Wake up to the Deacons

NEW YORK (The Tuesday College Diaries) - Somewhere, Skip Prosser is smiling.

After beating Clemson and watching No. 1 Pittsburgh go down to Louisville, Wake Forest are the last remaining unbeaten school in Division I, and the new top-ranked team in the country.

Having already knocked off then No. 1 North Carolina and then gone into Clemson's arena and handed the Tigers their first loss, its clear the Demon Deacons are for real.

They are doing all this under the guidance of the ever self-deprecating Dino Gaudio, but this is a team that Prosser built prior to his sudden and tragic death in the summer of July 2007.

Gaudio, six years Prosser's assistant before taking on his mantle, is working wonders with the talent his boss old bequeathed him. All five starters returned from a team that finished seventh in the ACC last season, but they have been complimented by the third-ranked incoming recruiting class in the country.

That pack is led by three players - Tony Woods, Ty Walker, and Al-Farouq Aminu - whose recruitment occupied Prosser's final days before he collapsed and died of a heart attack following a morning run.

The three star recruits were offered plenty of alternatives after Prosser's death, but all three kept their commitments to Wake Forest and Prosser.

Now they play in his honor - and they win doing it.

With everyone back from last year and so much fresh talent added, there was plenty of excitement about this team all summer long in Winston-Salem, but it took the rest of the country a while to wake up to what Prosser had built.

Even as they racked up the wins early, little attention was paid as the Deacons slaughtered a weak non-conference schedule.

But the 92-89 win over North Carolina a little over a week ago was an unmistakable sign - Wake Forest intend to be a factor in the ACC since the last time Chris Paul pulled on the gold and black.

Saturday's 78-68 win in Clemson lifted Wake Forest to 16-0, the best start in school history, beating the 15-0 record of 1926-27.

Jeff Teague, who led the Deacons' through their first post-Prosser season as an outstanding freshman, scored 24 points to lead the charge

Aminu, a surefire star in the making, had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It was not all plain sailing as the Tigers slashed a 14-point deficit to close to 61-60 in the final minutes, but that only made the resiliency of this young Wake Forest team more impressive.

"I thought we showed a lot of heart today," Gaudino said. "When Clemson cut the lead to one, it was pretty loud. Clemson made us play more chaotic than we would have liked, but we are athletic and quick enough to win. It was a tough game, but our staple was defense. Overall, it was a good win for these young guys."

Now installed at No. 1, Wake Forest faces Virginia Tech this week and, if they emerge victorious, they will remain in top spot ahead of next Wednesday's mouthwatering clash with current No. 2 Duke.

But it is not about numbers for this team. Prosser recruited these players on the dream of a first Wake Forest ACC title since Tim Duncan led them there in 1995 and 1996.

"I think being No. 1 on January 19 is far, far from the most important thing," Gaudino said. "I think we've come a long way. We have a long, long way to go. We have tremendous room for improvement.

"I told the guys on the bus (after the Clemson game) that if they're happy on January 19 that we're number one in the country, then they're not the team that I think they are."

Prosser would no doubt agree.

Smokey Roberts
FIBA