Wake Forest Athletics News
100% Cotton Jan. 25, 2000 by Stan Cotten More 100% Cotten Two days from taking an early morning flight into Super Bowl dazed Atlanta and a Thursday road game with Georgia Tech, David Odom's Demon Deacons are trying to find themselves. Prior to the Duke game, perhaps they were trying too hard. From my vantage point it looked as if the Deacs were pressing a bit. Against Duke, though, Wake appeared to have slipped out of whatever funk it had been in, that is, until the second half. Shooting woes returned in the final twenty minutes against the Blue Devils. They're hard enough to beat without scoring problems, and their 14-point win was Duke's 28th straight regular season conquest, a new ACC record. The victory also made Duke just the second ACC team to forge a winning record over the Demon Deacons in the Joel Coliseum. North Carolina shares the distinction. So where is Wake right now? If anyone should know, it's David Odom. "I think we've forgotten what it takes to be successful," Odom said recently. "I think we've forgotten the rudiments of what makes a good team." If that's true, then the Deacons are hitting a stretch in their schedule that could possibly help them find what's missing. Wake has the game with Georgia Tech on Thursday (1/27), then it's back home for Virginia Sunday (1/30) followed by games at Davidson and Florida State (2/2, 2/5) and home again for Clemson (2/8). It's not too much of a stretch to think the Deacons can win every one of those games..."can" being the operative word. If the Deacs play like their first half against Duke, five wins in a row over the aforementioned teams can happen. Shoot 28%, like the second half against the Blue Devils, and five losses can happen. Regardless, getting Wake back into the kettle starts with Odom. "I have to be very demanding," says the coach. "I have to hold them to a very high standard, but I can't do that until I hold myself to that same standard. That's what we're doing. We have to make sure, though, that the standard we're asking them to achieve is possible. And it is. Then we have to make sure we take small steps to get back, not try to take huge steps back. I think that would lead us down a road of greater disappointment." It's Tuesday afternoon at this writing, and I just left the Deacons' practice and stood with basketball SID Chris Capo while Craig Dawson calmly drained about a dozen straight shots from beyond the three point arc. Not to pick on Craig, but he was 0-3 against Duke, did not score a field goal in the Carolina win in 23 minutes, and in the last nine games his three point stats are 12-42 (28.6%) which has undercut his season average past the line from 41% to 33% in that same span. "I just have to quit hoping it'll go in," said Dawson today, "and just shoot it." Dawson looked a lot different today in practice than he has in the last month in the spotlight. And so has Wake Forest. "What would amaze most people is the difference between our team in practice and the games," confesses Odom. "It is truly like two different teams, it really is. Our team, in practice, plays loose, they are confident, they help one another, they play without fear. You turn the lights on, you introduce them...it does seem like a different team is being introduced out there and being asked to play." "We have to come to grips with that. We have to deal with it. We have to change it in a very positive way." And there's no time like the present. ONE MORE BOW At halftime of the Duke basketball game, Coach Jim Caldwell, his staff and 1999 Deacons were on hand to present the Wake Forest University administration with the 1999 Jeep Aloha Bowl trophy. The Deacs got quite a resounding cheer from the Joel Coliseum crowd that sat poised for a potential Wake Forest upset of 5th-ranked Duke. Football signing day is just over a week away, and, if the Deacs get autographed letters from the recruits who have already committed verbally, they should get another solid crop. A 7:00 a.m. breakfast, open to the public, is set for February 3rd at the Bridger Fieldhouse to announce the signings. Coach Jim Caldwell will be there to answer questions from the audience. DIAMOND DUST Coach George Greer and the 2-time defending ACC Baseball Champion Demon Deacons begin play this weekend at the ACC-Disney Baseball Blast in Florida. The Deacons closed our their season last year in the NCAA Tournament against eventual national champion Miami (FL), and the Hurricanes, preseason ranked 5th, will provide the opposition again as Wake makes its 2000 debut. It should be an interesting start for the Deacs who have practiced on their own field only twice this preseason and have been reduced to the Bridger Fieldhouse parking lot for practice due to recent snow. Miami's a tough assignment anyway, but now the Canes look even tougher when you consider what they've been practicing in. Oh well. The Deacs are ranked 21st to begin the season. Friday's game with Miami has a first pitch start of 3 p.m. Saturday morning's 11 a.m. game with Central Florida can be seen on Fox Sports Net South. The Deacs face 14th-rated Rice on Sunday. That's it for now. We'll see you on the radio. |