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Best Coaching Job in WF BB History

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VaDeac

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Your task for this thread is simple: Identify the single season in Wake Forest basketball history in which the best coaching job took place.

I nominate 95-96. Lose the heart and soul off an Acc champ. Surround your superstar with a bunch of underrecruited (and, for the most part, somewhat limited) players, go undefeated at home, and win the conference again. Then, get to the Elite Eight with no point guard.
 
Yeah, but that Duncan kid was kind of good.

Just to play along I'll say the job Dino did immediately following Skip's death. You want that job?
 
He was, but the next season proved that even the best big man on earth needs help from.the perimeter. Part of my thinking was that 1997, in theory, should have had a better supporting cast, but said supporting cast crapped out come February, and the team finished .500 down the stretch.
 
DirkTheDeac said:
Yeah, but that Duncan kid was kind of good.

Just to play along I'll say the job Dino did immediately following Skip's death. You want that job?
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+1. I don't think anybody could've done a better job following the loss of Skip. He kept the recruiting class together, And his teams performed. And more importantly, he kept the Wake Forest family together.
 
VaDeac said:
He was, but the next season proved that even the best big man on earth needs help from.the perimeter. Part of my thinking was that 1997, in theory, should have had a better supporting cast, but said supporting cast crapped out come February, and the team finished .500 down the stretch.
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Stretch my memory... wasn't that the season Rusty shot lights out from 3?
 
No, I don't want that job at all. But just to be difficult, I'll point out that that team shat the bed down the stretch.

Story on that team: not long ago, LD twitpic'ed the poster of that team and subtitled it "the.most talented team to not make the tournament in history." Not a title I'd be as proud of as LD was.
 
VaDeac said:
Rusty's last season was 95-96, the second ACCT champ team.
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I remember Rusty making everything he looked at after his record setting football season. He could shoot the rock.
 
Single game coaching job was Staak beating #5 Duke with Mugsy as a one man press. Staak did have his moments between cocktail waitresses.
 
DirkTheDeac said:
Single game coaching job was Staak beating #5 Duke with Mugsy as a one man press. Staak did have his moments between cocktail waitresses.
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But isn't that what got him in trouble in the first place?
 
THE DEUCE said:
2003 was pretty impressive
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+1. That was supposed to be a rebuilding year. TONS of youth - IIRC, all but one of the players in the rotation were frosh and sophomores. (Of course, that remaining player was J-Ho.) JGray in the mask! Trent Slamma Jamma! J-Ho's out-of-bounds decapitation throws! ACC regular season champs, though that Auburn loss was bad news bears.
 
2003 was all J-Ho. He put that team on his back. It became clear when J-Ho went to the Mavs why the 2003 team played defense and subsequent Skip teams didn't.
 
VaDeac said:
No, I don't want that job at all. But just to be difficult, I'll point out that that team shat the bed down the stretch.

Story on that team: not long ago, LD twitpic'ed the poster of that team and subtitled it "the.most talented team to not make the tournament in history." Not a title I'd be as proud of as LD was.
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Did they "shat the bed" or simply start playing tougher games? They went 6-2 at home and 1-7 away, and the 4 game losing streak near the end of the season included 3 away games. Point is home court advantage makes a big difference, especially with a young team like that.

ETA: Legit asking as I wasn't following the Deacs then; it just seems like a pretty plausible explanation.
 
I worked at Wake years ago and our Library team was undefeated in the B league for three years. I was player coach and I was awesome. I had reference librarians with blue socks and a total lack of coordination. We also had a short, uncoordinated politics professor with no handle. What we did have was a library accountant who played DII ball and me. Those were good days. The law school team hated us. It was game on.
 
PhDeac said:
2003 was all J-Ho. He put that team on his back. It became clear when J-Ho went to the Mavs why the 2003 team played defense and subsequent Skip teams didn't.
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I'd love to know your answer to the original question, Ph.
 
1984, I believe the only player with his jersey in the rafters was a little used freshman named Bogues (10 min per game).

Won it's first found ACCT game against UVA (who got a 7 seed in the NCAAT and made the final 4), then lost a thriller to eventual ACC Champ MD (NCCAT 3 seed) by 2.

Then beat Kansas (5 seed), retired Ray Myer (1 seed) and lost in the final 8 to Phi Slamma Jamma (2 seed) and The Dream 68-63.
 
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