Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Holds Basketball Media Day
10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 14, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest held its annual Basketball Media Day this afternoon in the Budd Gym in the Miller Center. Head coach Dino Gaudio and the Demon Deacon players were on hand to speak with the media.
The Deacons welcomed in approximately 18 different media outlets on Wednesday, including all of the local newspapers and television stations.
Wake Forest also announced at Media Day Gaudio's contract extension through the 2013-14 season.
The Deacons open up practice this Friday, Oct. 16. Wake Forest will kickoff the 2009-10 campaign on Nov. 13 vs. Oral Roberts at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Quotes from Media Day
Head Coach Dino Gaudio
On his contract extension...
"I love Wake Forest. I want to be here for a long, long time. I think it's reflective of the players we have, the direction of the program. It's not only on the basketball floor, but off. It's the conduct of our young men, the graduation of players, so in that sense it's incredibly rewarding."
On the team's makeup this year...
"We're really excited about it because we have four seniors, Ishmael Smith, L.D. Williams, Chas McFarland and David Weaver. Two years ago we had no seniors, last year we had one. So I'm excited to coach some veteran guys and with the influx of young talent we have, we're excited about the season."
On the advantage of having four seniors...
"It helps because they've been through the wars of the conference, of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. They understand the pace of practice, how hard you have to go. And that will be carried over to the younger guys."
On building on last season...
"This time last year there weren't high expectations. When we were 16-0, on January 19, that's where expectations started. We were making the innocent climb until then. We were young. We showed our youth at various times during the year. But we have a veteran group now, the core, our senior guys, will carry us through some tough times."
On point guard Ishmael Smith...
"Knock on wood, Ishmael Smith has been healthy through the preseason. I really believe he is one of, if not the best, point guard in the ACC. To have a floor leader like that is a huge asset for us."
Sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu
On the differences of being a sophomore as compared to a freshman...
"Once you've been here for a year, you know the ins and outs of things. It just seems like things are going faster this year. Last year, every day was a struggle. This year, I know how to attack things. I have everything set up the way I want it. Things are going smoother this year for me."
On replacing two NBA players from the 2009 team...
"Other teams from the ACC lost players to the NBA as well. Every year, you're going to lose players due to graduation or to the NBA. It's an opportunity for other players on the team to step up."
On if he will have to score more this season...
"I'm not sure if I'll have to score more. We have some talented freshmen that are coming in. We have my class, which came in highly-regarded. I'm not sure where the points are going to come from, but we're going to have to score to be able to win."
Senior guard L.D. Williams
On how this year's team will play...
"It's going to be the same as last year. We'll work hard, run the floor and obviously, try to beat our opponents. Defense is our staple. Everybody knows Wake Forest is going to play defense and run fast. We haven't changed anything."
On if he sets the tone on the defensive end of the floor...
"For sure. Since I'm a senior, I set the tone for a lot of things. My teammates look for me when we need defense. For my teammates to believe that I can guard the best offensive guy on the other team night in and night out, it makes me feel confident enough to be able to go out and do it."
On the importance of having four seniors on the team...
"It means a lot. If you think about teams that have had a lot of seniors, such as North Carolina last year, they usually have a lot of success. We're hoping to continue that trend. We bring a lot of experience this year. We've been here when Wake was at its worst and when Wake was at its best. There's nothing that anyone can throw at us that we haven't seen. We're trying to teach the young guys and bring them up in the same mindset as the seniors."
