As Wake Forest's basketball boat floated aimlessly among the breakers last season, fans assumed that the Deacons had no port and little prayer.
The judgment seldom seemed more persistent or more prescient than Monday, when Wofford and its four new starters sashayed out of Joel Coliseum with a four-point win.
The difference between that Southern Conference embarrassment and the Deacons' 58-55 upset of Virginia Tech in the ACC opener Saturday ultimately came down to C.J. Harris, the junior guard whose two 3-pointers in the final 65 seconds wiped out the Hokies' only lead.
He missed the Wofford game with a strained groin muscle, a sweaty-hands experience that stirred more nerves than competing.
Wake Forest might not travel by yacht and dock beside NCAA royalty, but Wake Forest does have an anchor. Harris is the anchor, the rock from Mount Tabor who supplied the calming leadership and crucial plays that enabled the Deacons to match their 2011 ACC win total.
His outburst arrived like booming thunder on a placid summer afternoon. Harris, the ACC's second-leading scorer with an 18.7 average, missed five of six shots and scored just seven of his 13 points before the stretch. The Hokies usually paid attention whenever Harris touched the ball, and he patiently avoided the pent-up anxiety that afflicts shooters unable to launch their shots.
"It's just maturity, being through it, the ups and downs of last year and the successes of my freshman year," Harris said.
"It just shows how you can grow up in a couple of years."
He has a beard now, and a reputation. During the 9-5 nonconference segment of the schedule, Harris shot 54 percent from the floor, 53 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the foul line — and he drove for the winning basket at Nebraska.
"That's incredible," coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "He is just a quiet, very effective player who everybody looks up to."
Harris started earning that respect soon after he chose Wake Forest over Virginia Tech and Clemson. He averaged 9.9 points as a freshman and 10.3 last season, when Tony Chennault's injury and a shallow talent pool forced wing guard Harris into the deep end as the makeshift point guard.
He made what he could out of the shifting sands, but the undertow doomed the Deacons early and mounting losses drained their spirits — unlike Saturday.
"We stuck together," Harris said. "That's the thing that's different from last year. If that would've happened last year, we would've folded."
In one sense, Harris considered the closing minutes an ironic deviation because Bzdelik stationed him at point guard. Wake Forest trailed 53-52 when Harris faked a pass to Travis McKie and drilled a 3-pointer with 1:05 left.
"He gave me a little mouth after that one in the locker room because he felt like he was wide open," Harris said. "I told him if I would've missed, then I would've felt bad."
McKie scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, the primary source of Wake Forest's stunning 11-rebound margin. He also let Harris off the hook.
"I'm glad he made it," McKie said, "because I was definitely going to get on him the day after. He made two big shots, and we definitely needed both of those."
He just had that confidence even though he hadn't been shooting the ball well."
Tech's Erick Green tied the score at 55 with 46 seconds left. While the Hokies retreated passively, Harris dribbled away time until shot-blocking demon Carson Desrosiers set a screen at the foul circle. Defender Robert Brown, a freshman, failed to fight through the screen, irritating coach Seth Greenberg and delighting Harris.Unguarded, Harris floated the gentle 3-pointer through the net. The Hokies botched their last chance, and Wake Forest won the league opener.
"We can say we're in first place in the ACC right now," Harris said.
He smiled. Wake Forest's basketball seas suddenly looked smoother than a pond.
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