Attack of the Demon Deacons
Jan 12, 2009
There were strategic nuances, to be sure. But Dino Gaudio ultimately had a simple message for his team prior to facing the “powder blue,” as the Wake Forest contingent insisted upon describing the signature color of third-ranked North Carolina.
Gaudio showed his squad a tape of Boston College’s victory a week previously at Chapel Hill, a result that stripped the Tar Heels not only of their No.1 national ranking and unbeaten record but their air of invincibility. Then, to reinforce the efficacy of an aggressive approach, in the hours immediately preceding Wake’s Sunday night meeting with UNC Gaudio played a tape of the first half of Kansas’ dismemberment of the Heels in the 2008 Final Four.
“We were just thinking attack, attack, attack,” said reserve guard Harvey Hale. “Attack, not be scared, attack those guys from the get-go.”
The result was an impressive 92-89 victory, raising fourth-ranked Wake’s record to 14-0. Meanwhile the outcome cast further doubt on the prowess of a 14-2 North Carolina squad that lost its second ACC game in two tries and suddenly seemed less than the sum of its parts.
For most of the evening before 14,714 fans, the largest crowd in Joel Coliseum’s 20-year history, underclass-dominated Wake took the action to a veteran UNC club. The Deacons led for much of the game, forcing the Heels to repeatedly rally to forge ties or stay close. UNC never led by more than a basket.
Action was fierce throughout, particularly around the rim. The teams combined for 15 blocked shots, plenty for a college game, not to mention 55 fouls, 76 free throws and 88 rebounds. Better rebounding, including a 21-8 edge on the offensive boards, kept UNC in the game.
But the Heels could not get their fast break in gear and had no answer for guard Jeff Teague, who had 34 points, along with six rebounds and four assists. The sophomore had 30 points in Wake’s previous outing, a rally to victory that ended Brigham Young’s 53-game home winning streak, the nation’s longest.
Teague repeatedly drove into the lane to draw fouls, or dished to open teammates, often when it appeared Wake’s control of the game was slipping. “I told Jeff Teague, that’s about as good a performance as I’ve seen in a long time against a team that I’m coaching,” said UNC’s Roy Williams.
Gaudio compared Teague’s competitiveness to that of BC’s Tyrese Rice, a first team All-ACC performer. “He’s really coming into his own,” Gaudio said of his fleet 6-2 guard. “That kid is a fearless, tough, hard-nosed kid. He was our lion. He was not going to let us lose.”
Certainly UNC had no one who could long contain Teague, not with ace defender Marcus Ginyard seated on the bench in street clothes. Ginyard’s injured foot still has not recovered sufficiently for him to play with his accustomed athleticsm, and there is no timetable for his return. “He’s a heck of a player, Marcus Ginyard is,” said Wake junior Ishmael Smith. “He brings a different dimension to the team.”
Other players’ weaknesses were magnified in Ginyard’s absence, including the lack of improvement in Wayne Ellington’s overall game and the offensive hesitance of a suddenly shaky Ty Lawson. Facing the ACC’s best squad at suppressing opponents’ accuracy, the Tar Heels made only 35.1 percent of their field goal tries, 28.2 percent in the decisive second half. Both were season lows. UNC converted 6 of 23 from 3-point range, 28.2 percent efficiency, another low for the year.
“The quality of our shots wasn’t very good tonight, or we didn’t make them,” said Williams, who fell to 8-7 in games in which both the Heels and their opponents were rated in the top 10.
Among those defeats was a meeting four years ago at Winston-Salem in nearly identical circumstances. Like this year, it was the season's only contest between the traditional rivals. Both teams finished in the top five in 2005, and North Carolina ultimately captured the national championship.
The latest meeting saw 18 turnovers compared to nine assists for UNC, the ACC's best at gathering assists compared to turnovers. Lawson, the ACC leader in assist/turnover ratio, had five assists and four turnovers and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.
The only Heel who hit a three through the game’s first 37 minutes was Danny Green. The senior justified pre-game apprehensions by Wake’s coaches, enjoying perhaps the best outing of his career. Green had a team-high 22 points and five offensive rebounds, a game-high five steals, and down the stretch was involved in virtually every crucial play. Having gotten to the foul line a mere 11 times in his first 15 games, Green hit 7 of 10 free throws against Wake.
Tyler Hansbrough was his usual steady self, but was sufficiently contained by a retinue of five Deacs 6-9 or taller to not require double-teaming on a regular basis.
“Everybody’s been talking about how good Carolina is, they’re going to go undefeated, win the national championship,” said Wake's Chas McFarland. The seven-foot center contributed 20 points and 9 rebounds compared to Hansbrough's 17 points and 11 boards. “That’s all everybody in college basketball has heard about – Carolina, and how good they are. It’s just good to be able to go out and show the country and everybody how good we actually are, too.”
UNC next heads to Virginia. Wake Forest travels to Boston College, a school it has not beaten in seven tries, four since the Eagles joined the ACC. After that Wake visits Clemson in what could be a battle of undefeated teams. Both of those programs amply deserve a turn on a national stage, their success a nice change of pace for a conference often dominated by Duke and North Carolina.
