Bitter Memories - Deacons seeking to bounce back from last season's dismal ending

Wake Forest's 2008-09 season was like the meal with the mouth-watering appetizer followed by a main course so unpalatable that it was difficult, if not impossible, to keep down.

Seven and a half months later, senior L.D. Williams can't get the aftertaste of the Deacons' 84-69 NCAA Tournament loss to 13th-seeded Cleveland State out of his mouth.

"We started off 16-0, No. 1 in the country," Williams said. "And then we lay an egg in the NCAA Tournament. It just like tore us to pieces when we knew we weren't going to be able to fulfill our dream.

"All season long Coach (Dino) Gaudio talked about Final Four, Final Four, Final Four. And we don't even make the Final 32. It like killed us every day."

The experience of last season only reaffirmed a cold hard truth of college basketball as played in the 21st century by teams expected to make the NCAA Tournament. Getting there isn't enough, no matter what is done along the way. The success of the season will ultimately be judged by postseason performance.

That reality is especially harsh at Wake Forest, a program that has traditionally struggled in the NCAA Tournament. The Deacons have reached the Final Four only once, in 1962. Since Gaudio joined the staff as Skip Prosser's assistant before the 2001-02 season, they've been knocked out in the second round three times, in the regional semifinals once and, finally, in the first round last March.

There are no guarantees that Gaudio's third season as head coach will include a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Deacons lost two players after their sophomore seasons -- James Johnson went to the Chicago Bulls as the 16th pick of the NBA Draft, and Jeff Teague went to the Atlanta Hawks three picks later.

They were easily the team's two best offensive players, averaging a combined 33.8 points -- or 42 percent of the Deacons' offensive production. Johnson also led the team with 8.5 rebounds a game.

But with sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu -- an almost certain lottery pick when he makes himself available to the NBA -- back to play with three senior starters (center Chas McFarland and guards Ish Smith and Williams), two tall sophomores (Tony Woods and Ty Walker) and three promising newcomers (Ari Stewart, C.J. Harris and Konner Tucker), Gaudio still has his sights set high.

Two others who could make significant contributions are David Weaver, a career frontcourt reserve in his fifth season, and junior guard Gary Clark.

"Our goal is to try to win an ACC championship, and I think we have as good a shot as anybody," Gaudio said.

Gaudio said that one of the first orders of business is to find someone to score. Aminu averaged 12.9 points (and 8.2 rebounds) last season, but nobody else remaining scored more than McFarland's 8.7 points a game.

"I think it's going to come collectively," Gaudio said. "I think we've got to be a little more interior oriented this year, with McFarland, Weaver, Woods and Walker. I really do.

"I think Ish will score a little bit more for us this year. I don't want any of the guys to think they're Jeff Teague or Chris Paul or James Johnson. We're going to have to do it together."

And as much improvement as the Deacons made on defense last season, ranking third in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense just two seasons after ranking last, Gaudio said that they need to be better still. They have a chance, in that defense was not exactly the forte of Johnson or Teague.

"We said when we came in we were going to be better defensively, and we were," Gaudio said. "And we were going to be better on the boards. We were second in the ACC in rebound differential. Carolina was first. We were plus (5.9).

"But that's what this team had better be. We had better be better defensively and better on the backboard and then find collectively guys to try to fill in what Jeff and James gave us on the offensive end. But I really believe we can be better defensively this year."

Smith has been a good guard at Wake Forest, good enough to lead the ACC in assists as a freshman and climb to seventh on the school's all-time list with 427 career assists. But 90 games into his career, the question still remains if he's good enough to lead a team to an ACC championship. Gaudio said he'll give him every opportunity to try.

"It's comforting for me as a head coach to have somebody like Ish Smith to be the engine that drives this machine," Gaudio said. "As long as he stays healthy, I think we have a chance to be very, very good. He's a four-year starter. He's been through all the wars. And he has just a tremendous work ethic.

"I mean when you look at that kid who as a sophomore shoots (29) percent from the free-throw line and puts his nose to the grindstone and knows he has to get better at that and then shoots 79 percent as a junior, that says a little about who he is."

Smith knows he needs to make the open jumper for the Deacons to excel.

"That is in the back of my mind, having that knack of knowing when to score and when to pass," Smith said. "I know when we go play those guys in the ACC, guys who watch tape, the first thing is, ‘Back up and make him score.'

"And once you prove that, then you've got them on a yo-yo, and you have them at your mercy."

Even if Smith does improve his 24-percent accuracy from 3-point range, the Deacons will continue to struggle from the perimeter without contributions from others.

Stewart, an athletic 6-7 wing from Marietta, Ga., who has a chance to crack the starting lineup, is said to be a good shooter. Harris, a 6-2 guard from Winston-Salem, has improved his accuracy, which was not considered his strong point at Mount Tabor High School. And outside-shooting touch is the reason that the Deacons recruited Tucker, a 6-4 transfer from Lon Morris Junior College.

That said, the most reliable outside shooter could prove to be Clark, who made 28 percent from 3-point range last season but shot considerably better (35 percent) in ACC play.

"I told Gary, ‘Gary you've got to make open shots for us -- that's not all you have to do, but you've got to make open shots for us,'" Gaudio said. "He's really shot the ball well this preseason. He's by far our best 3-point shooter right now.

"Ish will get him shots. Ish will penetrate and kick. He's got to make shots. That was a dimension we missed a little last year. If he comes on, that could really be an addition to what we're doing."

dcollins@wsjournal.com
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