At the end of a long and imperfect week, the Wake Forest Deacons looked perfectly content yesterday.
They identified the Virginia miracle as a short-term myth, darting to a 19-point halftime lead and handing the Cavaliers their first ACC defeat 69-57 at Joel Coliseum. Combined with a rollicking mid-week romp in Chapel Hill, the victory positioned Wake Forest (14-4, 4-2 ACC) to assert its conference prowess on a Thursday trip to Georgia Tech.
Coach Dino Gaudio remained irritated about having to play three games in seven days, but the outcome soothed his sensitive nerves.
"I told the kids afterward that I thought we had a very good week," Gaudio said. "If we had won one more game, it would've been a great week."
Wake Forest, often a January dynamo, evidently realizes that issues of greatness belong to March and April. At least Ish Smith, the senior point guard, does. "That's my goal," he said.
Smith had goals the other seasons, and he often had the ball, but this winter is different. Wake Forest recovered from the 90-70 fade at Duke last Sunday mainly because Smith regained his form overnight.
He missed 9 of 12 shots against the Blue Devils, shifted into a hyperactive fifth gear, lost his bearings in the crowded lane and lost his grip on the offensive controls. Instead of sinking deeper into a self-critical pit, Smith cleared his head and torched the Tar Heels (20 points, seven rebounds, six assists).
Yesterday, he burned another young guard with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Smith had command of himself and the court.
"For me, it's kind of like a peacefulness out there," Smith said. "I'm doing something I love to do, so just relax and not force it. I think early in the year, I wanted to prove to everybody that we were going to be good, we were going to be good, and now it's just kind of relaxation out there."
Maybe that's how the Road Runner morphs into the Zen master. His superior skill -- the speed dribble -- tortured the Cavaliers and prompted Coach Tony Bennett to recycle his lecture about sprinting back on defense.
Bennett, who played three seasons for the Charlotte Hornets in the 1990s, saw a picture of his former teammate (and former Deacon) Muggsy Bogues during the visit. He told Smith: "You're close to as fast as Muggsy, which is saying a lot."
Bennett said a lot more.
"I thought we respected his quickness, but he just sucks the rest of the defense in with him and then he finds his open guys. And, he hits his little floaters. You have to account for him. It takes more than one guy to guard him. You've got to guard him with your team defense. He lets it come, which is a great thing to see as a coach. He doesn't press the issue."
Gaudio considers that quality the finest sign of Smith's maturation.
"He is so driven to win," Gaudio said. "He sometimes tries to do too much. He tries to put the team on his back, and he wants to make every shot. There's not a selfish bone in his body. From Duke to Wednesday night at Carolina, we did a really good job of executing in the half-court offense. He's really learning to push it -- he's a jet with the ball -- but when we don't have it, let's pull it out, let's run half-court offense. The latter two games, we've done that."
They won both, and now Smith can cool his jets while Georgia Tech searches for someone to impersonate Wile E. Coyote.
lrawlings@wsjournal.com
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