Before I continue, please understand Wake Forest came into the 76 Classic the #24 team in the nation and took care of business. The Demon Deacons won the 76 Classic by beating Baylor 87-74. That all said, Wake has all the potential in the world, but this post is not about potential, its about right now.
What I saw from Wake Forest was a team that took poor shots, didn't take care of the ball, and genuinely relied on their athleticism to get them through 3 teams that Wake really should have disposed of quite easily.
The main concern I have with the Demon Deacons is how content they are with taking low percentage shots. Let's take a look at our shot data that we've collected so far this season in our Live Stats.
| Shot Type | Made | Attempted | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunk |
284 |
315 |
90% |
|
Layup |
1313 |
2232 |
59% |
|
Other 2 Point Shots |
971 |
2743 |
35% |
|
Three Pointers |
744 |
2362 |
31% |
First, we have to take into account the classification of these shots is fairly subjective, but with the sample size it tends to even out.
Back to Wake Forest, who tends to take too many shots falling into the bottom two categories. While Wake is a decent rebounding team (although the numbers aren't as good as I thought, 9th in Off Reb %, 4th in Def Reb % among ACC teams), they rely far too much on creating their own shots.
The problem is that because they are not a good 3 point shooting team defenses can sag and cut off penetration and help in the post. This results with Wake either pulling up for bad 2 point shots or kicking out for a low percentage 3 point shot.
How does Wake get around this? Run, Run, Run. Against Baylor last night, Wake trailed 31-30 at halftime after playing a halfcourt game. In the 2nd half, Wake pushed the ball down the floor on every occasion. Doing so limits help defense and allowed Wake to get into the bonus early. As a result Wake finished with 48 free throw attempts.
Due to the change in tempo In the 2nd half, Wake almost doubled their first half output and scored 57 points.
