AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 30
Friday, January 30, 2009
The view from Winston-Salem
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Got a couple things for you.
First, I asked Charlotte Observer writer Ron Green Jr. to give his take on Wake Forest, the No. 6 team in the country that plays Tech Saturday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Demon Deacons are led by sophomore Jeff Teague, who is second in the ACC in scoring with 20.9 points per game.
Q: After having beaten No. 1 Duke Wednesday in an emotionally draining game, will Wake possibly be a little flat for Tech?
A: Despite the emotional investment in their victory over top-ranked Duke Wednesday night, don’t expect the Deacons to be flat against the Yellow Jackets. It was apparent in their homecourt loss to Virginia Tech 10 days ago that the Deacons weren’t as sharp or focused as they had been. In the week off before playing Duke, they were able to sharpen some things and get re-focused. They’re not likely to slip much in Atlanta.
Q: What’s the best way to defend Jeff Teague?
A: Obviously, stopping Jeff Teague isn’t easy because of his talent, his quickness and his confidence. To contain him, it’s critical to cut down his driving lanes. Teague likes to attack the basket with the ball so closing off the lane forces him to different areas on the floor. However, he’s so quick, as is backcourt mate Ish Smith, staying in front of Teague is difficult to do.
Q: Wake Forest leads the ACC in both field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense. What are the Deacons doing to cause such problems?
A: Just a couple of years ago, the Deacons were a defensive mess but since adopting the ‘pack-line defense’ favored by Washington State coach Dick Bennett, they’ve been much more effective. They don’t press much but aggressively guard the ball with perimeter players regularly double-teaming. Their size along the front line, particularly if seven-foot center Chas McFarland can stay out of foul trouble, makes team look for baskets on the perimeter, which is precisely what the Deacons are trying to do.”
Also, I asked Paul Hewitt about Georgia coach Dennis Felton’s dimissal. His thoughts:
“Obviously, you feel bad for him because he’s a coach, but I’m sure Dennis will be the first to tell you, just like we all know, that’s the business we’ve chosen. It‘s interesting that here we are in college sports, and more and more, the trend now is that it’s almost like we’ve become pro sports. They release coaches during the season. That almost never happened (before). Dennis is a very good coach. He’s had some tough breaks there. He’ll be back coaching soon. He’ll have a job soon.”
What do you think about Saturday?
