Wake Forest Athletics
Andrien White Steps Up for the Deacs in Win over Clemson
2/5/2020 9:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
Long shots often lead to long rebounds.
Wake Forest grad student guard Andrien White clanked a 3-point attempt early in the second half Saturday, but it was tracked down by senior point guard Brandon Childress, who quickly dished it back outside to White.
White was wide open but hesitated.
"Shoot it," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning yelled.
White listened, draining his second opportunity on that trip down the court, spurring a 14-0 Demon Deacon run to start the half that paced a 56-44 victory over Clemson at LJVM Coliseum.
It's easy to understand White's hesitancy, however. He was 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-4 behind the arc in the first half, before missing his first look in the final 20 minutes.
He was down on himself in the locker room during intermission.
"My teammates and coaches got on me," White said. "They told me to keep shooting the basketball, because that's what I do. That really gave me the confidence to come out and be as confident to step up and still take those shots that had rolled out or bounced out in the first half. It felt good."
Shooters gotta shoot, according to Manning.
"If you're a shooter, you believe in it," he said. "He was going to get cussed out if he didn't take open shots, because that's what he's out there to do. You can't be afraid to miss. That's what we tell all of our guys. When you're open and in your range, we've seen you put in the work — be ready to shoot on the catch.
"His second half was really good for us, it sparked us and gave us some energy. He made a couple of big plays and his savvy really helped us out."
Listening to White's comments after the win, it's clear that second shot wasn't going up without the admonition from Manning.
"There was one in the second half where I missed a step-back in the corner," White said. "We got the ball right back and he yelled at me to shoot it again. That definitely helps me a lot as a shooter, having the confidence of the head man all the way down to the last manager that we have.
"If he didn't say anything before that shot, I probably wouldn't have shot it. I probably would have pulled it out. It was great coaching by him to really back his players."
White finished with a team-high 17 points, while center Olivier Sarr grabbed 13 rebounds. Junior guard Chaundee Brown made his return to action after missing the previous seven games with a lower leg injury.
"It was great," White said about Brown. "I think he won us the game with his energy and spark. He got the crowd excited. It definitely ramped up our energy to get him back. It was great to see him back. He's been working hard in the training room and with his rehab. I look forward to having him the rest of the season."
Wake took a three-point lead into halftime, but then exploded on a 14-0 run to take control. White said that started on the defensive end, where they held Clemson to 30.5 percent shooting.
"We just kept doing what we were doing from the get-go, but shots just weren't falling (early)," he said. "They were the same shots we had in the first half, just in the second half we started to make them more. That's what happened for us tonight."
"It starts with the defensive stops, then you get into the transition on offense. That was the key was getting those stops early. If you aren't scoring, you have to stop the other team. That's what we came out of the locker room and did."
Wake Forest grad student guard Andrien White clanked a 3-point attempt early in the second half Saturday, but it was tracked down by senior point guard Brandon Childress, who quickly dished it back outside to White.
White was wide open but hesitated.
"Shoot it," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning yelled.
White listened, draining his second opportunity on that trip down the court, spurring a 14-0 Demon Deacon run to start the half that paced a 56-44 victory over Clemson at LJVM Coliseum.
It's easy to understand White's hesitancy, however. He was 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-4 behind the arc in the first half, before missing his first look in the final 20 minutes.
He was down on himself in the locker room during intermission.
"My teammates and coaches got on me," White said. "They told me to keep shooting the basketball, because that's what I do. That really gave me the confidence to come out and be as confident to step up and still take those shots that had rolled out or bounced out in the first half. It felt good."
Shooters gotta shoot, according to Manning.
"If you're a shooter, you believe in it," he said. "He was going to get cussed out if he didn't take open shots, because that's what he's out there to do. You can't be afraid to miss. That's what we tell all of our guys. When you're open and in your range, we've seen you put in the work — be ready to shoot on the catch.
"His second half was really good for us, it sparked us and gave us some energy. He made a couple of big plays and his savvy really helped us out."
Listening to White's comments after the win, it's clear that second shot wasn't going up without the admonition from Manning.
"There was one in the second half where I missed a step-back in the corner," White said. "We got the ball right back and he yelled at me to shoot it again. That definitely helps me a lot as a shooter, having the confidence of the head man all the way down to the last manager that we have.
"If he didn't say anything before that shot, I probably wouldn't have shot it. I probably would have pulled it out. It was great coaching by him to really back his players."
White finished with a team-high 17 points, while center Olivier Sarr grabbed 13 rebounds. Junior guard Chaundee Brown made his return to action after missing the previous seven games with a lower leg injury.
"It was great," White said about Brown. "I think he won us the game with his energy and spark. He got the crowd excited. It definitely ramped up our energy to get him back. It was great to see him back. He's been working hard in the training room and with his rehab. I look forward to having him the rest of the season."
Wake took a three-point lead into halftime, but then exploded on a 14-0 run to take control. White said that started on the defensive end, where they held Clemson to 30.5 percent shooting.
"We just kept doing what we were doing from the get-go, but shots just weren't falling (early)," he said. "They were the same shots we had in the first half, just in the second half we started to make them more. That's what happened for us tonight."
"It starts with the defensive stops, then you get into the transition on offense. That was the key was getting those stops early. If you aren't scoring, you have to stop the other team. That's what we came out of the locker room and did."
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