It's wrong for a coach not totally committed to a basketball program to ask his players to be.
So although he's proud of what his previous program at Colorado has accomplished on its march to the NIT semifinals, Coach Jeff Bzdelik of Wake Forest said he has since moved on — mentally as well as physically — to a new challenge of restoring prowess and respect to the Deacons' program.
In a far-reaching interview Tuesday, Bzdelik discussed the hardships of the Deacons' 8-24 season, the reasons for them, and what he sees as the short-term and long-term prospects for Wake Forest basketball. He outlined in detail his vision for the program and how he plans to lift the Deacons from one of the deepest ditches the school has known.
He freely acknowledged that he couldn't help but cast a wistful eye at Colorado, the team he coached the previous three seasons. The Buffaloes, who were 12-20, 9-22 and 15-16 with Bzdelik as head coach, beat Kent State 81-74 in front of 9,065 at home Tuesday to improve to 24-13 and advance to next week's NIT semifinals in New York's Madison Square Garden.
So when the public-address system at Colorado's Coors Events Center blared Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York" after the final buzzer, was Bzdelik sorry he wasn't there to hear it?
"I probably wouldn't be human if I gave you a politically correct answer by saying 'no.' " Bzdelik said. "Because I knew how painstakingly difficult it was to create that culture and to go through these young players growing up.
"And I knew that the vision that we created for that program was in a timely way, right where it is. It was our plan to be really where it is today.
"It's like building a home. You build a beautiful home, but you're not living in it. You moved out right before the paint dried."
A criticism of Bzdelik is that he has never remained head coach at any school long enough to build long-term success. He was the head coach at Maryland-Baltimore County for two seasons, Air Force for two and Colorado for three before accepting the offer at Wake Forest last April.
In between, he coached for 17 years in the NBA, mostly as an assistant but for 21/2 seasons as head coach of the Denver Nuggets.
Andy Katz of ESPN reported from the ACC tournament that multiple sources had told him that Wake Forest was years away from being a mid-level ACC team, prompting him to speculate that he wouldn't be surprised to see Bzdelik return to the NBA.
Bzdelik said Tuesday that won't happen.
"I have too much pride," Bzdelik said. "I'm seeing this through.
"I've been humiliated and embarrassed by the way we performed this year. You can quote me on that. And I have too much pride.
"So that's all I'm going to say."
Bzdelik said Tuesday that sophomore Ari Stewart had requested, and been granted, his release from the program, and that freshman Melvin Tabb was working his way back after being dismissed in midseason for conduct detrimental to the team. Gary Clark was the team's only senior, which means that barring any more defections, the Deacons will return virtually intact for the 2011-12 season.
That and the arrival of his first recruiting class, Bzdelik said, should be enough for the Deacons to be competitive in the ACC.
"We're going to be competitive next year," Bzdelik said. "I believe that."
On what did he base that belief?
"Because of the valuable experience that they gained this year," he said. "And now having an understanding of what it takes to win. They have grown up.
"This is a humble and hungry group. And those words have come out of their mouths — humble and hungry."
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