Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Past to Present; Ivy Continues to Support the Deacs
3/31/2022 11:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
Just eight games into his college career, Sam Ivy found himself on the receiving end of a Muggsy Bogues pass that he just wasn't ready for, resulting in a Wake Forest turnover.
"Look rookie, when I throw you a pass, you need to catch it," Bogues, a senior point guard, told Ivy.
"I knew then I was going to have to step my game up," Ivy said. "He was the best player on the team, so I needed to play at that level to let him know that he was able to trust me when he passed the ball that I was going to finish."
Needless to say, Ivy rose to the challenge in his four seasons at Wake Forest, ranking in the top-10 in program history in both career points and rebounds when he finished his career. He was named to the 2014 ACC Men's Basketball Legends Class.
It was Bogues who interjected himself into Ivy's recruitment after the forward took an official visit to Winston-Salem.
"I went on a recruiting visit and Muggsy was calling every day," Ivy recalled. "I really wanted to play immediately. That was another thing that attracted me, along with playing in the best conference in the country.
"Muggsy was a fast-paced player, and I really liked playing at that pace, because that's how we played in high school. I liked the coaching staff. They were about their business and wanted to win. I loved the state and Wake Forest offered an incredible education, so it was a great place to get my degree."
Ivy's final season in the Old Gold & Black (1989-90) was an eventful one for the Demon Deacons — it was the first year for coach Dave Odom as well as the opening of Joel Coliseum.
"I had heard of Coach Odom before he arrived," Ivy said. "It was a different style of play, but it was fun. Coach Odom was all about defense, but he was not an advocate of blocking shots. I was always a shot blocker.
"One time someone pump faked me, then got past me. Coach Odom told me to just put my hands up. Don't jump, then the guy won't go around you if you don't block the shot."
Of course, any concerns Odom had about shot blocking were quickly set aside a short five years later with the emergence of Tim Duncan. Duncan holds the program record with 481 career blocked shots.
"I'm a shot blocker," Ivy told Odom. "I'm not that guy to put my hands up. He began to trust me to make the decision to try to block the shot or keep my position.
"Now if you blocked it, that was fine, but if you missed it, it was a problem. If your judgment works, then it's fine. But if it doesn't, it's a problem."
Although Ivy has fallen to 20th on the all-time career scoring list at Wake Forest and 18th on the career rebounding list, he still ranks ninth in career field goal percentage, hitting 645-of-1184 for 54.4 percent.
"In my backyard, I always played better on each side of the basket instead of facing it," Ivy said. "I was always more consistent on each side. Perfecting that in my backyard and in AAU competition helped fuel my great field goal percentage.
"I was one of the toughest players. I was always on the court and was a leader. My teammates could always come to me with anything, on or off the court. They trusted me on the court to back them up, support them and help them in any way."
Being named an ACC legend was a special moment for Ivy eight years ago.
"It was such a surreal moment," he said. "I was in a class with the best. To be in that class in that era is nothing but a surreal moment. It's hard to believe a young kid from St. Louis, who really didn't know what he wanted to do in life aside from just playing basketball — to achieve at that level, especially at Wake Forest, is definitely a moment to remember."
He's currently a real estate investor but keeps close tabs on the current-day Demon Deacons. He was in Joel Coliseum in January for the 96-74 victory over North Carolina.
"He's doing a great job," Ivy said about second-year Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes. "The mix of his players works well. That's what we need at our university. We want to win. We have to be able to compete and to do so, we need quality players."
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"Look rookie, when I throw you a pass, you need to catch it," Bogues, a senior point guard, told Ivy.
"I knew then I was going to have to step my game up," Ivy said. "He was the best player on the team, so I needed to play at that level to let him know that he was able to trust me when he passed the ball that I was going to finish."
Needless to say, Ivy rose to the challenge in his four seasons at Wake Forest, ranking in the top-10 in program history in both career points and rebounds when he finished his career. He was named to the 2014 ACC Men's Basketball Legends Class.
It was Bogues who interjected himself into Ivy's recruitment after the forward took an official visit to Winston-Salem.
"I went on a recruiting visit and Muggsy was calling every day," Ivy recalled. "I really wanted to play immediately. That was another thing that attracted me, along with playing in the best conference in the country.
"Muggsy was a fast-paced player, and I really liked playing at that pace, because that's how we played in high school. I liked the coaching staff. They were about their business and wanted to win. I loved the state and Wake Forest offered an incredible education, so it was a great place to get my degree."
Ivy's final season in the Old Gold & Black (1989-90) was an eventful one for the Demon Deacons — it was the first year for coach Dave Odom as well as the opening of Joel Coliseum.
"I had heard of Coach Odom before he arrived," Ivy said. "It was a different style of play, but it was fun. Coach Odom was all about defense, but he was not an advocate of blocking shots. I was always a shot blocker.
"One time someone pump faked me, then got past me. Coach Odom told me to just put my hands up. Don't jump, then the guy won't go around you if you don't block the shot."
Of course, any concerns Odom had about shot blocking were quickly set aside a short five years later with the emergence of Tim Duncan. Duncan holds the program record with 481 career blocked shots.
"I'm a shot blocker," Ivy told Odom. "I'm not that guy to put my hands up. He began to trust me to make the decision to try to block the shot or keep my position.
"Now if you blocked it, that was fine, but if you missed it, it was a problem. If your judgment works, then it's fine. But if it doesn't, it's a problem."
Although Ivy has fallen to 20th on the all-time career scoring list at Wake Forest and 18th on the career rebounding list, he still ranks ninth in career field goal percentage, hitting 645-of-1184 for 54.4 percent.
"In my backyard, I always played better on each side of the basket instead of facing it," Ivy said. "I was always more consistent on each side. Perfecting that in my backyard and in AAU competition helped fuel my great field goal percentage.
"I was one of the toughest players. I was always on the court and was a leader. My teammates could always come to me with anything, on or off the court. They trusted me on the court to back them up, support them and help them in any way."
Being named an ACC legend was a special moment for Ivy eight years ago.
"It was such a surreal moment," he said. "I was in a class with the best. To be in that class in that era is nothing but a surreal moment. It's hard to believe a young kid from St. Louis, who really didn't know what he wanted to do in life aside from just playing basketball — to achieve at that level, especially at Wake Forest, is definitely a moment to remember."
He's currently a real estate investor but keeps close tabs on the current-day Demon Deacons. He was in Joel Coliseum in January for the 96-74 victory over North Carolina.
"He's doing a great job," Ivy said about second-year Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes. "The mix of his players works well. That's what we need at our university. We want to win. We have to be able to compete and to do so, we need quality players."
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