Wake Forest Athletics News
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100% Cotten - A Road Worth Traveling
Nov. 17, 2003 Coach Skip Prosser's Deacons traveled a long way to get their first win of the season, but, after all was said and done, the extra miles didn't seem like such a big deal. Winning has a way about it that makes everything a little better. The itinerary called for an early evening landing at the Newark International Airport followed by a short bus ride into New York City. The weather didn't get the memo. When the plane got into the New York area, it was greeted with a very low ceiling of fog that forced a time of circling the airport waiting for the weather to clear. It never did. And so farther north we went to land near West Point - about an hour and half by ground back into New York City. But first the travel party had to wait on the ground transportation that had been prearranged by Coach Pat Kelsey for pickup in Newark to get up to where we had been forced to land. That took about ninety minutes, and then the ninety minute trip back into New York began which put arrival at about 11:00pm. Not exactly what the coaches had in mind for the night before the first game. Was this the beginning of one of those trips where, despite hours of planning and practicing, nothing seems to go the way it's supposed to and the season gets off to a horrible start? Hardly. After battling the Memphis Tigers for forty minutes, the Demon Deacons found a way to win and, in the process, probably discovered some things about themselves. Or maybe those of us watching from a slightly different vantage point learned some things that the Deacs already knew. For one thing, I don't think anyone will ever be able to question the courage of Taron Downey. A week prior to the game against Memphis at Madison Square Garden Downey had been taken to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Initially there was doubt that he would be able to play. But a few days passed, and Downey was quickly getting better. Three days before the game he dressed for practice. The next day he went through a few drills. The night of the trip to New York Downey said emphatically, "I'm playing." And play he did. New scar and all, Downey played. And played. And played some more. With the way the game went - with backcourt mate Justin Gray in foul trouble - Wake Forest needed Downey to go a little extra if he could. When the buzzer had sounded, Taron Downey had not only played well over half of the game - he led all scorers with the most points in his college career - twenty. Perhaps Memphis coach John Calipari said it best when considering what Downey had done: "He wasn't afraid." And neither was freshman Chris Paul who, with Downey not at full strength and Gray sitting with fouls, was forced to play 37 minutes in his first college game in the "Most Famous Arena in the World." Oh yes - the game was on national television with Dick Vitale on the mike. Nothing to get worked up over. And that's the beauty of it. Paul didn't. He shined because of what he didn't do rather than what he did do. What he didn't do was turn the ball over. He had only one turnover in nearly forty minutes of handling the basketball under the microscope of The Garden and Dickie V. If no fear there - then where? So despite a few unexpected twists and turns, the Wake Forest basketball season is off to a splendid start. The journey has begun. Wake the neighbors. |