history.
- The Deacons have won 20 games or more in each of the last four seasons.
- Wake Forest clinched a winning season for the 15th consecutive year.
- The Deacons have won 89 games over the last four seasons combined -- all under coach Skip Prosser -- to average 22.3 wins per season.
- Wake Forest is one win away from its 90th victory in a four-year span. That has happened only three times previously in Deacon history.
Wake Forest-Longwood Series History
- First meeting.
- Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser has never coached against Longwood.
- The Deacons will play their fifth different opponent this season from the commonwealth of Virginia -- VCU, Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Longwood. Wake is 4-0 so far against Virginia teams and the Deacons host the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday.
Deacon-Lancer Connections
- Both Wake Forest and Longwood have rosters filled with in-state products. The Deacons have nine North Carolinians on their roster. The Lancers have seven players from Virginia on their roster.
- Wake Forest's Justin Gray and Richard Joyce both finished their high school careers in Virginia at Oak Hill Academy.
- Deacons Taron Downey (Fork Union) and Trent Strickland (Hargrave) attended prep school in Virginia.
- Wake Forest and Longwood have two common opponents -- Illinois and Cincinnati. The Deacons lost at Illinois and won at Cincinnati. The Lancers lost to both teams on the road.
Deacons Slip To No. 6 In The Polls
Wake Forest dropped from No. 5 to No. 6 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this week.
The Deacons have been in the AP top 25 for 48 consecutive weeks. Only five schools have a longer current streak. The school record for consecutive weeks ranked is 54, set from the start of the 1994-95 season through March 10, 1997.
The Deacons have been ranked in the top 10 for 15 consecutive weeks. The school record is 19 weeks, from March of 1996 to March of 1997.
Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 earlier this season for the first time in school history.
Wake Forest 6-3 vs. Ranked Teams
- Wake Forest is 6-3 this season against nationally-ranked teams with wins over then No. 18 Arizona, No. 14 Texas, No. 25 Virginia, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 20 Cincinnati and No. 4 Duke, and losses on the road at No. 5 Illinois, No. 22 Georgia Tech and No. 7 Duke.
- Wake's wins against ranked teams have come at home (Texas, UNC and Duke), on the road (UVa and Cincinnati) and at a neutral site (Arizona).
- Wake Forest also defeated George Washington and Maryland, both of which have been in and out of the polls all season.
- The Deacs have their most wins against ranked teams since going 6-4 in 1996-97 -- the last season Wake posted a winning record against ranked clubs.
- The Deacons defeated two ranked teams before Christmas for the first time in school history.
Nation's Toughest Schedule?
Wake Forest's schedule is proving to be one of the strongest in the nation:
- Wake Forest, according to the Sagarin Ratings, has the nation's most difficult schedule.
- Five of the 25 teams in the Associated Press poll are Wake Forest opponents -- #1 Illinois, #2 North Carolina, #7 Duke, #9 Arizona and #24 Cincinnati.
- Five different Deacon opponents are receiving votes for one or both major polls.
- Wake Forest is the only ACC school to play four games against non-conference ranked opponents.
- The Deacons have already played nine teams that were ranked at tip-off -- Illinois, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Duke (twice).
Seniors To Be Recognized On Sunday
Wake Forest will recognize seniors Vytas Danelius, Taron Downey, Scott Feather and Jamaal Levy prior to Sunday's game against Virginia. Also recognized will be senior student-managers Jackie Harris and Brian Gerarty.
Skip: 9 Straight 20-Win Seasons
Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser gained his 250th career victory Feb. 2 against Duke. Prosser is now 254-111 (.695) in 12 seasons as a head coach.
More on Prosser:
- Prosser's teams have won 20 games or more in nine consecutive seasons.
- His winning percentage since joining the ACC (.729) is the fifth-highest in the 52-year history of the league. Only Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Vic Bubas and Bill Guthridge produced higher winning percentages.
- Prosser's record in ACC play is 41-20 (.672).
- Prosser is the only coach in NCAA history to lead three schools to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at each school -- Loyola (MD), Xavier and Wake Forest.
