University of North Carolina Athletics
Wake Forest Game Guide
January 24, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2007
The Basics
No. 4 Carolina (17-2, 4-1) will go on the road to face Wake Forest (9-9, 1-5) on Wednesday night. Carolina is coming off a 77-61 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Wake Forest is coming off an 88-76 loss at Virginia. The Deacons have played four of their first six ACC games on the road, and are returning to Winston-Salem for the first time since January 13th. Four of Carolina's next five games are on the road. They will get to play Wake Forest again on February 10th in the Smith Center, marking the first time they have played Wake Forest twice in a season since the 2004 season. The Tar Heels have not played the Demon Deacons in Chapel Hill since December of 2003, and they have not faced the Deacons more than once in a season since then.
Game Time: North Carolina at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
Last Time: Last year's Carolina team, then ranked 23rd, beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem 83-72. Reyshawn Terry led the Tar Heels with 24 points in his homecoming game and added three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Tyler Hansbrough added 17 points, David Noel had 13 and Danny Green had 10 for the Tar Heels. Justin Gray led the Demon Deacons with 20 points and six assists, while Eric Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds. Wake Forest's Michael Drum had 10 points and five assists. Wake Forest actually led at halftime by five and by as much as nine into the second half, but a good defensive span by the Tar Heels limited the Deacons to just one point in eight minutes.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 6 p.m.
Injury Report: Bobby Frasor is limited again after tweaking his foot injury in the game against Virginia Tech. The x-rays were negative, but no timetable has been set for his return. He is not likely to play.
Storylines
Free throws: In 2005 in one of Carolina's four losses, Wake Forest went 32-of-32 from the free-throw line in Winston-Salem. In the last five years, the Deacons are getting to the line at home against the Tar Heels an average of 21.6 times a game. At home this season, the Deacons are averaging 17.8 free throws made to 27.7 attempted and are shooting 64.3%. When the Deacons attempt more free throws than their opponent this season, they are 8-3.
Carolina ranks third in the league in free throws attempted (25.9 a game) and third in free throws made (17.8). Wake Forest ranks right behind Carolina in free throws attempted (25.4 a game) and fifth in made free throws (15.8). In conference home games, the Deacons are shooting 30-of-47 from the free throw line (63.8%) and averaging 15 made free throws out of 23.5 attempts. In its four away games, Wake is shooting 46-of-81 (56.8%) and averaging 11.5 made free throws to 20.3 attempts.
In conference play, Carolina is averaging 17.4 free throws made to 26 free throws attempted and are shooting 66.9%. In the Tar Heels' three true road games this season (St. Louis, Virginia Tech and Clemson) they are averaging 13.3 free throws made to 21.3 free throws attempted (62.5%). At home, by comparison, Carolina is averaging 19 free throws made to 26.5 attempted (71.7%). Carolina has shot exactly 60% or lower at the line three times this season, and the Tar Heels are 1-2 in those games. In their losses, the Tar Heels are a combined 30-of-59 from the line.
"What we do is we practice free throws. During a week time period, I think the most recorded free throws we had was somebody shot 465 free throws last week with a manager or a coach counting, and the highest percentage was 94% and the lowest percentage was 74%. So we practice them, but I don't talk a lot about it because again, it's such a mental game to begin with," Coach Williams said. "Brandan (Wright) had one bad game, he was 1-for-8. Other than that, he's been in the mid-60's if you took away that one. That was a big game. We don't belittle it, because we practice it. But I'm not one of those guys that's going to say, `Oh my gosh, what are we going to do for free throws?' because then my players are going to say, `Oh my gosh, I've got to shoot some.' So I think it's more important to play offense and defense, those parts of the games that you can work on instead of pointing out to kids, `Oh, you're struggling.'"
Actually, you would have to remove Wright's performances against Gonzaga, Virginia and Virginia Tech, when he tied his high for missed free throws with seven, to get his percentage into the mid-60's. Without the Virginia Tech game only, Wright is 54-of-91 (59.3). Without the Virginia Tech and Gonzaga game (7-of-14), he would be 47-of-77 (61%). Without all three games, Wright would be 41-of-64 (64%). But Wright had an 11-game stretch earlier in the season when he shot 34-of-42 from the line (81%).
