SB Nation - Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Game Preview: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Elon Phoenix

MRickman84 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:35 -0000

After their exam break, the Demon Deacons are back in action Sunday against the Elon Phoenix. The news of Konner Tucker's transfer was sudden, but not surprising. With C.J. Harris's breakout start, the return of Gary Clark and next year's incoming class, minutes were going to be hard to come by for Tucker. We wish him well.

Sunday's game at the Joel will give Wake a chance to catch their breath after a three game stretch that saw them lose at home to an upstart mid-major, travel to West Lafayette to play a top-10 Purdue team and grind out a win at one of the hardest places to play in the country.

So what should we make of the Phoenix?

Southern Conference foe Elon booted former head coach Ernie Nestor, who had some success but could never really break through or establish any consistency. They brought in Davidson assistant Matt Matheny, who was on staff when Davidson made their magical run with Stephen Curry. Matheny hopes to spark some life into the Phoenix, but he has a tough road ahead of him.

Elon lost their top two players from last year who combined for 27.1 points and 11 rebounds and are still trying to figure things out. They are currently 3-6 with wins over Lipscomb, FDU Flordham (I did not know Farleigh Dickinson had another campus) and Chattanoga, with losses to Samford, UNC Wilmington, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Hofstra and Yale.

The Phoenix's biggest problem is that they just are not a good basketball team offensively. They are 324th in offensive efficiency and 347th (dead last folks--good for a DARK red on KenPom) in FTA/FGA. They play mostly around the perimeter and take a ton of 3s (38.4% of their shots). If you're going to take that many threes though, you really should be hitting more than 31% of them.

Their 4 guard lineup makes them extremely succeptable to shots inside, which the Deacs should be able to exploit with no problem. This is the game that Al-Farouq Aminu will use to break out of his slump. It also should give Tony Woods a chance to get some productive minutes. I also see C.J. Harris and Ishmael Smith using high screens to run screen and rolls with all that space in the middle open.

Teams are only shooting 31.5% against them on 3s, but 54% on 2PTs, so Wake really needs to avoid getting in a shootout with Elon. They need to run their sets and play within 10 feet of the hoop the whole game. Elon has 9 players who log at least 10 minutes and 7 who pick up at least 20, so they will be fresh. Wake won't exactly be getting the Phoenix in foul trouble, but there is no excuse not to get to the line at least 20 times tonight.

This will gave the Deacs a good chance to get a lot of long rebounds and run their fast brake, something they haven't had a ton of time to use so far this year. And it's very well possible that they'll log at least 10 blocks.

I see Wake winning this one fairly easily

Wake 75, Elon 48

College Cup Preview: Wake Forest vs. Virginia

MRickman84 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:00:30 -0000

It's finally here. After what seems like a month of waiting, Wake will take on UVA for the third time this season in Cary for the chance to play in the National Championship against the winner of the UNC-Akron game.

UVA has had the Deacs' number lately and swept both meetings this season. But as well all know, beating a team three times in a season does not happen that often. Wake lost 1-0 in the regular season and on penalty kicks in the ACC Tournament, so a close, well-fought match should be expected. And the fact that Wake Forest should have a strong crowd of supporters making the trip from Winston-Salem shouldn't hurt.

The Demon Deacons lost a lot the last two seasons, but Jav Vidovich has recruited his tail off and the team was still stacked--they're reloading like a big-time football team it seems like. And that shows with this year's incredible senior class of Corbin Bone, Akira Fitzgerald, Austin da Luz and Zach Schilawski. da Luz has 27 points, 15 assists and six goals and Schilawski leads the team with 14 goals, 35 points and seven assists. Freshman Andy Lubahn is phenom, entering the match with 10 goals.

Wake uses a balanced attack and plays very disciplined soccer. They don't take unnecessary risks, but keep pressure on the defense with solid shots. Fitzgerald has come up big in a lot of games; he's third in the ACC with .66 goals average and has 8 shutouts.

