North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Faces `Board-Banging' Deacons
2/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-How in the world did Wake Forest walk out of the Smith Center with a 79-75 win over North Carolina after turning the ball over 21 times? The same way the Deacons have covered up other areas of vulnerability all season: by dominating the boards. Needless to say, rebounding will be a huge concern for NC State (12-5, 5-2) when it goes up against the Demon Deacons (15-2, 5-2) Thursday night at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. To the victor will go sole possession of second place in the league standings at the halfway point of the ACC season.
Averaging better than 12 rebounds per game more than its opponents this season, Wake leads the entire nation in the category of rebounding margin. Not impressed with the fact that the Deacons are shooting only 43 percent from the field? Heck, in some cases, Wake's best offense has been a missed shot. This is a team, after all, that averages 16 offensive rebounds per game, a staggering figure in any by any standard.
Coach Skip Prosser's Deacs are truly the ACC's 'Chairmen of the Boards.'
"It starts with the emphasis that coach Prosser and his staff place in that area," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "I've heard him speak a number of times and he's very clear about how important rebounding is to their basketball program. I think the other factor is they have some individuals that are just terrific rebounders. With Josh Howard and Danelius going to the boards, that's a difficult challenge because those guys are talented in that area of the game."
Wake Forest has out-rebounded all 17 of its opponents this season, and 12 of those 17 teams were out-rebounded by double-figures. Deacons Josh Howard and Vytas Danelius rank 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the ACC in overall rebounding. Howard, Danelius and freshman Eric Williams all rank in the top seven in offensive rebounding.
Even on those nights when either the ball hasn't been going in the basket or the defense has had trouble getting stops, the ability to snatch the ball off the glass on both ends of the floor has been a constant for Wake, which will be looking to extend its homecourt winning streak to 13 on Thursday.
Howard, of course, has been a Josh of all trades for the Deacons. Whether its scoring, rebounding or defending, the senior from Winston-Salem has excelled in all areas. Second to NC State's Julius Hodge in overall scoring (18.9 ppg.), Howard is averaging a league-best 22.9 points in conference games.
"He's just an all around player," said Wolfpack guard Scooter Sherrill. "He's tall, strong and quick. He just has all the gifts you need to be a big-time player in the ACC. We're going to need a tremendous defensive effort to stop him."
Howard, who could become Wake's first All-American since Tim Duncan, had a career-high 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the Deacons' win at North Carolina on Sunday night.
And while the Wolfpack is obsessing about trying to compete with Wake on the boards, the Deacs will have some concerns of their own on Thursday night. Most specifically, Wake Forest will have to contend with an NC State offensive attack that's been cooking over the last few weeks. Getting good shots inside and out against both zones and man-to-man defenses, the Wolfpack has shot just under 50 percent over its last four games. In conference games, the Pack leads the league in both field goal percentage (.474) and 3-point shooting (.413).
"People talk a lot about coach Sendek's offense and it's excellent, and they run it really well," said Prosser, now in his second year at Wake Forest. "But I think the biggest problem is that they have really good players. If you had ham and eggers running that offense, it wouldn't be all that effective. We're trying to devise a way to guard their individual players because they're excellent at running that offense."
Although NC State owns a 122-90 advantage in the all-time series between the two clubs, Wake Forest has held the upper-hand in recent years, winning the last six in a row. The Wolfpack hasn't recorded a victory in Winston-Salem since C.C. Harrison buried a tough 3-point shot at the buzzer in overtime to stun the Deacons back in 1997.
