Deacon No-Show
by WakeJake on Mar 21, 2009 1:53 AM EDT
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Wake Forest looked lost from the beginning, getting down nine points before the blink of an eye. A strong performance from James Johnson kept Wake Forest from getting blown out in the first half, but ultimately Cleveland State prevailed by the score of 84-69
Cedric Jackson and J'Nathan Bullock appeared to be the best players on the floor, as Jackson tallied 19 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals and Bullock added 21 points and 6 rebounds. Wake Forest played sloppy for the entire game and the Vikings were able to capitalize from this by scoring 25 points off 18 turnovers. In fact, Jeff Teague had more turnovers than Cleveland State (7). Furthermore, this allowed CSU to take 15 more shots than the Demon Deacons for the game.
From here, Wake faces a long off-season with many questions to be answered. The Wake fan base is disgruntled with Coach Dino Gaudio, Coach Kelsey may be off to High Point and three players have NBA potential, although none except James Johnson looked to be even ACC caliber tonight.
Honestly, I cannot bring myself to type anymore about this performance. Unfortunately, we have plenty of time to break down the season, the unfortunate ending tonight and all other Wake Forest happenings now that the season is over, so stay tuned. Spring football is just around the corner.
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NBA Fever
Every February and March there is a malady that haunts college basketball players who have aspirations to go to the NBA. It’s NBA fever.
Imagine you are the point guard for the number 1 team in the country. Fans and sports writers from across the country have noticed you. There is talk of your future prospects in the NBA. You start to imagine the millions of dollars you can make, the house you can buy your mother, the cars you can buy for yourself and your relatives. You have the potential to make more money in one season then your parents, their parents and their parents parents have made in their entire life times. This is the definition of pressure. You know you should be a team player, but the more points you score, the better your NBA and financial prospects.
Now it’s tournament time. You have the ability to play the “million dollar game”. This is not a fantasy, it is real. If you can be the star to carry your team to victory in the tournament it is probably literally worth an extra $1,000,000 or more at signing time. For a 25 point game that’s $40,000 a point, $80,000 for a two, $120,000 for a three. So you press, you try too hard, the team suffers.
I do not know how much NBA fever afflicted the Demon Deacons, but I know it was a factor. What did Jeff Teague mean when he said “… guys were worrying about other things”? It is up to the coach to develop antidotes to NBA fever. But the fever can be strong and persistent. I suspect Teague and Aminu were more affected than others. James Johnson seems to be pretty immune, but he was gone anyway.
Everyone learns from defeat. Dino, are you listening?
Another Depressing Deacon Performance
I have to admit I am not surprised. Deacs have been fragile since their first loss. So much talent and so little coaching. I hate to pick on a freshman, but how many poor threes can Aminu take before the coach should tell him to stick to rebounding. A high school coach could have done a better job last night.
Man that game was tough to watch. I am really hoping that the loss leaves such a sour taste in their mouths that they come back with a vengeance. Please stay James, we need you (not expecting it to happen but a guy can dream). Next year we will have the shooter to open up the floor and another talented wing player in Stewart. The team loses Hale and picks up C.J.
Next year could be bright for the Deacons, I am just hoping everyone grows from the experiences of this year. BurkeDad I am also praying Dino learns to motivate this team and adjust to problems next year. We have a chance to be really good again.
Dino still has much to learn, like his young players. Inexperience all around. Tough game and end of the season. Hopefully they come back but if not that’s up to them. They can be even lazier then they were this year, play less defense, and make millions more. If they leave at least we’ll be less likely to have a #1 seed and be the first team to get upset by a #16 (face it, if it’s gonna happen to anyone it’ll be the Deacs. I never want a #1 seed.)
I’m not too upset because Cleveland State really was the better team last night. better coached, better motivated, and played smarter. Good luck to them. Hope Duke & Carolina burn in hell.
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