Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest knows which side of the 3-point line his team's bread is buttered on.
He knew it last season, when the Deacons finished 11th in the ACC with a 3-point percentage of 32.0 and dead last with 4.1 made 3-pointers a game. And he knew in October as he prepared for this season.
"I think we have to be inside out, I really do," Gaudio said last month at the first media gathering of the season. "There's no question we have to be more interior oriented."
So a priority for Wake Forest when it plays High Point at 8 p.m. tonight at Joel Coliseum will be to continue to develop and refine its half-court offense. So far so good in the first two games.
The Deacons scored 40 points in the lane and shot 56 percent from inside the arc in a 76-56 victory over Oral Roberts, then scored 58 points in the lane and shot 59 percent inside the arc in Sunday's 89-58 romp past East Carolina.
"I think we've been really good at throwing the basketball inside," Gaudio said. "I think we've been scoring at a pretty high percentage. So far I'm pretty pleased with that.
"I think our big guys are really scoring the ball. When I watch film and look at the half-court offense, they're getting touches. And that's what we want to do."
The Deacons made 5 of 17 3-point attempts against Oral Roberts and 4 of 12 against the Pirates.
"If we're shooting 33 percent from behind (the line), I'm not a mathematician, but that's as well as shooting 50 from 2s," Gaudio said. "I think it's good we recognize who we are. We're not a terrific 3-point shooting team.
"I think we should shoot between 10 to maybe 13 or 14, depending. I tell those kids if they're in rhythm then I want them to go ahead and shoot it."
High Point, coming off a 9-21 campaign, opened its first season with Scott Cherry as head coach with a 104-72 victory over UNC Pembroke. The Panthers started three guards, 6-2 senior Eugene Harris, 6-1 junior transfer Tehran Cox and 6-3 sophomore Nick Barbour, with 6-6 redshirt freshman Corey Law and 6-11 senior Cruz Daniels inside.
Barbour, who led High Point last season with 14.2 points a game, opened his season with a bang, hitting 10 of 11 3-point shots on the way to 38 points. Harris scored 13, and Law scored 11.
"I don't know many guys in the country on any level, at any program anywhere, that are going to take 11 3s and make 10," Gaudio said. "I don't care if it's some of the great shooters. That's pretty good.
"It's another good challenge because they are really pushing the ball and shooting in transition. Our big guys are going to have to go out on the floor and guard their dribble-drive action."
dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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