Three-point shooting: Wake Forest is seventh in three-pointers made per game with 6.22, just in front of North Carolina in eighth place with 6.11. Wake Forest is No. 8 in three-point percentage with 112-of-314 (35.7%). North Carolina is No. 5 with 116-of-305 (38%). Wake Forest is last in the league in three-point percentage defense, allowing its opponents to shoot 132-of-345 (38.3%). North Carolina is seventh, allowing its opponents to shoot 131-of-399 (32.8%). Only one Wake Forest player has made 20 or more three-pointers: Harvey Hale, who has shot 20-of-57 from beyond the arc (37.8%). Of the Wake Forest players who have made more than 10 three-pointers, only two shoot above 40%: Jamie Skeen (19-of-45 for 42.2%) and L.D. Williams (13-of-28 for 46.4%).
However, as all Carolina fans know, percentages mean very little when it comes to a Carolina versus Wake Forest showdown. The Deacons are going to be primed to beat the Tar Heels, and desperately need an ACC win. Last season, the Deacons had been struggling, yet they hit 8-of-21 three-pointers and made the game close for awhile.
The Tar Heels are playing much better defense lately, but have struggled at times defending the three-pointer. At home, Wake Forest is 7-3 this season and has made 66-of-162 three-pointers (40.7%). Outside of the Smith Center, Carolina's opponents are shooting 61-of-152 from the three-point line, or 40.1% (compared to 28.5% in the Smith Center). In conference play, Carolina has shot 24-of-76 (31.6%) from beyond the arc, or an average of 4.8 made three-pointers to 15.2 attempted. Wake Forest in conference is 36-of-109 from beyond the arc or 33%. In conference home games, the Deacons are 13-of-34 (38.2%) from the three-point line. In conference away games, Carolina has made 11-of-34 three-pointers (32.4%).
In the Tar Heels' two losses, they have shot 14-of-51 (27.5%) from the three-point line. In those losses, they average seven three-pointers made to 25.5 attempted. In their 17 wins, they have shot 40.2%, but average one fewer made three-pointer (six) and nearly ten fewer attempted (14.9). In the three games that the Tar Heels have attempted 20 or more three-pointers, they are 1-2. The 50% the Tar Heels shot from beyond the arc in the Georgia Tech game (6-of-12) was their best since a 53.3% (8-of-15) performance against Rutgers on December 28th and just the third time the Tar Heels have shot better than 50% from the three-point line this season. The Tar Heels do not have to constantly jack it up from beyond the arc; it is a harder shot to rebound offensively and it is better to be efficient shooting the three than it is to make a lot. Also, if the Tar Heels shoot too many perimeter jumpers, it means they are getting away from their game plan, which is to get it inside.
Defense: Carolina was called for 11 fouls against the Yellow Jackets, the fewest since the Tar Heels were whistled for just 10 fouls against Winthrop. Carolina played fantastic defense against Georgia Tech, holding the Jackets to just 34.5% shooting, forcing 13 turnovers and nabbing eight steals in the first half. In the second half, however, the Yellow Jackets shot 48.4%, which is the highest percentage by a Tar Heel opponent in the second half in a Carolina win since the High Point game.
"I was not that displeased at all in the first half with what we did defensively. We came up with some steals. They shot 34 percent. In the first half, the only difficult thing was just the turnovers, but I was pleased with what we had done defensively. In the second half, I think we allowed them to penetrate the lane way too much and didn't stay in front of our man. Still, it's the ACC," Coach Williams said.
Carolina has been trying to develop a personality as a defensive team. Carolina has 10 or more steals in five of its last seven games after having just five games with 10 or more steals in its first 12 games. Carolina allowed six of its first eight opponents to shoot 40% or better from the field. Two of those six shot better than 50%. Carolina held five of its next six opponents to lower than 40% from the field. In ACC play, the Tar Heels have held two opponents to lower than 35% from the field and have held four under 45%. Carolina has forced 15 or more turnovers in 14 of its 19 games. The Tar Heels have forced more than 20 turnovers in six of those 14 games. In conference play, Carolina has forced 80 turnovers, or an average of 16 a game. Though the Tar Heels forced Florida State and Virginia Tech into just 22 turnovers combined, they forced Virginia, Clemson and Georgia Tech into a combined 58 turnovers.
