As expected, the Demon Deacons finished their Bahamas tour with a clean 3-0 sweep.
General Recap
DM rolled out a three-guard starting lineup of Keyshawn Woods, Bryant Crawford, Brandon Childress, Austin Arians, and Doral Moore. Similar to the Toronto game, the first possession ended in a quick alley-oop from Crawford to Moore. The ball rotation was much smoother compared to last night’s starting line-up. That said, there were a number of possessions throughout the first half that involved four players spotted up on the perimeter, with one post player trying to get position inside and not much penetration from the guards. The result was that 15 of the 31 first half field goals came from deep, with Wake making 5 of 15 (3 from Arians). The Deacs only managed 6 points in the paint in the first half and led 38-22 at the break. Arians led all first half scorers with 11 points, while no other Wake player had more than 5 points.
The second half started with a similar lineup as the first half, but with Collins in for Moore. This time, the guards got off to a hot start. Maybe it was a point of discussion during halftime, but in any case the second half featured much more aggressive dribble penetration. The first 8 or 10 points came from strong drives by Woods and Crawford (either directly or via the charity stripe) en route to the Deacs taking a quick 57-25 lead. Wake didn't look back, and ended up winning by 47 points.
Player Shout-Outs
Wake ended up with four players in double-figures. Arians was the bright spot in the first half, with all 11 of his points coming before the break. Woods (12) and Crawford (14) led the Deacon charge out of halftime with their aggressive play. Finally, McClinton finished with 10 points on a perfect 5-5 that featured several dunks and put-backs. That kind of active play at the rim is what Wake fans are hoping to consistently see out of GMac.
Richard Washington scored 8 points in less than 8 minutes of playing, which was a reassuring performance after his silence against CTG.
SJM and Moore each earned 4 fouls in about 10 minutes of playing time. SJM got his third foul after only around 5 minutes in the game. Obviously, that's something that will have to improve if they want to make a bigger impact during the season. To be fair, though, the refs in the Bahamas have left a little to be desired.
Final Thoughts
Turnovers
Wake ended up with 23 turnovers, which is not particularly acceptable against this level of opposition. The first half was particularly bad, with 16 turnovers (only Childress and Moore had positive assist to turnover ratios in the first half). The second half was a bit more reasonable, with 7 turnovers. Turnovers plagued this team last year, so hopefully that's something that improves before the season starts. At least the Shockers apparently didn't get the scouting report regarding zone defense.
Free Throws
This has been a major issue for Wake the past few years as well. Wake went 5-11 (45%) from the FT line in the first half, and 8-11 (73%) in the second half. But, not many players took many free throws (no player missed more than 2). Excluding the walk-ons, the only player to make under 70% was Keyshawn Woods, who went 0-2.
Walk-Ons
Speaking of the walk-ons, anyone who has been upset at seeing them on the floor would not have been happy tonight. Van Horn played almost 15 minutes, while Bilas, Rike, and Anderson each played around 6 minutes. Personally, I think it's a little silly to get worked up because DM plays the walk-ons. For one thing, the last thing you want is for a rotation player to get hurt when we're up by 40+ points in an August exhibition game in the Bahamas. Plus, playing walk-ons in these games gives DM a way to show that consistent effort and positive attitude in practice will be rewarded. Most of all, other than the opportunity to get more offseason practices, I have to imagine one of the main perks of a trip to the Bahamas is building team chemistry. Watching the starters on the bench leaping up to cheer every layup from Van Horn, Anderson, Bilas, and Rike showed that these guys enjoy being teammates, and that in itself is a very valuable thing. By the way, every active Wake player scored this game - and Bilas ended up as the fifth-leading scorer with a perfect 3-3 from deep.
The Deacs leave the Bahamas undefeated and resume their offseason in W-S. Wake basketball picks up again in 78 days with another exhibition against Piedmont International. Go Deacs!