Three Deacs Reach 1,000 This Season
Senior Taron Downey scored his 1,000th career point Feb. 10 against NC State, becoming the third Demon Deacon this season and the 44th player in Wake history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
Junior Eric Williams scored his 1,000th career point Feb. 2. Junior Justin Gray scored his 1,000th point Dec. 30 against North Carolina A&T in just his 66th career game.
Senior Vytas Danelius has scored 929 career points and sophomore Chris Paul has 853 points in just two seasons.
Only six schools have produced more 1,000-point scorers than Wake Forest.
Deacons 6-1 In The Close Ones
Wake has played its share of barn-burners this season:
- Wake Forest has played seven games decided by five points or less and the Deacons are 6-1 in those games.
- Wake Forest has won nail-biters at home (89-88 over No. 14 Texas and 92-89 over No. 4 Duke), on the road (67-64 at Temple, 74-70 at Cincinnati and 68-63 at Miami) and at neutral sites (63-60 vs. No. 18 Arizona in New York).
- In Skip Prosser's four years, the Deacs are 11-5 in games decided by three points or less, 22-10 in games decided by five points or less and 39-20 in games decided by 10 points or less.
- The Deacs have played two overtime games this season.
Keys To Wake Forest's Success
When Wake Forest is playing winning basketball, the Deacons are also on top of their game defensively:
- Opponents have shot 50 percent or better against Wake Forest five times this season, including all four losses.
- Four times this season Deacon opponents have scored 91 points or more. All four of those resulted in loses. In fact, Wake opponents average 96.5 points per game in the Deacons' four losses.
- The Deacs have been out-rebounded four times this season. Two of those resulted in losses.
- Wake Forest has shown an ability to win at any tempo, winning games in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 100-plus.
Wake Forest Undefeated When...
... (22-0) when holding opponents to less than 90 points.
... (21-0) when holding opponents below 50 percent shooting.
... (21-0) when leading with 5:00 remaining.
Lighting Up The Scoreboard
- Wake Forest ranks third nationally in scoring (85.8 points per game) -- the Deacons' highest scoring average since 1976 and the third-highest scoring average in school history.
- In ACC games, the Deacons rank first in the league in scoring at 88.8 points per game.
- Wake scored more than 90 points in three straight games (from Jan. 27-Feb. 2) for the first time since 1993.
- The Deacons have scored 80 points or more in 16 out of the last 18 games.
- Wake Forest has scored at least 81 points in 12 of 13 ACC games.
- Wake has scored at least 100 points twice this season and eight times in the Skip Prosser era.
Deacons Rank Among NCAA Leaders
Wake Forest ranks among the top 25 nationally in six different statistical categories:
Gray, Paul On Wooden Midseason List
Wake Forest guards Justin Gray and Chris Paul are two of 30 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, which goes annually to the nation's top player. Gray and Paul are two of eight ACC players on the list of 30.
Making `Em When It Counts
Wake Forest, which shoots 70.0 percent from the free throw line, has shot 76.1 percent (121-159) from the line in the final five minutes of games this season. Senior Vytas Danelius is 6-of-6 from the line in the final five minutes and senior Taron Downey shoots 87 percent (20-of-23).
Paul In Line For Several Awards
- Chris Paul is a midseason finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy and the Bob Cousy Award.
- An Academic All-District selection, Paul is a solid contender for Academic All-America honors.
- Paul has been named ACC Player of the Week twice this season.
- He was the ESPN.com National Player of the Week and ESPN's Big Man On Campus Jan. 17.
- Dick Vitale named Paul his mid-season National Player of the Year.
- Paul was named the co-Male Athlete of the Year by USA Basketball, an award he shares with North Carolina's Sean May.
- He was the leading vote-getter for the Associated Press Preseason All-America team.
- Paul edged NC State's Julius Hodge for pre-season ACC Player of the Year honors by a 38-to-35 count.
Paul Named Academic All-District
Wake Forest sophomore Chris Paul has been selected to the 2005 /ESPN the Magazine/ Academic All-District III Men's Basketball University Division Team, announced College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
To be eligible for the team, student athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher. Academic All-America selections will draw from the pool of All-District teams later this year.
