http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=ApDCdIC.yPdpFxjqwUA.8KPevbYF?slug=ap-winston-salem-wakeforest&prov=ap&type=lgns

I didn't see this posted and I figured it was news worthy.

11/4/2005 5:47:49 PM

wow, and the wssu story claims they were w/out their two best players

remember when state had to have a last second from hodge (or grundy, cant remember) to beat ea sports all-stars??

11/4/2005 6:07:56 PM

hey man, they were all-stars


santa clara.

[Edited on November 4, 2005 at 6:10 PM. Reason : no more html =/]

11/4/2005 6:09:49 PM

Eric Williams is an average center, he has made minimal progression since he was a Frosh. Justin Gray is a good shooter, but he will miss Paul's ability to drive and get him open looks, and the fact that he will be playing one instead of the two-guard will wear and tear on him.

11/4/2005 6:45:13 PM

^ all true but i think the largest issue they're going to have to deal with is that they still don't play any defense. look at these quotes from October 2004 -- just before last season began:

Chris Paul: "There is no secret to our weakness from last year which was defense. October 16 everyone should come in hungry ready to play. Its all about communication. We have to talk more and you just have to keep your man in front of you."

Skip Prosser: "Again, I don't think you have to be John Nash the mathematician to see that we were eighth in the league in blocked shots, ninth in the league in scoring defense, ninth in the league in field goal percentage defense, and ninth in the league in three point field goal percentage defense. Last year [2003-2004 season] we were a good rebounding team. In terms of ACC games we had the best rebounding differential of the nine teams in those 16 league games but I don't think we were a feared rebounding team. From an offensive standpoint, even though we scored a lot of points in a league, third in the country in scoring, led the league in points with a lot of high powered teams, we need consistency, a balance in the post. Those are some things we'll need to address right away. We should be able to score, but on those occasions where we can't score we must do a much better job of guarding and again in becoming a feared team in terms of the backcourt."

source for the quotes: http://wakeforestsports.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/103104aad.html

for the 2004-2005 season, wake was 10th, 9th, 8th, and 9th in the conference in the stats that skip mentioned above (blocked shots, scoring defense, FG% defense, 3PT% defense). Basically no improvement over the previous year (when they were 8th, 9th, 9th, and 9th in the same categories) despite all the "renewed emphasis" on defensive intensity.

you can see these stats yourself on page 11 of wake's postseason media guide:

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/wake/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/posseasonguide2.pdf

They talked about defense a lot last year but never got any better. All I have to say about that is "Pittsnogle for three!" If it doesn't change this year, look for Skip to bolt for the Cincy job.

[Edited on November 4, 2005 at 8:00 PM. Reason : asdf]

11/4/2005 7:34:05 PM