Wake Forest Athletics
Winter Break Gets the Deacs Ready for ACC Play
1/6/2020 2:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
The winter academic break hasn't been all that much of a break for Wake Forest basketball.
Though the campus is largely devoid of students and there's no classwork, the Deacs have been hitting the brand-new Shah Basketball Complex morning, noon and night as they look to take advantage of extra practice time entering a rigorous 18-game finish against ACC competition.
"This is the second part of the season, then the postseason is the third part," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said after practice Thursday. "Right now we have to make sure we have a good second part."
With 14 days off between games, the Deacs broke for a few days for Christmas, but reconvened on Dec. 27. They met that day and then have practiced twice a day often as they got ready for a trip to Pitt on Jan. 4, when they rallied for a 69-65 victory.
"We had some good practices and some two-a-days where we got after it pretty good," Manning said. "We worked on a lot of different things."
Mornings brought the more-challenging workouts, with the evening sessions a mix of walk-throughs or shooting drills.
"It all depended upon what we thought we'd accomplished in the first session," Manning said about the evening workouts. "It wasn't perfect. There were some days on that second practice where they were dragging a little. You have to fire them up a little bit, but that's to be expected coming off the break we had."
Sophomore wing Isaiah Mucius believes the focus and intensity will lead to good results now that the calendar has turned the page to 2020.
"It's been really good," he said. "Each time we've got on the court, we've gotten better. We're attacking and making sure we push each other. That's what you do with your brothers. The coaches have been turning up the heat on us, and I think we've done a good job of embracing that. That now needs to translate to games."
This is generally a time of year where college basketball teams can show the greatest growth.
"This is what coach calls the life of the pros," Mucius said. "You practice, eat, get your treatment and then get right back in the gym. I love this time of the year, when you really get to focus completely on basketball."
After five days away for the holidays following the win over NC A&T, the players have spent most of their time together at the Shah Basketball Complex.
"We've spent a lot of time here," Manning said. "When you're going through two-a-days, it's a lot of time together. We had a lot of meals together and spent time together in that regard as well.
"They were chomping at the bit to get out there and play a game."
In addition to chowing down on his mother's world-famous macaroni and cheese, Mucius also worked with his father on his game play.
"I watched film with my dad for some little things we can change going into conference play," he said. "It's about making smart shots and slowing down a little bit. Trying to be in the right spot defensively, and pressuring the ball a little more. I need to use my length. I have a seven-foot wingspan, so I need to use that defensively as much as I can by making shots as difficult as possible."
Mucius is averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds a game so far this season.
"We're looking to start off this portion of the schedule on the right foot," he said. "It's a new half of the season, let's go out and try to win every single game. We're going to hit the court and play as hard as we can."
Though the campus is largely devoid of students and there's no classwork, the Deacs have been hitting the brand-new Shah Basketball Complex morning, noon and night as they look to take advantage of extra practice time entering a rigorous 18-game finish against ACC competition.
"This is the second part of the season, then the postseason is the third part," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said after practice Thursday. "Right now we have to make sure we have a good second part."
With 14 days off between games, the Deacs broke for a few days for Christmas, but reconvened on Dec. 27. They met that day and then have practiced twice a day often as they got ready for a trip to Pitt on Jan. 4, when they rallied for a 69-65 victory.
"We had some good practices and some two-a-days where we got after it pretty good," Manning said. "We worked on a lot of different things."
Mornings brought the more-challenging workouts, with the evening sessions a mix of walk-throughs or shooting drills.
"It all depended upon what we thought we'd accomplished in the first session," Manning said about the evening workouts. "It wasn't perfect. There were some days on that second practice where they were dragging a little. You have to fire them up a little bit, but that's to be expected coming off the break we had."
Sophomore wing Isaiah Mucius believes the focus and intensity will lead to good results now that the calendar has turned the page to 2020.
"It's been really good," he said. "Each time we've got on the court, we've gotten better. We're attacking and making sure we push each other. That's what you do with your brothers. The coaches have been turning up the heat on us, and I think we've done a good job of embracing that. That now needs to translate to games."
This is generally a time of year where college basketball teams can show the greatest growth.
"This is what coach calls the life of the pros," Mucius said. "You practice, eat, get your treatment and then get right back in the gym. I love this time of the year, when you really get to focus completely on basketball."
After five days away for the holidays following the win over NC A&T, the players have spent most of their time together at the Shah Basketball Complex.
"We've spent a lot of time here," Manning said. "When you're going through two-a-days, it's a lot of time together. We had a lot of meals together and spent time together in that regard as well.
"They were chomping at the bit to get out there and play a game."
In addition to chowing down on his mother's world-famous macaroni and cheese, Mucius also worked with his father on his game play.
"I watched film with my dad for some little things we can change going into conference play," he said. "It's about making smart shots and slowing down a little bit. Trying to be in the right spot defensively, and pressuring the ball a little more. I need to use my length. I have a seven-foot wingspan, so I need to use that defensively as much as I can by making shots as difficult as possible."
Mucius is averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds a game so far this season.
"We're looking to start off this portion of the schedule on the right foot," he said. "It's a new half of the season, let's go out and try to win every single game. We're going to hit the court and play as hard as we can."
Players Mentioned
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