Virginia is led by Will Bates, who has 12 goals and was on the All-ACC second team. Their last championship came in 1994 and have not allowed a goal through the NCAAs. Both Wake and Virginia are 17-3-3. Although both teams have scorers, I still expect this thing to be around a 1-0, 1-1 or even scoreless affair into overtime.

Wake wants to avenge their loss last year to UNC in the Final Four, and there is no better way to do that than by making it back to the title game with UNC as their possible opponent.

Deacon Dump 12/11: Finally back in action

MRickman84 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:39:12 -0000

It feels good to know that we'll have a game again. With college football on hiatus and this being exam week, it's a bit slow. But at least the Browns won! That's about as rare as an eclipse. So here's some links on your Friday while you try to sneak out for the weekend. The college cup starts tonight and the Deacs' matchup against UVA should be a great game.

True Blue: NBA Stock Up/Stock Down
AL-FAROUQ AMINU, Wake Forest: Aminu was already getting heavy consideration in the Top 5 before the season started and his play thus far has confirmed why. Aminu has had three straight 20-point games and is averaging a double-double this season (16.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg). The only thing that is going to hurt him is that he’s not that great of a shooter so he will have to put on a lot of muscle if he wants to play the 4 in the NBA. Either that or work on his outside shot so he can be converted into a 3 man. Conclusion: Stock Up

Atlanta Hawks 118, Chicago Bulls 83 or sometimes you just get to eat the whole pint of ice cream - Peachtree Hoops
Teague! Teague! Teague!

Akron Zips, North Carolina Tar Heels, Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Virginia Cavaliers face off in men's College Cup - ESPN
"We were a decimated team, very young and inexperienced," Vidovich said. But there's little athletes love more than adversity, and thanks to the senior leadership of Zack Schilawski (leads all ACC scorers with 11 goals, 27 points on season) and the net-stopping dives of Akira Fitzgerald, the Deacs are making their fourth straight College Cup appearance. And for those with some sort of memory loss, they also took home the title in 2007.

The Rapids Undercurrent: College Cup Preview #2
Coach Vidovich has done an outstanding job with this group considering the loss of some great talent plus the absence of Opara in the middle of the season. This team has it all. It is built with great athleticism, experience and is really electric going forward.

Top-seeded Akron plus 3 ACC teams make College Cup - USATODAY.com
"We appreciate the ACC inviting us to their conference tournament this weekend," joked Caleb Porter, the coach of top-seeded Akron, the only non-ACC team among the final four. "No, we're aware that even though we've been ranked No. 1 in the country all year long and we have the record that we have, people are probably putting us as an underdog."

Familiar faces in College Cup | Charlottesville Daily Progress
"Any time you play a team three times — getting a result three times against a good opponent is not the easiest thing in the world," said Virginia coach George Gelnovatch. "But I don’t think there’s anything I lose sleep about or dwell upon with them. Our focus is on us. Certainly, we have respect for Wake, but most of what we’ve been doing is getting ourselves ready."

Texans' Cushing, Seahawks LB Curry rock rookie wall | Houston Texans Football | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
He's an impressive kid," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said about Curry. "He's big, fast, smart and talented. "When he came to our room at the combine, he looked like a defensive end. When he walked out of the room, I looked at (general manager) Rick (Smith) and said something like, ‘Gosh, that kid's impressive.' And Rick said, ‘Don't worry about him. He'll be long gone before we draft.' "

More Postseason Honors for Wake Forest Football | digtriad.com
Steele's publication selected defensive tackle John Russell to its All-ACC second team along with wide receiver Marshall Williams. Quarterback Riley Skinner was named to the All-ACC third team along with freshman cornerback Kenny Okoro.

College Sports | Zags Men's Hoops: Elias Harris, freshman from Germany, feels at home with Bulldogs | Seattle Times Newspaper
Right about then, that's what Harris did to Wake Forest's Chas McFarland. As a three-point shot went up, Harris pivoted and forearmed McFarland in the neck. McFarland tumbled backward, Harris was assessed a flagrant foul and ejected and Wake swung the momentum toward an eventual 77-75 victory. "I just think it's somewhat confusing to him," says Few, who took issue with the ejection. Meanwhile, Harris said afterward, "My feeling is, I did nothing wrong."

