Olympic Fan
11-20-2008, 11:53 AM
A friend had an extra ticket and invited me to last night's Wake Forest-UNC Wilmington game ... a chance to see a promising young team. I got to see Wake score 120 -- the highest scoring ACC game since last year's Duke opener, when the Devils laid 121 on NCCU.
What struck me about Wake is their size -- they start 7-0, 240 Chas McFarland, 6-9, 245 James Johnson and 6-9, 220 Al-Faouq Aminu up front. They bring 6-11, 240 David Weaver and 6-11, 245 Tony Woods off the bench. Sometimes they play Johnson in the backcourt, giving them four big guys on the floor at one time.
With all that size and muscle, is it any wonder they don't have many minutes for 7-0, 220 Ty Walker? The gossip at Lawrence Joel is that the coaches tried to redshirt him, but he refused -- even though they warned him that he's not going to play much.
In addition, they are scheduled to add 6-8, 250 Jamie Skeen after first semester, although the Joel gossip was that he might transfer.
You guys saw McFarland, Weaver and Johnson last year. Aminu is a stud, although he missed a lot of chippie shots last night. He has the handle to be a small forward and the hops to be a power forward. Last night, he had a double-double and let the team with five assists. Except for the fact that he has no jump shot (or at least didn't show one last night), he's a prototype NBA small forward.
But I expected Aminu to be good. Woods was the big surprise -- he's physically gifted -- a great explosive leaper with quickness and good hands. Moreover he looks like an old-style post player -- a guy anxious to attack the basket in the paint and not trying to play on the perimeter. I absolutely loved his game.
That said, it's too bad for the Deacs that the ACC doesn't allow trades, because if the Deacons could deal a couple of excess big men to Maryland or Boston College for a quality guard, I could see Wake making a Final Four run.
Don't get me wrong, Teague is terrific. Ish Smith should be back in the lineup soon after missing the first few games with an injury.
But while Smith is quick as lightning, he can't shoot and that's what Wake needs more than anything. L.D. Williams, Harvey Hale and Gary Clark are not the answer -- but they are the only guard options Gaudio has.
Defensively, they didn't play especially well against a team that was employing the Loyola-Marymount style. It's not like Wilmington asked Wake to play defense for more than 10 seconds at a stretch ...
I think Wake will be very good this season ... a definite NCAA team. But there will be nights when the lack of perimeter shooting and defensive lapses (although those could be fixed easier than the lack of shooting) will cost the Deacs.
BTW: I think it will be interesting to watch Johnson/Teague this season in comparison with Singler/Nolan Smith. Two very similar forward/guard combinations, who had similar production as freshman (Johnson and Teague actually combined for slightly better numbers than the Duke duo).
What struck me about Wake is their size -- they start 7-0, 240 Chas McFarland, 6-9, 245 James Johnson and 6-9, 220 Al-Faouq Aminu up front. They bring 6-11, 240 David Weaver and 6-11, 245 Tony Woods off the bench. Sometimes they play Johnson in the backcourt, giving them four big guys on the floor at one time.
With all that size and muscle, is it any wonder they don't have many minutes for 7-0, 220 Ty Walker? The gossip at Lawrence Joel is that the coaches tried to redshirt him, but he refused -- even though they warned him that he's not going to play much.
In addition, they are scheduled to add 6-8, 250 Jamie Skeen after first semester, although the Joel gossip was that he might transfer.
You guys saw McFarland, Weaver and Johnson last year. Aminu is a stud, although he missed a lot of chippie shots last night. He has the handle to be a small forward and the hops to be a power forward. Last night, he had a double-double and let the team with five assists. Except for the fact that he has no jump shot (or at least didn't show one last night), he's a prototype NBA small forward.
But I expected Aminu to be good. Woods was the big surprise -- he's physically gifted -- a great explosive leaper with quickness and good hands. Moreover he looks like an old-style post player -- a guy anxious to attack the basket in the paint and not trying to play on the perimeter. I absolutely loved his game.
That said, it's too bad for the Deacs that the ACC doesn't allow trades, because if the Deacons could deal a couple of excess big men to Maryland or Boston College for a quality guard, I could see Wake making a Final Four run.
Don't get me wrong, Teague is terrific. Ish Smith should be back in the lineup soon after missing the first few games with an injury.
But while Smith is quick as lightning, he can't shoot and that's what Wake needs more than anything. L.D. Williams, Harvey Hale and Gary Clark are not the answer -- but they are the only guard options Gaudio has.
Defensively, they didn't play especially well against a team that was employing the Loyola-Marymount style. It's not like Wilmington asked Wake to play defense for more than 10 seconds at a stretch ...
I think Wake will be very good this season ... a definite NCAA team. But there will be nights when the lack of perimeter shooting and defensive lapses (although those could be fixed easier than the lack of shooting) will cost the Deacs.
BTW: I think it will be interesting to watch Johnson/Teague this season in comparison with Singler/Nolan Smith. Two very similar forward/guard combinations, who had similar production as freshman (Johnson and Teague actually combined for slightly better numbers than the Duke duo).