It's an age-old piece of basketball wisdom: The team that makes its free throws will, more often than not, win the game. It was these uncontested shots, however, that doomed Wake Forest in several key conference games last year, as the team ranked 11th in the ACC in free-throw shooting percentage.
Wake Forest guard Ishmael Smith, who shot an abysmal 29.1 percent from the stripe last season, understands that better than anyone.
"I told [head coach Dino Gaudio] that if I had made some of my free throws, we [Smith and Jeff Teague] probably could have been the best backcourt in the country," Smith said.
With every key player returning from last season's squad, Smith, Teague and the No. 24 Demon Deacons could not only have one of the best guard rotations, but one of the best teams in the conference. At the very least, they expect to significantly improve on last season's 17-13 record.
Most of the preseason buzz in Winston-Salem this year has centered not on returning players, but on the program's most-heralded incoming freshman class in recent memory. Al-Farouq Aminu, Ty Walker and Tony Woods all entered school ranked among the top 20 freshmen in the country, but Gaudio is quick to dismiss notions that the trio is more talented than his upperclassmen.
"This is not a disparaging word on those kids, but I think there is too much publicity surrounding them," Gaudio said. "The experts picked the kids that were freshmen for us last year, and they weren't a top recruiting class. One year later, if we re-evaluated them, that recruiting class would have been top five. Maybe this class is or it isn't, but I don't think we will know until a year later."
All three players stand 6-foot-8 or taller, adding valuable depth to Wake Forest's already-solid frontcourt. Leading the returning big men is versatile forward James Johnson, the team's top scorer and last season's runner-up for ACC freshman of the year. Lanky 7-footer Chas McFarland, who ranked fifth in the conference in blocks last year, and David Weaver, an explosive dunker, round out the Demon Deacons' arsenal in the post.
The combination of a feisty backcourt, a deep frontcourt and an influx of fresh talent gives the Demon Deacons an excellent shot at returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. And with just days to go before the start of the season, Gaudio likes his young squad's chances.
"We will be better than we were last year," Gaudio said. "We are going to go about our business the same way. You better get ready for each and every game, or else it's a long bus ride home."
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