Soccer Notebook: Keeper Fitzgerald says Deacs play extremely well as a team
"Obviously last year's team was very special with the talent we had," Fitzgerald said. "But I think this team, everybody plays for each other, and that's big. Last year's team was the same way, but we have all made a difference in each practice this season." The Deacons finished 21-2-1 last season but lost eight starters. "I think obviously when you lose players like Sam Cronin, Marcus Tracy and Mike Lahoud, talent-wise last year's team might have been better. But we always talk about maybe not being the most talented team, but we talk about being the best team."

Suspense, but no Cinderellas, at Final Four - NCAA - ESPN Soccernet
The Demon Deacons boast the best of the best in the ACC, led by the conference's coach of the year (Jay Vidovich), offensive player of the year (Corben Bone), defensive player of the year (Ike Opara) and two more first-team all-conference players (Zack Schilawski and Austin de Luz). Wake Forest clearly has the experience a team needs to be successful in December, but while having been there before is definitely an asset, it's not enough to carry a team.

J.T. Terrell - ESPN Video - ESPN

Early Season All-ACC Team

MRickman84 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:30:14 -0000

More photos » by Ricardo Arduengo - AP

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I thought it would be fun to take a look at who is really shining in the ACC so far. And what better way than through a list, right? I'm not going to do second teams right now--I'll save that until a few games into ACC play. But I will give you who I think is on the first team as well as who is the front runner for ROY.

The All-ACC team after the jump...

G- Jon Scheyer

15.8 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.3 rpg

There are a few good PG in the ACC this year, but Scheyer is the most complete. He manages the game well, barely turns it over and is perfect for Duke's system. He has come a long way since his freshman year where he was compared to J.J. Redick and since his switch the point has been very good for the Blue Devils.

G- Malcolm Delaney

20.9 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.8 rpg

I was tempted to go a number of different directions here. Nolan Smith has been playing really well so far, as has Malcolm Grant and Sylvan Landesberg, but Delaney is the reason Virginia Tech wins basketball games. He has the scorer's mentality that so many ACC guards in the past have had and will only get better as the season wears on.

F- Al-Farouq Aminu

16.44 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.6 spg, 2 apg

Homer pick, sure, but Aminu is averaging a double-double and has not even played his best basketball yet. His skillset makes him dangerous against any team and when he starts to play more under control, he will be even more effective. Compared to Kyle Singler, Aminu gets the edge.

F- Gani Lawal

14.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg, .556 FG%

Lawal is one of the most overlooked players in the ACC. He was very impressive last year and again is doing the same kinds of things. Now that GT is receiving a little more attention, people should start to recognize how good Lawal really is.

C- Deon Thompson

16.9 ppg, 1.2 apg, 8.3 rpg, .53 FG%

I really considered putting Ed Davis here (although he technically plays the 4), but when it comes to UNC, when Deon Thompson goes, the Tar Heels go. They play better when they get Thompson involved early and often and he absolutely needs to get his touches. The guy has really improved his face up game out to about 12-15 feet and with his back to the hoop he is always a threat to score.

ROY- Derrick Favors

We knew he was good coming in, but wow. He is still a bit shaky at times and makes the typical rookie mistakes, but 68% from the floor? That's insane for a guy averaging over double digits per game. I also looked at C.J. Harris (13.1 ppg, 1.6 apg, 1.7 rpg, .524 3PT%), who has really come on strong so far, as well as Andre Dawkins, who has really given Duke a lift off the bench with his electriic shooting. Favors' rookie contemporary Mfon Udofia has been very good as well, averaging 13 ppg, 3.3 apg and 3.1 rpg

Deacon Dump 12/9: Bring on the College Cup

MRickman84 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:05:49 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

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Strange group of links today--a lot on Wake's matchup with UVA. It's snowing a lot right now, so I wouldn't be upset if I was back down in the Dash. It was great to see inspired games from James Johnson and Jeff Teague as they played each other last night. If they play like that, they will get more minutes. James easily had the best game he's had all year and it looked like Vinny Del Negro was trying out some things in the 4th quarter to test out Johnson's skill set. It worked.

