It's a hodgepodge today--that's what Christmas break will do to links. But we've still got some here (and Jake beat me to a lot of them last night). So beat the winter blues with some news on the Deacs.

The Player Hater's Ball: Al-Farouq!
Some of his decisions can be maddening (you're not a point guard with range, so stop playing like it), but when Al-Farouq Aminu does stuff like this, it's worth it:

Calm Influence: Gaudio's halftime chat paid big dividends for Aminu in victory against N.C. State
"Coach is telling me I'm playing too fast," Aminu said. "I'm going to try over the break to work on just slowing down because he said, ‘You can beat people off the dribble. Just take your time. It's not like going any quicker is going to help you out or anything like that.' "Naturally I'm pretty quick. So I'm going to slow down and make sure I do every move and follow through on everything."

Jabarie Hinds on the Radar | The Journal News
Jabarie Hinds, Mount Vernon: The 6-foot junior point guard averaged 12.9 points and 5.5 assists last season and was a Journal News first-team all-star. A monster summer has earned him offers from Wake Forest, Louisville, and many others.

NewsObserver.com | Photo Galleries
More photos from the State game, including some good shots from Weaver's dunk!

My Take on Wake - Grass Not Always Greener | JournalNow.com
Most players who have transferred from Wake Forest over the past few years may have been missed for who they are, but not for what they could have done to help the Deacons win basketball games.

NBA: Who's Hot? Who's Not? - Basketball News & NBA Rumors -
Who's Cold? Eastern Conference Rookie: Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks – After Teague showed signs of life a week ago, the former Wake Forest star shot just four of 15 from the field and was 0 for three from behind the three-point line this week, culminating with a scoreless game in just six minutes in the Hawks loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

Bulldogs unleash attack - BostonHerald.com
Central Catholic has made four straight trips to the Div. 1 North final and having Wake Forest-bound center Carson Desrosiers back makes the Raiders a good bet to get there again. Joining the 6-foot-11 Desrosiers in the frontcourt is underrated 6-7 junior Jimmy Zenevitch, while Luis Puello and Michael Alvarez are the most experienced guards.

Deacs 67 NC State 59 - Photos by Bob Hebert- powered by SmugMug
Great photos from Bob, as always

North Carolina State Wolfpack's Tracy Smith banned 1 game for comments on officiating - ESPN
After Sunday night's 67-59 loss in Winston-Salem, Smith told reporters that the officiating crew called too many "touch fouls" and "favored Wake Forest all the way."