Exhibition game or not, this was one heck of a performance by the Basketball Deacs before the season opener a week from tonight.
Wake Forest had a performance Friday night the likes of which I don't think I've ever personally seen, even among exhibition games. There's not really much to break down here, so I'll keep it simple with some bullet points.
- Doral Moore led all scorers with 17 points on 8-9 shooting. Konstantinos Mitoglou pitched in 15, Brandon Childress 13, John Collins and Sam Japhet-Mathias 12, Mitchell Wilbekin 11, and Keyshawn Woods 10. Bryant Crawford and Austin Arians also flirted with double digits, each pitching in 9 points.
- Wake shot 51.2% from the field for the game and 33% from deep. Worth noting it was 37.5% from deep in the first half. The team got threes from Austin Arians (hit the first two shots of the game, both threes), Mitch, Dinos, Chill, and Bryant.
- Our front court is terrifying. Seriously, Doral Moore moves so much more smoothly and confidently, as does John Collins. Add in SJM, who overcame a shaky start to explode in the second half and well, while they won't dunk on many (or any) teams as hard as they did PIU, I do firmly believe our frontcourt will give teams problems throughout the year.
- You might not believe me, but it could have been WORSE for PIU. Wake missed 15 free throws (yikes; the one blemish) and at LEAST three dunks. This was seriously a show.
- I freaking love Brandon Childress. 13 points, 8 assists, only a single turnover. 4-9 shooting, 1-4 from deep, and a steal. From possession one, he was locked in on his man on defense, and was constantly pushing tempo, even with the Deacs up hugely. He and Bryant Crawford in tandem could also be a problem.
- Keyshawn Woods is all heart. Shockingly, he led the team in rebounds with 11 (though several other guys hovered around that mark) and he seemed to just be giving it all every second he was out there. I also noticed that with Chill.
- This team didn't care who they were playing, they were determined to execute, execute, execute, and it showed. Of course there were some sub-optimal plays in there, but any time it happened, I noticed guys reacting as such. They knew what to do, and took responsibility when they didn't do what they should've.
- Teams had better watch Wake on OOB plays under the basket. Childress or Crawford paired with Collins or especially Moore is a poster waiting to happen. Doral is so much faster and more decisive it blew my mind. He was 8-9 as noted, and I think at least 6 of those were punishing dunks.
- It's hard for me to comment on Josh Howard's coaching in any substantive way. They were just so outclassed from minute one, it's borderline impossible to say anything I will say he looked to be very happy and in fantastic spirits, which was great to see.
I think that about covers most of my thoughts but I'm happy to answer any questions. That was the most fun I've had watching Wake hoops in ages, even factoring in other exhibitions. Good stuff. On to the next. Go Deacs.
--SF