Season wrap-up: Wake Forest - ACC Blog - ESPN
Much of this year’s struggles had to do with the rebuilding effort on defense, where coordinator Brad Lambert had to replace seven starters. The most noticeable difference was in the turnover category, where the Deacs led the nation with 37 takeaways in 2008. This year they had 15. They also dropped from the No. 1 punt return unit in the nation to No. 56. Skinner had another record-setting season, but he was inconsistent at times and finished with 12 interceptions, compared to seven last year.

Landon: MU search turns to names other than Jones - The Herald Dispatch
It's looking more and more like former Marshall assistant Brad Lambert is emerging as the most viable option in the Herd's head football coaching sweepstakes.

Previewing the College Cup - RootZoo Sports
Predictions: Akron 1-0 UNC: Akron stays undefeated Wake Forest 2-1 UVA: Hard to beat someone three times

FayObserver.com - Player who committed in eighth grade reconsiders
According to Tomcats coach Wendell Jeffries, in the past few months, coaches from Kentucky, Wake Forest, Miami, Baylor, DePaul, George Mason and Kansas State have all stopped by to evaluate Boatright's skills.

Deacons' soccer team will try to break through against Cavs
"I don't think there's anything we do in particular that's different against any other team," he said. Senior Austin da Luz of Wake Forest acknowledges that both teams are very familiar with each other. "It's always a tough game with them, and there's some bad blood, but we think this time we are going to try and forget the other games against them," da Luz said, "and just go into it as a tournament game, because if you lose you go home."

‘Hoos face Wake Forest in College Cup | Augusta Free Press
The teams have met twice this year, once during the regular season and once in the 2009 ACC Tournament. On Sept. 18, 2009 at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Cavaliers came away with a 1-0 victory on a goal by Mike Volk. At the ACC Tournament in the semifinal round, fifth-seeded Virginia advanced past the top-seeded Demon Deacons, 5-4 on penalty kicks, after the teams played to a double overtime scoreless draw.

Fun with Wake Basketball Stats: 12.9

MRickman84 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:45:09 -0000

Just messing around on this Wednesday afternoon before I try to drive through 60 mph winds to get home and I decided to take a look at some stats from the start of this season. I know, I know, it's early, but I found a couple interesting things.

Last year, Wake Forest shot 32% from 3pt as a team and had one player over 33% from deep (Teague).
This year, they are shooting 34.5% and have 3 players over 33% (Ari, Al-Farouq and CJ).
In the William & Mary game, Wake shot 36 threes. In the other 6 games combined, they took just over double that (74).
Everyone in the world was wondering how Wake would replace the loss of James Johnson and Jeff Teague. The two losses are two more than Wake had through the first 16 games last year, but statistically, the Deacs are not as far off as you'd think:

2009-10: Aminu+Harris+Stewart+Ish= 49.7 PTS, 20.1 REB, 9.3 AST, 8.9 TO

2008-09: Johnson+Teague+Aminu+Ish= 52.9 PTS, 22.7 REB, 10.4 AST, 10.4 TO

Thought that was a little interesting. Seven games does not a year make, especially when it comes to the contributions of freshmen, but it is of note that the youngsters are close to keeping pace thus far.

And if you look at freshman campaign comparisons:

2009-10

C.J. Harris: 25.7 MIN, 13.1 PTS, 1.7 REB, 1.6 AST, 1.6 TO

Ari Stewart: 15.6 MIN, 8.6 PTS, 3.3 REB, .3 AST, 1.4 TO

2007-08

Jeff Teague: 29.7 MIN, 13.9 PTS, 2.7 REB, 2.5 AST, 2.5 TO

James Johnson: 29.2 MIN, 14.6 PTS, 8.1 REB, 1.2 AST, 2.6 TO

It is not nearly as far off as I thought it would be. The main disparity is rebounds, but everything else is relatively close numbers-wise.

