Season in Review


Wake Forest
8-24 (1-15 ACC)


Finally, we get to Wake Forest.  It's hard to sugarcoat this: Wake had one of the worst seasons in ACC history.  It was just a dismal year, right from the start.  The most telling statistic for Wake's year I think is this: there were only 2 conference games in which Wake didn't lose by double digits.  That is just awful.  Wake didn't have the talent or competitiveness to stay in ballgames.


The year began with a 10 point loss at home to Stetson.  It didn't get any better from there.  The non-conference continued with losses to VCU, Winthrop, UNC Wilmington, Xavier, Presbyterian, Richmond and Gonzaga.  When they started ACC play the Deacons were 7-8.  They only won one game the rest of the season, a 5 point home win over UVA.  Even against bad teams in the conference Wake was not competitive.  In their two games against Georgia Tech, they lost by a combined 61 points!


Wake was fairly balanced scoring-wise.  Their leading scorer, freshman Travis McKie, had 13 points per game.  They had a hard time settling on a rotation - 9 players averaged at least 14 minutes a game, and no one played more than 32 minutes a game.  This team had a combination of a lot of bad shooters, poor rebounding, and lack of effort on defense.  While it's hard to hang a coach out after one year, Jeff Bzdelik did nothing to show that he will have any success at all.


Biggest Win:
76-71 vs. UVA on 1/29


There isn't much to choose from here.  UVA was struggling at the time and Wake caught them at the right moment.  They finished well down the stretch, overcoming a 10 point deficit in the second half.  It was one of the few times this year that Wake played well as a team.


Worst Loss:
Too many to pick one


Here are some great candidates: that opening loss to a Stetson team that went 8-23.  How about a 9 point home loss to a Winthrop team that went 13-17?  Or a home loss to a Presbyterian team that went 13-18?  This is a team that lost at home by 26 points to Georgia Tech.  They lost at home to NC State by 25 points.  Way too many embarrassing losses to pick just one.


Postseason Play:


The postseason was mercifully short for Wake Forest.  They came into the NCAA Tournament as a 12 seed, showed very little life in their first round game against Boston College, and lost by 14.


Looking Ahead:


The good news for Wake is that their roster remains fairly intact from last year.  Gary Clark is the only senior of significance that leaves.  They do have some talented young players, like McKie.  But how good is it when a roster returns that only won 8 games?  Coach Bzdelik is really going to have to show some improvement next year or he's going to be on a very short leash.  It's hard to imagine they will be able to come even close to a .500 record in the conference next year.