WRAL Sports Fan

College Basketball

Deacs will miss Teague and Johnson, but Gaudio confident

By Adam Harris

Nov 5, 2009

Wake Forest will be without two All-ACC players from last year's team, yet head Coach Dino Gaudio expects big things from the Demon Deacons. 

Jeff Teague and James Johnson are now in the NBA, but Gaudio likes his 2009-10 team. 

"We lost 33 points a game, our leading scorer, our leading rebounder, our leading assist maker, our leading steal guy,"  the Wake Forest head coach told 99.9 FM The Fan.  "But I think we're going to be really good this year.  And I believe it, I really do."

Gaudio thinks that a strong core of upperclassmen will help this year's team compete in a young Atlantic Coast Conference.

"We have four seniors. They've given us great leadership in the pre-season," Gaudio tells The Insiders.

One of those senior leaders for the Demon Deacons is Gaudio's floor general, Ishmael Smith.

"He has the command of our basketball team," says Gaudio of Smith.  "We're going to play fast; we're going to live with his speed. I don't want him looking over his shoulder."

Smith averaged 3.6 turnovers per game as freshman in 2006-07, but that number has gotten smaller each season since then.  As junior Smith turned the ball over just twice per game. Gaudio expects Smith to take even better care of the ball this year.

"He's really come a long, long way."