So, it really is a testament to just how well our freshmen have played so far this season. With the loss of two first-round NBAers, there was going to be a dropoff (and the disappointing loss to W&M and the tough loss on the road to Purdue show this), but it is nice to know that we have players who look like they are up to the challenge.

Wake in the Pros: Rookies Jeff Teague and James Johnson

MRickman84 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:54:22 -0000

More photos » by Gary Malerba - AP

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We're almost a quarter of the way through the NBA season, so it's time to take a look at how Demon Deacon first round picks Jeff Teague and James Johnson have been playing thus far...

Jeff Teague
8.9 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 1.6 ast, .9 reb, .4 to

33% FG, 90% FT, 30% 3PT

13.0 pts/40 min, 4.5 reb/40, 7.0 ast/40, 40.4 true shooting%, 27.9 ast%, 8.0 to%, 6.4 reb%

11.05 PER

James Johnson
9.6 mpg, 3.4 ppg, .2 ast, 1.7 reb, .6 to

35% FG, 83% FT, 22% 3PT

14.1 pts/40, 7.0 reb/40, 1.0 ast/40, 42.9 true shooting%, 4.8 ast%, 12.8 to%, 9.8 reb%

7.02 PER

As a benchmark:

Lebron James (led league in PER last year)

29.8 pts/40, 7.4 reb/40, 8.8 ast/40, 61 true shooting%, 23.6 ast%, 10.6 to%, 11 reb%

30.02 PER

So we have a lot of stats here. All of this is from the Hollinger ratings and PER, the most important stat, is a calculation of all the players' metrics and ends up being his efficiency rating. The average NBA player's efficency rating is 15. For this discussion, it also important to note that the top 5 rookies in PER are Tyreke Evans (1), James Harden (2), DeJuan Blair (3), Ty Lawson (4) and Brandon Jennings (5). All five are have efficiency ratings about 17. The eligible rookie average (at least 6 mpg) is 12.72.

Now, it's not fair to compare Teague and Johnson to Lebron, I know that. I was just using Lebron's stats as a way to understand the metrics better. Stats per 40 is always an interesting stat to use, as it projects what a player's contribution would theoretically be if he played the whole game. This has been especially useful in players like Paul Millsap and Anderson Varejao, who posted huge per 40 #s off the bench in the past.

Both Teague and Johnson are early on in their development and are not asked to play a large contributing role (both at under 10 mpg). This is a combination of two things--1.) there is depth at their positions and 2.) they are not ready to shoulder the load. Both players have a lot to learn about the NBA game.

For Teague, he is learning a position that he is not used to playing. In college, it was easy to see that Teague was not a true point guard. He was far from it. His TO rate was extremely high and he seemed content to slash with the ball in his hands rather than make plays for his teammates. By the same token, Teague wasn't exactly a prototypical SG either. He looked bored without the ball and did not seem involved in the offense (although how much of that was a product of the Wake offense is not really measurable).

So, in trying to learn a new position, Teague has two very strong players ahead of him in Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby. If he can't get something out of those two, he might not get it at all. And he seems to have taken heed. He is following Bibby's practice routines now.

Teague's numbers average out to be pretty decent per 40, but he has a glaring weakness right now and that is his shooting percentage. This has been a problem for him, especially lately. There's a built-in excuse that he isn't on the floor long enough to get his rhythm, but when he is on the floor, he is dominating the possessions. (He is 11th among rookies in usage rate). His saving grace has been his TO rate--he is ranked 5th in the rookie class.

There is no question that Teague has the ability to shoot--he was absolutely on fire last season, so I don't see that being a problem long-term. But Jeff will have to improve his strength so that he can get to the hoop and he will have to learn to be more patient with the basketball.

With Johnson, there is a lot more going on. His true shooting percentage is higher than Teague's at 42.9, but he needs to define what kind of player he is going to be. And that question was there when James was at Wake too. He seems to want to play the 3, but he doesn't have the outside shot, has not been distributing the ball and he turns the ball over too much (12.8 TO%). He has the body for the 4 (although he needs to get in better basketball shape), but he does not have the defensive mindset for the position.

