Wake gets kick from peak performance
Feb 27, 2009
The clock is ticking, the games dwindling to a precious handful. Sudden-death play lurks just around the corner -- the ACC Tournament commences in Atlanta in less than two weeks, followed immediately by the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Just like that, an ACC season that has been more engrossing than most is nearing its end.
By now, teams have more or less taken on the form and style they will ride to the finish, whenever that may come. Some tinkering is probable, but for the most part coaches have settled upon their rotations, recognized their squad’s strengths and weaknesses, and fashioned the most formidable unit they can from the pieces at their disposal.
That’s certainly been the case at N.C. State, as coach Sidney Lowe resolved one of the ACC’s most-shuffled lineups into a steady, dangerous squad. The methodical Wolfpack came into Thursday night’s game at Winston-Salem with three wins in their last four league contests, including a home victory over Wake Forest.
“I feel good about our team,” Lowe said. “Our last few games, we’ve been playing well. Executing offensively, defensively, we’ve been pretty good."
A mark of quality coaching is this ability to orchestrate a competitive crescendo as the season concludes. Give Lowe credit, then, for what is shaping up as his second solid coaching effort in three years at Raleigh. But not even the improved Pack could subdue the more athletic, 13th-ranked Demon Deacons on their home court.
As in their meeting at the RBC Center, this was a game in which one team jumped to a significant lead, then watched nervously as its rival chased in vain. N.C. State led by as many as 20 points in the first contest, only to see Wake rally within a shot of taking the lead at the end. At Joel Coliseum, N.C. State failed to score on 11 of 12 possessions during one stretch and fell behind 39-24 with 4:53 left in the first half. The remainder of the game essentially became a test of poise and endurance, with the Pack repeatedly pulling within a basket but never able to catch up as Wake won, 85-78.
“I give our guys a lot of credit,” said Ben McCauley, who had 12 points and 8 rebounds for N.C. State. “We kept fighting, and there’s no shame in that. We definitely kept fighting, but when you play against a team like this at home you can’t get down by a lot of points and expect to make a comeback and win.”
Among the bright spots for the 15-11 Wolfpack was the play of forward Tracy Smith, with a team-high 18 points, his sixth consecutive double-figure outing. Point guards Javi Gonzalez and Farnold Degand again acquitted themselves well. Besides combining for 20 points, their ballhandling was key to an impressive team ratio of 19 assists to only eight turnovers, four in each half.
But the game ultimately belonged to Wake Forest, now 21-5, and most especially to sophomore James Johnson. The Wyoming product notched career bests in both points (28) and rebounds (18). He too is peaking at the right time; his showing against the Wolfpack came on the heels of a 26-point, 11-rebound effort in a loss at Duke.
“He’s been outstanding,” said Wake coach Dino Gaudio, who should, but probably won’t, receive serious consideration for ACC coach of the year. “He’s a barometer for our team. We talk a lot to James, he has it all from here down,” and Gaudio gestured toward his chin. “When he starts mentally getting involved, and is engaged...”
The challenge of making amends for the game in Raleigh, in which Brandon Costner, his N.C. State counterpart, had 23 points, clearly got Johnson's attention. “He killed me the first game, I’m not going to lie,” said the mobile, highly-confident, 6-9 forward. “I love his matchup. Playing against him is always fun. He reminds me of me.”
This time the martial arts maven, able to kick a leaf from a tree as it hangs eight feet off the ground, outplayed Costner and “held that team together,” McCauley said.
Last year Johnson got off to a fine start, only to sputter down the stretch. Wake similarly faded, and was not even invited to the NIT despite a 17-13 record. The Deacs last appeared in the NCAAs in 2005, before the tenure of any current Wake player, a fact not lost on Johnson.
“It’s been awhile since this team has been in the NCAA tournament, and that’s all our focus is, not just mine but our whole team’s,” Johnson said. “We’ve been working hard since summertime. No need to come out and just lose it now or not play hard now when it counts, and then go back to the drawing board in summertime and keep working while we watch everybody else in the NCAA tournament.”
Even in victory, Wake displayed a tendency toward extended lapses in concentration. For minutes at a time, especially once they built a substantial lead, the Deacons took quick shots, made unforced errors, and otherwise displayed a youthful inconsistency. “With the players we have, it’s going to happen like that sometimes,” said guard Ishmael Smith.
The junior is himself rounding into shape after recovering from a fractured left foot that sidelined him at the start of the season. He had 18 points, one short of his career high, and hit a key 3-pointer late in the game with the shot clock about to expire. Having made only 3 of 19 from 3-point range this season (15.8 percent accuracy), he hit 2 of 3 against N.C. State.
When Smith took and made his late three, Gaudio was hoping the player would instead drive to the basket. But playing it safe is not in the nature of his gifted group. “We have confidence,” Smith said. “We know we can beat the Carolinas, the Dukes, and we were the No. 1 team in the country. So we know how good we can be.”
And now is the time to prove it.