"We focus more on defense every game because we feel like that's the biggest key to our success. If we stop them from scoring and pressure them, that gives us a chance to score and gives us a chance to win. We like to use our defense to get fast break lay-ups and it's been working so far so we'll stick to it," Danny Green said.
The lone defensive lapse in the last 13 games was the Virginia Tech game, when the Hokies hit a Carolina opponent season-high 52.6% from the field. Carolina is 1-2 when they allow opponents to shoot 50% or better from the field. In the last 13 games, Carolina has held its opponents to under 50% in 12 games. Only two Carolina opponents besides Virginia Tech shot 30% or lower from beyond the arc in that stretch, and the Tar Heels held their remaining opponents to under 30%. The Tar Heels even managed to hold two opponents to under 10% - St. Louis (9.1%) and Rutgers (7.1%).
In the last 13 games, the Tar Heels have held 12 opponents to 70 points or fewer after allowing four 80-point or more games in the first six games. In the last 13 games, the Tar Heels have held 10 opponents to 65 points or fewer, six to 60 or fewer, and two to below 50. On the season, 14 Tar Heel opponents have scored fewer than 70 points. Carolina has held three opponents to 50 or fewer points. Carolina is getting out in the passing lanes, playing great on-the-ball defense, communicating well with each other and making the necessary rotations to make its defense a well-oiled machine. There are lapses here and there but they are far less frequent now.
Wake Forest is 4-2 when scoring 80 or more and 2-0 when surpassing 90. The Deacons are 7-1 when they shoot a better percentage from the field than their opponent, and are 6-2 when they shoot a better percentage than their opponent from the three-point line. Carolina is 4-2 when allowing its opponents to score 80 or more points. Wake Forest needs a win desperately at 9-9 and 1-5 in the ACC, and they would like nothing more than to shoot lights-out and get that win against Carolina.
"They (Wake Forest) are struggling a little bit right now. They'll be anxious to get us, because they enjoy playing us," Coach Williams said. "We've got to go in there and take care of our own self and not be concerned with what's going on with them. We've got to go in and play a great game defensively, and I still think if you play on the defensive end, you've got a chance to win on the road."
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
THSN at the game: Fans who will be inside Lawrence-Joel Coliseum can listen to the Tar Heel Sports Network on the in-arena feed, 92.7 FM.
ESPN coverage: The game will be available on ESPN.
Names To Know
Reyshawn Terry: Terry ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game and ranks 17th in the ACC in rebounds with 5.8 a game. He is third on the team in assists with 2.0 a game (38 total), second in blocks with 17 (0.9 a game) and fifth in steals (14). He has six steals in the last four games. In what was a very physical game, Terry pulled down quite a few of what Roy Williams called "man-sized" rebounds against Clemson for seven total.
His defense has been fantastic, as he has won the defensive player of the game award seven times this year, which leads the team, and 7 of the last 13 games. In the last two games, he has played 26 and 25 minutes, marking the most minutes he has played since he played 27 against Kentucky, which was a season high.
"That's what's enabled me to keep him in the lineup. He hasn't shot the ball as well as he wanted to, hasn't scored as well as we want him to, but defensively, he's really been sensational," Coach Williams said. "That's allowed me to keep the youngster in the game. He's really done a nice, nice job there. He's going to get it going offensively some more too. I've been trying to get him to take the ball to the basket, and I think we saw a lot more of that against Georgia Tech and I think that will help him."
Even though he did not score against Florida State, he had seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and won the defensive player of the game award. He had his best offensive game in ACC play against Georgia Tech on Saturday, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the three-point line. It was the most three-pointers Terry has made in a game since he went 3-of-4 against Florida Atlantic. Terry went 0-of-3 from the free throw line, which was uncharacteristic of him since without that performance, he had shot 33-of-41 from the line (80.5%). The fact that Terry scored 10 of his 16 points against Georgia Tech in the first 9:40 shows how explosive he can be on offense when he really turns it on.
"I don't think he did anything differently; I think he just had a different mindset. He played like a senior, more aggressive, and he did what he was supposed to do," Danny Green said. "Normally he's aggressive, but not as aggressive as he was tonight. He's hesitant with some of the things that he does, but tonight he was more aggressive and more confident. He had a lot of confidence in his game, and a lot of things went his way. He knocked down some good shots and he caused a lot of problems for the defense."