So, while he was drafted a round higher and has a wider skillset, Taj Gibson was called on to start when Tyrus Thomas went down. And Gibson has continued to play more minutes and put up better numbers. Gibson's PER is 11.78, while Johnson's is just 7.02 (second-worst among rookies).

Now James has the athletic ability, there is no question. He was arguably Wake's best player (and definitely was in the second half of the season) last year and has the potential to dominate games. Plus, with his frame and ballhandling abilites, he has an NBA body. What he needs to work on, as was discussed during draft discussions, is his decision-making and his commitment on defense. He has said a lot of the right things, but he needs to put those words into action.

That said, both Johnson and Teague were drafted in the first round for a reason. They project to be solid NBA players. While neither look to be the next Lebron James or Allen Iverson, as long as they listen to their coaches and put in the work, they can be above-average or better, especially with their athleticism and ability. But unfortunately, the same problems that they had at Wake followed them to the pros, and they still have to fix them before they can get a lot more minutes.

Deacon Dump 12/9: No theme, but read on

MRickman84 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:30:13 -0000

JT Terrell keeps beasting it with 42 points yesterday. James Johnson says he's lost on defense. Heather Dinich is upset as a lot of other ACC fans are that C.J. Spiller is getting snubbed from Heisman voting. ACC basketball is being compared to ACC football this year. So naturally, it's just a regular Tuesday morning.

Wake Forest Sports
Wake Forest redshirt freshman receiver Chris Givens leads the nation's freshmen in touchdown catches this season. Givens has eight TD grabs this year, the most-ever by a Wake Forest redshirt freshman. He also ranks 32nd in the nation overall in touchdown catches.

Big Ten hurt ACC's respect in Top 25 - CharlotteObserver.com
But what appears to be emerging is a league that possesses excellent depth without a lot of Top 25 talent and without a top-five team. In other words, ACC basketball is resembling ACC football. Anybody who follows ACC football knows that's not a good thing.

Heisman voters missed out on Spiller - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN
Look, the list of Spiller's accomplishments is literally too long to list here (there are 31 bullet points on Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret's sheet of updated Spiller facts). And you don't have to read them all to know Spiller is one of the best players in the country. Just watch him play. The NFL will recognize that, even if the Heisman voters didn't. In this week's ESPN.com vote for Heisman I had Spiller behind Toby Gerhart and Ndamukong Suh. I'm not sure who the best player in the country is this year, but I'm sure Spiller deserved at least a trip to New York.

James Johnson wants to step up; unsure of where to be on defense - Chicago Bulls Confidential
"I do want to step up and be the man I know I can be on defense and offense," Johnson said. "The only thing that gets me nervous when I get in games is knowing where I need to be on defense. Getting the ball on offense, I'm 100 percent comfortable. It's the other end of the floor that I'm unsure sometimes and when I'm unsure, that means it throws off the other four guys.

No Bowl Game for ASU? Let's make up our own! | Arizona State University Sun Devils Community - Home of Pitchfork Nation
The Religious Hierarchy Bowl - Louisville (4-8) vs. Wake Forest (5-7) - Normally, a Cardinal would outrank a Deacon. But a Demon Deacon? That’s another story altogether.

Deacons' Lubahn, Arena stepping right up: Freshmen key to Wake Forest title hopes
Lubahn has 10 goals this season, good enough to give him a share of the school record for goals by a freshman. His offense, combined with stellar play on defense by Arena, are just two of the reasons Wake Forest is back in the College Cup for the fourth straight season and preparing for Friday's national semifinal against Virginia (5 p.m., ESPN2 Ch. 32, ESPNU Ch. 143).

Soccer Notebook: Senior Lichtfuss says Deacons have adapted
■ Defender Justin Lichtfuss, Wake Forest's only fifth-year senior, is having his best season and is seeing plenty of playing time because of his consistency on defense. Lichtfuss acknowledges that there are differences between this season's team and last season's, saying: "We don't score as many goals … but we still put up pretty good numbers, and defensively we have to be sharper."

