Nudged by the schedule out of its Joel Coliseum nest for the first time, Wake Forest's young basketball team flew to California to play in this week's 76 Classic at Anaheim.
The 19th-ranked Deacons will play their first-round game against Cal State Fullerton today at 4:30 p.m. in the Anaheim Convention Center. With a victory, they would advance into the second round against the winner of today's 2 p.m. opener between St. Mary's and Texas-El Paso.
UNC Charlotte is on the other side of the bracket, and will play Coach Herb Sendek's Arizona State Sun Devils at 9 p.m. The final game of the day, set for 11:30, will be Providence against Baylor.
"It's a great field," Coach Dino Gaudio said. "Someone said six of the eight teams from that field might end up in the NCAA Tournament, and that might happen.
"I hope we're one."
The Deacons have displayed impressive versatility on their way to a 3-0 record. Against UNC Wilmington, which played an up tempo pace, the Deacons rolled to a 120-88 victory in scoring the third most points ever in Joel Coliseum. Against Winston-Salem State, which held the ball to slow the tempo, Wake Forest carved out a 62-31 victory while holding the Rams to the fewest points ever scored in Joel Coliseum.
No team has scored fewer points against Wake Forest since the 1947-48 season, when the Deacons beat Atlantic Christian (now Barton College) 61-30.
That said, the Deacons know the competition should improve over the next few days. The second round will be played Friday, and the championship and consolation games are scheduled for Sunday.
"It's going to be tough," sophomore guard Jeff Teague said. "I know we're playing some good teams. Our first game is going to be a really tough one.
"We're going to come out and play hard because we're the comeback champions."
Sophomore forward James Johnson is returning to an area of the country where he grew up before moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Johnson went to elementary school in Oceanside, which is in San Diego County to the south.
But it's close enough to Anaheim that Johnson will be able to spend time with several members of his family, including his mother and his grandmother.
"That's where my family stays, out in Southern California," Johnson said. "We're going to have a lot of family out there and hopefully have a little barbeque in the park with my family. I haven't seen them since I came (to Wake Forest) my first year."
The Cal State Fullerton Titans, coached by Bob Burton, finished 24-9 last year but is 2-2 this season with losses to Texas State (76-66) and Portland State (76-75) and victories over Hawaii (90-76) and Hope International (106-60)
Only one starter, 6-1 senior Josh Akognon, is back from last season, but he's good enough to be averaging 24.3 points a game while shooting 38 percent (18 for 47) from 3-point range.
"He's a terrific scorer, getting 24 a game," Gaudio said. "He can really shoot the basketball. He's a tough cover for us."
The Titans' other starters are 6-0 freshman Jacques Streeter, 6-4 junior Aaron Thompson, 6-6 junior Gerald Anderson and 6-8 Papa Guisse.
"It's a really athletic team, really athletic," Gaudio said. "They have eight junior college kids. They're very well-coached."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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