After scoring in double figures in six of the Tar Heels' first 10 games, Terry has hit double figures just twice in the last nine games. He shot 25-of-55 from the field and 7-of-21 from the three-point line during that stretch. In the Tar Heels' two losses Terry has played the fewest minutes of any of his other games, 16, though that was obviously due in part to his inconsistent play in those games. He combined to go 4-of-11 from the field, 1-of-4 from the three-point line and 0-1 from the free throw line for nine points and added four turnovers. After a season of being the Tar Heels' No. 2 scoring option last season, Terry has not quite adjusted to his new role offensively. However, whenever Terry asserts himself on offense this year, he has been very effective and makes the Tar Heels very tough to beat.
"He's pressing; he's trying to do too much. He's got people telling him, `You need to do this, and you need to do that,' and I said, `You've got to please two people, and one's me and one's you. If you do that, then everything's going to be okay.' There are a lot of pressures on a youngster when you get to be in a position like Reyshawn is," Coach Williams said. "Defensively, he's done a great, great job and I expect that to continue, but I think he's going to be a big offensive factor for us as well."
He will likely contend with Wake Forest's L.D. Williams, the only other starter besides Visser to have started every game. Williams is Wake Forest's best three-point shooting threat percentage wise, shooting 13-of-28 (46.4%) from the three-point line. At home, Williams is 11-of-18 from the three-point line (61.1%) and is 5-of-10 from beyond the arc in ACC play.
Danny Green: Despite what might be perceived as less playing time this year, Green is actually averaging 15.2 minutes compared to 15.3 last season. Green has improved almost every statistic except for his scoring average, which has dropped from 7.5 points a game last season to 5.5 points a game this season, and his rebounding is down from 3.7 to 3.4 a game. However, his assists are up from 1.1 a game last season to 1.8 this season, and his turnovers are down from 1.3 a game to 0.6 a game. His assist-turnover ratio last season was 0.8, and this season his 27 assists to 15 turnovers (1.8 assist/turnover ratio) is third on the team, behind only Ty Lawson (2.1) and Wes Miller (2.8).
His three-point percentage and free throw percentage are both up from last season. He shot 35.5% from the three-point line and 79.2% from the free throw line last season, and has shot 38.5% from the three-point line and 88.9% from the free throw line this season. His blocks per game are down from 1.0 last season to just 0.8 a game this year, but he has one block in each of the Tar Heels' last four games. He is fourth on the team in defensive rebounds with 83, but has just 17 offensive rebounds, fewer than everyone in the rotation except for Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Wes Miller. He has made at least one three-pointer in five straight games.
In conference play, Green is tied for first on the team in three-pointers made and attempted, shooting 6-of-15. His 40% from beyond the arc ranks second on the team, and he has scored 33 points in 75 minutes. When Carolina was down five against Virginia at home, Green scored all seven of his points as part of a 22-6 Carolina run in the second half to put the Tar Heels up 11. He was a bit confused about what his role in the rotation would be earlier this season, but he has established himself quite nicely and his 15.1 minutes per game is second-highest among non-starters.
"I definitely feel more comfortable. So hopefully I will continue to do well and the minutes vary so it's no definite time that I will get. Hopefully I will bring in the energy the team needs and we will continue to win," Green said.
Green is Terry's primary backup at the three position and when Terry is struggling offensively, Green has proven that he can step in and provide instant scoring, as he did against St. Louis when he scored 16 points in 20 minutes.
Kyle Visser: The much-improved 6-11 senior center has gone from averaging 5.0 points a game last season to 17.4 points a game this year, which leads his team and ranks seventh in the ACC. Visser also ranks 2nd in the league in field goal percentage (60.5%), 6th in rebounding (7.6 a game), 7th in blocked shots (1.44 a game), 5th in offensive rebounds (3.06) and 6th in defensive rebounds (4.56). He also leads the team in minutes played with 29.1 a game. Visser has seven 20-point games on the year, and Wake Forest is 3-4 in those games. Visser's 313 points account for 23.4% of Wake's total scoring. He also leads the team in dunks with 25 and in charges drawn with 6.