Syndicated sports talk radio show comes to Trask | StarNewsOnline.com | Star News | Wilmington, NC
"PrimeTime with the Packman," a syndicated radio talk show that spans the Carolinas, will broadcast from Trask Coliseum prior to the UNC-Wilmington/Wake Forest men's basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 16.

Prep Results 12.08.09 - CharlotteObserver.com
JT Terrell 42

Closer Look: Al-Farouq Aminu's first 7 games

MRickman84 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Rajah Bose - AP

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Sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu's return to the Demon Deacons was a shot of life into a team that lost it's two leading scorers from a season ago to the first round of the NBA draft. With expectations through the roof, Aminu worked hard all summer on improving his jump shot, as well as other fundamentals. He is supposed to be the go-to guy, the playmaker, the superstar. So what has caused his struggles the last three games?

Al-Farouq Aminu

26 mpg, 17.3 ppg, 54.4 fg%, 50% 3pt%, 73.5 ft%, 1.833 apg, 8.5 rpg, .5 bpg, 1.667 spg, 3 to per game

*It is important to note right away that Aminu has improved in every statistical category from last year except for blocks and turnovers in less minutes. So there is improvement thus far, but not as big of a jump as was predicted.

Aminu started out hot at the beginning of the year, putting on a clinic with his highlight plays and drives. His jump shot also looked good--hitting 3 of his first 8. In these three games, Wake won by an average of 24.6 points. But since then, he has steadily declined.

NCAA Basketball Stats

The most surprising thing in that graph is his offensive rating. It has tumbled. What is the reason for this? In the 4 games since the win over High Point Aminu:

Has shot 32.6% as opposed to 68.6% in the first three.
He has shot 23% from 3pt.
Is averaging 3.5 fouls per game
Has had an average of 4 TO per game

Aminu has looked like he has been forcing the issue. He has dribbled into traffic, often being met by 3 defenders in the post and has either missed the shot or had it taken away. On fast breaks, rather than throwing an outlet pass, he will take the ball himself and has lost it a number of times. He has gotten himself into foul trouble early, which keeps him from getting into a rhythm.

Farouq is at his best when he lets the game come to him and takes what is given to him. If his defender sags off, he can find a mid-range shot. If he's doubled, he can find the open man. If he gets a screen, he can explode to the hoop. He is great at getting into the paint and guessing where the ball will come off the tin to gather the rebound and get putback buckets.

With his struggles, we are seeing a lot less of all of these things. He's playing at a speed that is too quick for him and is trying to do things that he has not yet developed in his game. I have no doubt that Aminu will be able to pick himself back up and be an even better player than we saw in explosive spurts last season. He just needs to focus, get in the paint more, give up the ball on breaks and keep himself from not trying to do too much.

ACC Power Rankings: 12.8

MRickman84 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:30:14 -0000

So this probably should have been done yesterday, but I really want to get in the habit of doing power rankings throughout the season. UNC occupies the top spot this week, with Duke coming in second, as both are coming off tough losses last week to strong opponents.

Let's take a look at who is where after the jump...

1.) UNC-- [W vs. Michigan State, L vs. Kentucky] UNC is getting better as was expected. The young guys are playing well and Larry Drew II looks a lot more comfortable. I'm still concerned about the Heels' bench, as Strickland looks a little lost out there and Henson just does not know what to do with his body. The Wear twins are eating up a ton of minutes without a lot of productivity. Tyler Zeller is a great player for them though and really makes the perfect sixth man. UNC gets another tough test when they head to Dallas to play Texas at the Cowboys stadium next week.

2.) Duke -- [L vs. Wisconsin, W vs. St. John's] I thought this Duke team was supposed to be able to shoot? Kyle Singler is looking average at best so far this year and is taking a LOT of shots. You know what you're getting out of Jon Scheyer week in and week out and that is a great stabilizer. Andre Dawkins has been spectacular so far and we are going to be seeing a lot more of him as Duke enters ACC play. Duke's big weakness is still down low--Zoubek and Thomas are just bad, but the Plumlees work hard and are good players.