Joining Paul on the All-District III team were Brian Bender of Gardner-Webb, Will Emerson of Mercer, Alex Loughton of Old Dominion and Shawan Robinson of Clemson.
Deacons Eye 200th Win In The Joel
Wake Forest has always enjoyed success within the friendly confines of Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Demon Deacons are 199-42 (.826) all-time at The Joel.
That winning percentage is even higher recently. In Skip Prosser's four seasons with the Deacons, Wake is 54-6 (.900), including an 13-0 record so far this season.
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 season with the Deacons. Under Prosser, Wake is 29-1 at home against non-ACC competition.
Small Enrollment, Big Crowds
Wake Forest has an undergraduate enrollment of just 4,037 (6,444 including graduate students), so one might think there would be plenty of empty seats in the 14,665-seat Lawrence Joel Coliseum for home games.
However, near-capacity crowds are the norm at 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 last year's numbers, Wake Forest's attendance was 204.8 percent of its total enrollment last year. No other ACC school had a percentage higher than 80.1 percent last year.
Out of the 4,037 undergraduate students, nearly 2,500 are members of the Screamin' Demons, Wake's student fan club.
"We hadn't faced a crowd like this all season. Some people don't think a crowd can affect anybody's game but when people are rowdy and jumping around it's hard to focus."
-- North Carolina's Rashad McCants
Deacons Set NCAA Free Throw Record
Wake Forest broke an NCAA record Jan. 18 at Florida State by making its 50th consecutive free throw without a miss. The Demon Deacons made an ACC record 32-of-32 free throws against North Carolina Jan. 15, then made their first 18 attempts at Florida State.
The previous record of 49 consecutive free throws made was held by Indiana State in 1991.
With their 32-of-32 performance Jan. 15, the Deacons set a school, ACC and Lawrence Joel Coliseum record. Wake came within two free throws of tying the NCAA single-game record.
Stanley Redshirting 2004-05
Cameron Stanley, the only freshman on the Demon Deacon roster, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December and will redshirt this season. Stanley has practiced with the team all season, but is still trying to get completely comfortable with the knee.
New Banners On Display
Wake Forest has new banners in Lawrence Joel Coliseum, recognizing all former Demon Deacons who have their jerseys retired. In addition, there are banners for NCAA Tournament participation, ACC championships and ACC regular season titles.
Paul Receives USA Basketball Honor
USA Basketball teammates Sean May of North Carolina and Wake Forest's Chris Paul, who helped lead the 2004 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team to a gold medal, were selected USA Basketball co-Male Athletes of the Year by the USA Basketball Executive Committee. The announcement was made Dec. 28.
"I'm still trying to figure out how this happened," said a stunned Paul. "This is such an honor. Sean is so deserving of this, he had a great summer. He was huge for our team. But I know that neither Sean nor I could have done this without our teammates."
As the co-USA Basketball Male Athletes of the Year, May and Paul have been nominated to the U.S. Olympic Committee for consideration of its 2004 Male Athlete of the Year Award.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Wake Forest began ACC play 4-0 for the first time since 1996-97 -- Tim Duncan's senior season.
- Wake's 89-70 win at Virginia Jan. 2 marked the Deacons' largest margin of victory in Charlottesville since 1962.
- The Deacons' 103-68 win at Clemson Jan. 8 was their largest margin of victory ever in an ACC road game.
- Wake's 81-66 win over Maryland Jan. 11 was its largest margin of victory against the Terrapins in 11 years.
- January 2nd was a good day for the Prosser family. An hour after Wake Forest won its ACC opener at Virginia, Deacon coach Skip Prosser learned of more good news -- Bucknell had registered one of the biggest wins in school history, winning on the road at nationally-ranked Pittsburgh. Prosser's son, Mark, is a second-year assistant coach at Bucknell.
- Wake Forest has faced three coaches this season who have won more than 700 career games -- Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Arizona's Lute Olson and Temple's John Chaney.
- 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 Memorial Coliseum. That loss came against Richmond, 74-61.
- Jeremy Ingram, a sophomore guard, transferred to East Carolina at the end of the fall semester. Ingram, a 6-3 Kinston (NC) native, played in eight games last season. He averaged 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game.
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 are sporting 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."