He has struggled from the line this season, shooting 77-of-126 for 61.1%. In conference play, he has improved slightly, shooting 22-of-33 from the line (66.7%). He has been called for just 43 fouls this year and has yet to foul out. Three other Deacons have been called for more fouls than the center.
After starting out ACC play strong with an 18-point performance in a close loss to Virginia Tech and a 20-point performance in a 95-85 loss to Boston College, he has had just 11, 12 and 8 points in the last three conference games. He has also been in foul trouble the last three games and nearly fouled out against Duke and NC State. He leads the team in scoring in conference games with 14 points a game and his rebounding average slipped slightly to 6.7 a game. From the field in conference play, however, Visser is shooting 31-of-64, or 48.4%. He is tied for second on the team in turnovers with 12, but leads the team in blocks with 7 in six conference games.
He struggled against Virginia, shooting just 2-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line on his way to eight points, marking a season low and the first time this season he has failed to reach double figures. He also set his season high in turnovers with five.
He has shown that he can go up against the league's better big men, as he scored 20 points against Boston College when Sean Williams was still in action. Williams had been averaging around 8 blocks a game and had just three against Visser and Wake Forest. Tyler Hansbrough, Brandan Wright and company will need to have very good defensive performances in order to contain Visser.
Ishmael Smith: The freshman point guard is No. 2 in the league in assists per game (5.72) and plays the second-highest number of minutes per game (27.6). He is second on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game. He shoots 46.3% from the field and 37.2% from the three-point line. He is second on the team in free throws made per game and is tied for second in free throws attempted per game with 23-of-51 (45.1%). He has an assist/turnover ratio of 1.6 (103 assists to 65 turnovers) on the season. He has 20 steals (2nd on the team) but he also ranks third on the team in fouls with 45 and has had more fouls called on him than center Kyle Visser.
In conference play, Smith's scoring average has slipped to 6.5 points a game and he is shooting 16-of-47 from the field (34%), 4-of-15 from the three-point line (26.7%) and 3-of-8 from the free throw line (37.5%). Smith still leads his team in assists in conference play with 2.8 a game. He ranks second on his team in conference play in fouls with 19, and has already fouled out of a conference game. His conference assist-turnover ratio is 17 assists to 26 turnovers, a 0.65 ratio.
Smith had his first ACC double-figure scoring game against Virginia with 13 points o 5-of-12 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 from the three-point line. He also had his first conference steal and three assists and four turnovers. It was his best performance from the field and the three-point line in ACC play percentage-wise. It also marked the first time since the East Carolina game on January 1st that Smith shot better than 40% from the field and better than 25% from the three-point line.
The Smith-Lawson matchup will be the key to Carolina's success, as Duke shut down Wake largely due to forcing Smith into zero assists and eight turnovers. Lawson had one of his best defensive performances of the season guarding Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton, and he will need to play equally good defense against the quick Smith.
Quotables
"Coach Smith would do that. I'll make you putt every dadgum one of them. If it's in the leather, it's good. If it's not in the leather, don't be laying that putter down. Just take the dadgum thing and putt it." -Roy Williams, on whether he allows golf opponents to pick it up rather than putt it 3-4 feet away
"Those are the same guys in 2005 who said we weren't good enough in the halfcourt offense too, and we worked out all right that year. We run the ball better. Mickey Mantle hit home runs better than he did field. Tiger Woods plays golf better than he does ice hockey. ... We realize we're better at the running game, but I'll tell you one thing, I'm not going to stop running it just to work on halfcourt offense during a game so somebody over there with a microphone is going to say, `Oh, they're doing a great job at running the halfcourt offense. They're down 12 frickin' points, but they're doing a great job running the halfcourt offense.' So we're going to run the sucker as long as we can run it." -Roy Williams in response to criticism that his team can't run the halfcourt offense effectively
"A funny one to me - I'm sitting at the Final Four about 2000 when I was vice president of the Coaches Association. I'm sitting on the third row midcourt, a guy taps me on the shoulder and I turn around and look up, and this guy says, `Coach, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Peyton Manning.' I said, `My God Peyton, I'd have to have my head in the sand to not know who you are.'" -Roy Williams
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