3.) GT [W vs. Siena, W vs. USC] The Jackets were left out of the Challenge this year because of their finish last season, and that really is a shame as I believe they would have won their matchup and turned the tide for the ACC. Instead, Tech put a whooping on Siena and USC last week. GT is stellar in the frontcourt with Lawal, Peacock and Favors, but losing Iman Shumpert is going to be sidelined for 3-6 weeks with a knee injury.

4.) Clemson [L vs. Illinois, W vs. South Carolina] Clemson is looking like bi-polar Clemson again, surprise! This is a good, solid basketball team. They have 5 players averaging at least 9 points per game and Trevor Booker is almost averaging a double-double (13 and 9). Their problem is that they just lose focus (as seen by the terrible collapse against Illinois). I think they are a better team than Georgia Tech, but they just can't pass them until they show some consistency.

5.) Miami [W vs. Minnesota, L vs. BC] Yes, I know they lost their first conference game. But it was very close and came down to the buzzer. They picked up a great non-con win over Minnesota, but still have not really been challenged other than their last two contests. Dwayne Collins is very good, but there's a lot of pressure on him coming into conference play since two of Miami's three strong guards are newcomers (Malcolm Grant from Villinova and freshman Durand Scott.) James Dews can get it done too, but we will see just how much the 'Canes miss Jack McClinton after the 1st of the year.

6.) Wake Forest [L vs. Purdue, W vs. Gonzaga] After a disappointing loss at home to William & Mary, the Deacs took to the road for two very tough tests. After a hard-fought loss to Purdue, the Deacs looked like they finally clicked in a win over Gonzaga at the Kennel. If the Demon Deacons can use this as a momentum builder, they could enter the new year at 10-2. They will be tested by UNC-W, who has played some good teams tough, as well as Richmond, which received votes in the polls this week. Freshmen C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart are looking like the real deal, but the Deacs absolutely need to get consistency from their bigs and from Al-Farouq Aminu.

7.) Virginia Tech [W vs. Iowa, W vs. Georgia] I like VT. They're better than they look on paper, and their loss to Temple is not a bad one--the Owls almost pulled off the upset against Georgetown a few games ago. They easily could finish anywhere between 6th and 10th, but the combo of Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen should be good for at least 6 conference wins.

8.) Maryland [W vs. Indiana, L vs. Villanova] I've seen Maryland play 4 times now this year and I'm sorry, I just don't think they are very good. Greivis Vasquez takes way too many ill-advised shots and he is shooting 32%. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne are the strong points to this team and Eric Hayes keeps them calm sometimes, but they aren't deep and I'm not sold on their front court. The Terps were a hot pick to start the season, but they have to prove something to me before they can move up the board.

9.) Boston College [W vs. Michigan, W vs. Miami] Here we go again. It's the same old story every year. BC looks sparse on paper and then Al Skinner does a great job coaching his team to overachieve. It'll probably happen again this year and their last two wins are a big indicator of this. Reggie Jackson could be a great player, and BC gets bumped up a spot just from his nasty dunk against the 'Canes (on a terrible offensive foul call in the last 30 seconds) and his clutch FTs to seal the win. Raji, Jackson, Trapani is a great combo and they get a good effort out of Josh Southern too.

10.) Florida State [L vs. Ohio State, W vs. FIU] Florida State looked downright ugly against Ohio State. And downright ugly against Florida. But that win against Marquette was big, so they have that in them. Alabi, Singleton and Kitchen are a nice 1-2-3, but the 'Noles need to be getting more out of Xavier Gibson and Ryan Reid.

11.) NC State [L vs. Northwestern, W. vs Marquette] After their loss to Northwestern, I didn't think at all that the Wolfpack would beat Marquette. It was the furthest thing from my mind. State is 6-1, but they are a mess and there is just not much there.

12.) Virginia [L vs. Penn State, L vs. Auburn] Hey, at least Virginia has beaten Cleveland State, something Wake wasn't able to do last year. Sylven Landesberg is a heck of a player, but when your next two leading scorers are Mike Scott and Sammy Zeglinski, there's a problem there. Virginia is not very good.